The Miami Hurricanes, a No. 1 seed in the 2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament and regional host in Coral Gables, Fla., are now out of postseason playing following their second loss in the opening double-elimination Regionals round. The No. 3 Missouri St. Bears defeated Miami, 12-2.
Arvada, CO, native Pierce Johnson took the mound for the Bears and threw eight innings of two-run ball while striking out seven. He allowed the two runs on a Chantz Mack groundout and a Peter O'Brien single in the third inning. O'Brien was the Colorado Rockies' 2011 draft pick, but he elected to return to college and transfer from Bethune-Cookman to Miami.
The Bears' offense erupted for seven runs in the first inning, two in the second and three in the sixth. Keenen Maddox hit a two-run double in the first, an RBI double in the second and an RBI single in the seventh for his 3-for-4, four-RBI game.
The Bears have survived to stay alive in the lower portion of this bracket and await the loser of Saturday night's contest between No. 2 UCF and No. 4 Stony Brook (the former defeating Missouri State on Friday and the latter upending Miami that day). That game takes place on Sunday afternoon and the winner there plays later on Sunday evening.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For a complete bracket, visit NCAA.com.
