In the history of major college baseball in the state of Florida, no team has done more than the Miami Hurricanes - a squad with 25 appearances in the College World Series and four national titles in the 20 seasons between 1982 and 2001.
In recent history, the 'Canes have taken a step back among the Sunshine State's Big Three programs in having not advanced to Omaha since the 2016 season. For head coach Gino DiMare, a former player for UM who later won two national titles as an assistant with the 'Canes, that fact is unacceptable.
“If we want to go to Omaha, they better be as mentally tough as any team in the country," DiMare said during Tuesday's media day held at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. "To me, that’s the biggest thing keeping us from getting there. We’ve just got to be mentally tough as a team.”
Miami finished the 2022 season with a 40-20 record, but lost both games in the ACC Tournament before dropping two straight and being eliminated from the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 national seed. For DiMare, questions still remain on if the 'Canes can get over that disappointment and return to Omaha - the site of the College World Series.
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“I don’t think you ever know for certain 100 percent exactly what you’ve got. I’m not sure we thought we were going to be as offensive as we were last year," DiMare said. "The pitching guys, they’ve got to prove themselves.”
The first pitcher who will get a chance to prove himself this season is right hander Gage Ziehl, who was selected to start Friday's opener against Penn State. The sophomore appeared in 30 games last season as a middle reliever for the 'Canes, going 2-2 with a 4.04 ERA.
“Gage pitched well for us out of the bullpen last year, he could have arguably been one of our starters," DiMare said. "He went up and had a really good summer in the cape (Cape Cod League). He’s got that bulldog mentality and he’s just a mentally tough kid we think can handle that spot as a Friday night guy.”
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The 'Canes lineup will still have power, led by junior infielder Yohandy Morales after the Miami native batted .329 with a team leading 18 home runs last season.
“One through nine has always been hitting. Obviously at the end, we didn’t meet the standards but that wasn’t a burden on my shoulders," he said.
Miami will face another tough schedule including its annual non-conference series with rival Florida along with ACC series against N.C. State, North Carolina, Notre Dame and rival Florida State.
"Our conference happens to be one of the better ones in the country and we beat up on each other, I don’t know if that’s good or bad," DiMare said. "You would think that would hopefully prepare us for the end of the season.”
For the 'Canes, the belief is there that this will be the season Miami makes an appearance in the state of Nebraska this June.
“I think we look like an Omaha team, to be honest. Everyone has the same goal, the same mentality," Morales said. "Everyone comes out here and wants to work their hardest to try and become national champions again.”
