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Miami Hurricanes Edge Alabama in Thrilling NCAA Regional Opener

On3 photo -2by: Izubee Charles05/30/25IzubeeCharles
AJ Ciscar
Photo via Miami Hurricanes

With two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the game—and Miami’s NCAA Tournament hopes—hung in the balance. The No. 3-seeded Hurricanes were clinging to a 5-3 lead over the No. 2-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide as closer Brian Walters faced intense pressure in the opening round of the Hattiesburg Regional.

After a costly error and a hit batter put the tying runs aboard, Alabama was one swing away from a walk-off win. And it nearly happened—until freshman outfielder Mikey Torres tracked down a deep fly ball at the warning track, sealing a heart-pounding victory for the Canes.

While Torres’ clutch catch secured the win, it was the arm of freshman pitcher AJ Ciscar that carried Miami for most of the contest. The South Florida native delivered one of the best outings of his young career, striking out eight and allowing just three runs over seven strong innings. His poise helped propel the Hurricanes into the winner’s bracket of the Regional.

“Just a great postseason baseball game,” Miami head coach J.D. Arteaga said. “We got off to a great start at the top of the first inning, putting up a three-spot, and (AJ) Ciscar came out in the first inning and put up a zero, which was huge. We played good defense, made good pitches, and had good at-bats. It seemed like every inning we had a chance to score and put some pressure on them. A good game all the way around.”

At the plate, Miami got off to a hot start. A three-run home run from third baseman Daniel Cuvet and an RBI single from Renzo Gonzalez gave the Canes a 4-0 lead by the end of the third inning.

“At the plate, I was just picking up the ball well,” Cuvet said. “And just having the team behind me allows me to succeed. Obviously, it was big later in the game, and I was able to pick up my pitcher and help us get a win.”

But the fourth inning—Miami’s Achilles’ heel all season—once again caused trouble. Entering the game, the Hurricanes had allowed 50 runs in that frame throughout the year, and Alabama added to that total, scoring three runs to trim the lead to one. In the following inning, Miami outfielder Max Galvin launched a solo home run to extend the lead back to 5-3.

Despite the shaky fourth, Arteaga stuck with Ciscar, who responded by settling down and tossing three consecutive scoreless innings. After 97 pitches, his night ended with eight strikeouts and a crucial quality start that steadied the Canes.

“It was definitely a blessing to get a start, especially the first game in a regional against a two-seed,” Ciscar said. “In that third or fourth inning, my command suffered a little bit and people got on base. You just have to go out there and throw strikes. Make the hitters earn the runs and don’t give it to them. I gave up a three-spot, but later on, trusting my stuff and understanding that command wins the game, I just went out there and did my thing.”

In the eighth, Arteaga turned to the bullpen. Carson Fischer and Rob Evans combined to escape a jam, with Evans recording the final out of the inning. Walters then took over in the ninth, quickly retiring the first two batters before Alabama mounted one final threat. Ultimately, the Canes held on.

Miami now advances to face either No. 1 seed Southern Miss or No. 4 seed Columbia on Saturday night at 9 p.m.

“My message to the team has always been the same,” Arteaga said. “I’m never worried about what happened yesterday because this team has such an unbelievable knack for putting things behind them, learning, and moving on to the next game. Whether it’s a game or us finishing the season 1-6—it doesn’t matter. Even after a big win, it’s back to 0-0 and let’s get after it again and play our baseball.”

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