National Champion Hurricanes Open Fall Practice
Nov. 1, 1999
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The National Champion University of Miamibaseball team will open Fall practice on Tuesday, November 2 at 2:30 p.m. atMark Light Stadium on the UM campus.
The Hurricanes, under the direction of 1999 National Coach of theYear Jim Morris, return seven starters from last season’s College WorldSeries championship team and 18 letterwinners overall. In 1999, UM recordeda 50-13 overall record while marching through the postseason with a perfect9-0 record. The season culminated with No. 1-seeded Miami’s 6-5 victoryover No. 2 Florida State for the national title at Rosenblatt Stadium inOmaha, NE.
Leading the way for the Hurricanes on the mound is seniorright-handed pitcher David Gil. Gil, an All-American who was undefeated in’99 with a 12-0 record, returned to UM for his final season after thePhiladelphia Phillies selected him in the seventh round of the 1999 MajorLeague Baseball Amateur Draft.
Around the bases, Miami looks similar to the team that went 4-0 atthe College World Series. The lone exception is All-American shortstopBobby Hill, who was a second round pick of the Chicago White Sox. Returningare Kevin Brown (1B), Kris Clute (2B), Lale Esquivel (3B) and Greg Lovelady(C). Sophomore Javy Rodriguez is the leading candidate to take over theHurricanes shortstop position.
The lone departure in the UM outfield was due to the graduation ofcenterfielder Brian Seever, who eventually landed in the Anaheim Angels farmsystem. Returning are All-American Manny Crespo (RF) and ’99 FreshmanAll-American Mike Rodriguez (LF). Mark Walker and Marcus Nettles, UM’sdesignated hitter duo in ’99, each saw action in the outfield and willchallenge for the lone vacancy.
Other than Hill, the draft also opened up spots in Miami’s rotationand bullpen. Alex Santos, last season’s No. 1, and Michael Neu, UM’scloser, each accepted contracts with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and CincinnatiReds, respectively. Darryl Roque, who recorded the win in UM’s, 8-4,victory over Rice in Game #1 of the CWS, signed with the Montreal Exposfollowing the draft.
Last season, Vince Vazquez stood out as UM’s top set-up man. Thisseason, Vazquez will look to shut down the opposition as Miami’s closer.Also returning to bolster the pitching depth are veterans Ryan Channell,Luke DeBold, Tom Farmer, Scott Gardner, Greg Howell, Alex Prendes, TroyRoberson, Chris Sheffield, Dan Smith and Brian Walker.
Several players from Miami’s 2000 recruiting class, recently ratedsixth nationally by Collegiate Baseball, may make an impact on Miami’sline-up.The top incoming freshmen are pitcher Enrique “Kiki” Bengochea (Miami, FL),outfielder Jim Burt, Jr. (Allendale, NJ), infielder Kevin Howard (ThousandOaks, CA), infielder Kevin Mannix (Syosset, NY) and catcher Danny Matienzo(Miami, FL/Columbus).
Of the signees, three were drafted during the 1999 Major LeagueBaseball Amateur Draft. Bengochea became the highest drafted player toforgo professional baseball and sign with his top college choice after theKansas City Royals selected him in the third round. Howard was a 22nd roundpick of the San Diego Padres, while the Minnesota Twins selected Matienzo inthe 24th round.
Miami begins defense of its 1999 crown on Wednesday, Jan. 26 againstLynn University at 7 p.m. at Mark Light Stadium. Morris, who enters theseason one win away from his 300th at the University of Miami, has a934-373-1 overall record in 22 seasons as a head coach. In his six seasonsat UM, Morris has compiled a 299-88-0 record and has guided the Hurricanesto the College World Series each season, a NCAA record.
