Miami and Virginia Commonwealth are studies in contrasts when it comes to their college baseball histories.
The Hurricanes (47-15) are on a 43-season streak of NCAA Tournament appearances that also features four national championships. The Rams (40-23) had never advance d past the first round until they captured the Dallas Regional on Monday.
Miami hosts upstart VCU in their Super Regional best-of-three series that begins Friday afternoon.
the Hurricanes have a lot of tradition, but they haven't qualified for the College World Series since 2008. Miami also had failed to reach the Super Regional since 2010. The Hurricanes, the tournament's fifth national seed, were stretched to the final game of the Coral Regional before defeating Columbia, 21-3, Monday night.
"We are two wins away from getting" to Omaha, Miami third baseman David Thompson said. "That is as close as anyone on this team has ever been. It's a new experience for all of us. We are looking forward to this weekend."
The Rams aren't going to be intimidated by their surroundings.
They were seeded fourth in the Dallas Regional but outlasted national powers Texas and Oregon State and defeated top-seed and host Dallas Baptist 3-1 to face Miami.
The regional championship run extended the Rams' torrid streak of 14 victories in their last 15 games. Virginia Commonwealth pitchers have not allowed more than three runs in any game during their current streak.
"How the run got started I'm not sure how to put a finger on that," Virginia Commonwealth coach Shawn Stiffler said. "Once you start playing confident in this game it's easy to get steamrolling. We didn't play bad all year. We just never got on a streak like this. The old saying is you want to be playing well at the end of the year and we're obviously an example of that."
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Some things to watch in the series:
'LUNCH AT THE LIGHT': The first two games of the series will start at noon, an obvious deviation from typical Friday and Saturday night home games at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park. Miami coach Jim Norris recognizes that the early starts could affect attendance. "I'd rather play night games; I'd like to have that home-field advantage with the fans," Morris said. "From the other side of the coin, I guess we need to turn the heat up. We are used to the heat down here, so that's an advantage. We want people to take three-hour lunch hours and come to the games." If the series goes to a third game on Sunday, it is also scheduled for a noon start. Miami is promoting the series as "Lunch at the Light."
FLORIDA TIES: Junior catcher Walker Haymaker is the only player on the Rams' roster with Florida ties. Haymaker, from Orlando, knows about the Hurricanes' history. "The name has always been around when you were growing up," Haymaker said. "It's exciting to finally be here - the place you saw on TV, growing up your whole life."
FAST FACT: The Rams are the first team to represent the Atlantic 10 in a Super Regional since 2002.
HOWSER TROPHY FINALIST: Thompson is one of the five finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy. Named after the former Kansas City Royals manager and Florida State coach, the award is given to the player who represents the ideals of character, leadership, desire and competitive spirit. A junior from Miami, Thompson has already been selected first team All-American and All Atlantic Coast Conference. Thompson leads the nation in home runs (19) and RBI (85).
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.