The year was 1972 – Richard Nixon was re-elected President of the United States despite a scandal that would lead to his resignation, The Godfather was released, All in the Family along with Sanford and Son were the top TV shows, and the Miami Dolphins went unbeaten to complete the perfect season.
It was the last season the Miami Hurricanes baseball team didn’t make the NCAA Tournament - until this year.
After finishing the 2017 season with a record of 30-26, the ‘Canes were left out of the 64 team field that was announced Monday afternoon. Miami had been selected for the tournament 44 straight seasons, a NCAA record, before this season.
The Hurricanes had won eight of their last 12 games, including two games this past weekend to make the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, but early season losses to Rutgers, Dartmouth and FIU hurt their hopes to continue the streak.
While Miami will be home watching the tournament, six others teams from the Sunshine State will be battling for a trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Florida Gators, who won the SEC regular season title, earned a No. 3 national seed and will open play this Friday in Gainesville against Marist. Also playing in the Gainesville regional will be South Florida and Bethune-Cookman.
The Florida State, who had a slow start to the season but won their last six games and the ACC Tournament this weekend, will host Tennessee Tech on Friday in the Tallahassee regional, joined by UCF and Auburn.
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Florida Gulf Coast will also be in the tournament field, heading to Chapel Hill, NC where they will open regional play against Michigan.
