Miami baseball faces tough NCAA Regional opener versus Central Michigan

The Miami baseball team is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since advancing to the College World Series in Omaha in 2016. The Hurricanes face Central Michigan in their opener. The Chippewas are one of the hottest in the field.

Central Michigan enters the NCAA Baseball tournament with an 18 game winning streak. The Chippewas streak against Division I opponents is 20 games. The Miami baseball team enters the NCAA Tournament after North Carolina rallied from a 5-0 deficit to oust the Hurricanes from the ACC Tournament last Friday.

Central Michigan starting pitcher Pat Leatherman is 10-1 with a 2.56 ERA. He is tied for eighth nationally in victories. The Chippewas Cameron Brown who seems likely to get the start on Saturday is 10-0. Chris McMahon who missed a month with an injury gets the start for Friday for Miami. McMahon is 3-2 with a 3.70 ERA.

McMahon has been exceptional in his last four starts. The latter two of those came after he returned from being sidelined for a month. McMahon has pitched 19 innings over those four starts with a 0.47 ERA. The sophomore right-hander has allowed nine hits, nine walks, one run that was earned and 22 strikeouts.

Hurricanes head coach Gino DiMare is going with the hot hurler. The Hurricanes starter on Saturday will likely depend on Friday’s outcome. Brian VanBelle and Evan McKendry team with McMahon to give the Miami baseball team an excellent starting rotation. Freshman Slade Cecconi is behind them.

Waiting for Miami on Saturday after Central Michigan is regional host Mississippi State or Southern University. Friday’s losers will play at 1 PM ET time (Noon locally in Starkville). The winners play Saturday night at 7 ET, 6 CT. The Starkville Regional has two games scheduled for Sunday, and Monday if necessary.

"Starkville Regional ScheduleDates: Friday, May 31, 2019 – Monday, June 3, 2019Site: Starkville, Miss. | Dudy Noble Field (13,000)Game Dates (ET):Friday, May 31:– 1 PM ET | Game 1: Mississippi State (1) vs. Southern (4)– 8 PM ET | Game 2: Miami (2) vs. Central Michigan (3)Saturday, June 1:– 1 PM ET | Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2– 7 PM ET | Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2Sunday, June 2:– 3 PM ET | Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4– 9 PM ET | Game 6: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4Monday, June 4:– 7 PM ET | Game 7 (If necessary): same teams as in Game 6"

"Starkville Regional Team InformationGAMES 58-61 2019 NCAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP | STARKVILLE REGIONAL#2 MIAMI HURRICANES (39-18, 18-12 ACC)Head Coach: Gino DiMare (Miami, 1992)Career Division I Record: 39-18 (first season) | Record at Miami: 39-18 (first season)#3 CENTRAL MICHIGAN CHIPPEWAS (46-12, 22-5 MAC)Head Coach: Jordan Bischel (St. Norbert College, 2003)Career Division I Record: 46-12 (first season) | Record at CMU: 46-12 (first season)#1 MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS (46-13, 20-10 SEC)Head Coach: Chris Lemonis (The Citadel, 1978)Career Record: 187-104-2 (first season) | Record at MSU: 46-13 first season)#4 SOUTHERN TIGERS (32-22, 18-6 SWAC)Head Coach: Kerrick Jackson (Nebraska, 1999)Career Record: 41-55 (second season) | Record at Southern: 41-55 (second season)Broadcast InformationTV: SEC Network (Only Mississippi State games)| ESPN3–Talent: Roy Philpott (PxP) and Nick Belmonte (color)Flagship Radio: 790 The Ticket (all postseason)–Talent: Joe Zagacki (PxP)Student Radio: WVUM 90.5 FM | WVUM.org (all games)Twitter Updates: @CanesBaseball / @MiamiHurricanesLive Stats: NCAA.comCourtesy HurricaneSports.Com"

The broadcast schedule for the Starkville regional beyond Friday has not been announced by ESPN. The likelihood is that if the Miami baseball team plays Mississippi State on Saturday it will at least be televised by the SEC Network. At the very least the Hurricanes games in the NCAA Tournament will stream live on ESPN3.

ESPNU is televising an NCAA Baseball Tournament quadruple header on Friday. It began with Auburn and 2016 National Champion Coastal Carolina in Atlanta on Friday afternoon. A Mississippi State versus Miami Baseball game would match two of the sport’s marquee programs.