Miami isn't used to the scene that played out Sunday night.
UF is moving onto the Super Regionals, the first time in 11 attemps that the Gators advanced out of a Regional where the Hurricanes were present.
And Miami coach Jim Morris watched the last eight innings of his team's season-ending loss from a locker room Sunday night. That didn't make it any easier to handle.
The Hurricanes' 16th-year manager was ejected after the first inning, and his team didn't fare much better on the field as UF (42-20) swept the Gainesville Regional with a 16-5 win in front of a crowd of 2,351 Sunday. The Gators, the No. 8 national seed, handed the 'Canes an 8-2 loss on Saturday night as well.
Miami (38-22) had made it to the College World Series in 11 of Morris' previous 15 years and had been ranked as high as No. 2 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll on March 23.
None of that mattered this weekend, however.
"We've been to a [NCAA] Regional 37 years in a row, so making it to a Regional doesn't give you any reason to throw a flag up," Morris said. "I'm spoiled being at Miami, just like our fans and our players. All of us are very disappointed if you don't win and you don't go back to Omaha."
Morris' disagreement with home-plate umpire David Wiley came in the bottom half of the first inning &ndash with Miami already trailing 5-1 &ndash when left fielder Chris Herrmann was hit by a pitch. Wiley ruled that Herrmann had leaned into the pitch and did not award him first base. Morris jogged down from the third-base coach's box to argue the call for several minutes before walking away. Herrmann struck out one pitch later, and Morris appeared to say something to Wiley before turning his back and walking into the third-base dugout.
By the time Morris reached the first step of the dugout, Wiley had ejected him. When the coach realized what had happened, he rushed back to home plate, argued with Wiley and kicked dirt over home plate twice before two other umpires got between Morris and Wiley. The coach watched the rest of the game from a locker room inside the UF baseball complex.
"He said (Herrmann) put his elbow out over the plate," Morris said. "I'll let you watch TV and decide who was right and who was wrong.
"Personally I thought (the ejection) was uncalled for, but that's my opinion."
If the tirade was intended to inspire his team, the Hurricanes' pitching didn't get the message. Prior to the ejection, Miami starter Iden Nazario gave up five earned runs in .1 of an inning before being pulled. Even after Morris was sent off, the bullpen allowed UF to put up 11 runs in the final eight innings, including a seven-run fifth in which all the scoring came with two outs.
"You can't get down big early," Morris said. "We walked guys and gave them opportunities and they took advantage of those opportunities. When you get down big against Florida … it's going to be awful tough on anybody.
"It was a long eight innings to watch, whether you were on the field or in the locker room."
The Hurricanes did put up four runs in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a three-run home run by first baseman Jason Hagerty, a double by Hermann and an RBI single by Dave DiNatale. But the Gators' bullpen came in and shut the door with four pitchers combining for 4.1 scoreless innings.
Now Miami will be watching the College World Series rather than playing in Omaha.
"It's hard to leave here not coming out the victor," junior relief pitcher Kyle Bellamy said.
The junior Hagerty added: "It just comes down to getting things done at the time and no matter who your opponent was. Florida did that. Things didn't come out the way we thought they definitely should have. … I think (Miami) is going to be a pretty good ballclub next year, and they're going to start getting back to where they should be."
