Baseball Hosts Cross-Town Rival FIU
Feb. 20, 2001
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) — – The University of Miami baseball team (9-2), ranked as high as fourth nationally by Baseball America, host cross-town rival Florida International (8-3) on Wednesday, February 21 at 7 p.m. at Mark Light Stadium. The game will be broadcast over radio on the student voice of the Hurricanes WVUM 90.5 FM, as well as over the Internet at www.hurricanesports.com.
Miami and FIU will then meet for two more games on Friday and Saturday, February 23-24, at the Homestead Sports Complex as part of the opening weekend festivities for the 2001 Homestead Challenge. Both games are slated to start at 7 p.m. Fox Sports Net Florida will televise the Friday contest. UM’s Spanish Broadcast Network on WACC 830 AM Radio Paz will also carry the Friday game, as well. Both Friday and Saturday games can also be heard on WVUM and at hurricanesports.com.
Right-hander Chris Sheffield (1-0, 4.50 ERA) is scheduled to pitch against the Golden Panthers on Wednesday, while LHP Brian Walker (3-0, 3.60 ERA) and RHP Kiki Bengochea (1-0, 2.08 ERA) will get the start on Friday and Saturday, respectively. FIU will counter with LHP William Collazo (4-0, 0.67 ERA) on Wednesday, then RHP Arthur Santos (0-0, 3.52 ERA) and RHP Jerry Courtney (1-0, 2.35 ERA) on Friday and Saturday.
The Hurricanes, who are also ranked sixth by ESPN/Baseball Weekly and eighth by Collegiate Baseball, are coming off a three-game sweep of Elon College last weekend. In the series, Miami was led offensively by Javy Rodriguez and Kevin Mannix. Rodriguez batted .667 (8-of-12) over the three games with three runs scored, one double, one triple, a grand slam, eight RBI, 14 total bases, two walks, no errors and 6-6 on stolen base attempts. Mannix, who batted .545 (6-of-11) in the three games, had game winning hits in both the Saturday and Sunday contests.
UM’s starting rotation also faired well against Elon as Walker and Tom Farmer (2-0, 4.58 ERA) picked up wins on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Bengochea arguably had his most impressive outing of the season with 7.0 innings pitched, two hits, one unearned run, one walk and five strikeouts, but took a no-decision when the bullpen surrendered multiple runs in the eighth and ninth inning.
The Golden Panthers, ranked 29th by ESPN/Baseball Weekly, enter the Wednesday contest having defeated Florida Atlantic two of three games at University Park on the FIU campus last weekend.
Wednesday night’s meeting with FIU will mark the 97th in the all-time series dating back to the 1973 season. The UM/FIU series is the third-longest on-going rivalry on the Hurricanes schedule behind Florida (1940) and Florida State (1951). Miami leads the all-time series with FIU, 79-17, including a 52-10 mark at Mark Light Stadium. Under Head Coach Jim Morris (1994-present), Miami is 18-7 vs. the Golden Panthers and 12-3 at Mark Light. The Hurricanes have won three consecutive over FIU, including a 4-3 decision at University Park earlier this season on February 7.
Following the two games vs. FIU at the Homestead Sports Complex, Miami will close out the weekend with the University of Albany on Sunday, February 25 at 1 p.m. at Mark Light Stadium. The Albany game can be heard over radio on UM’s flagship station Sports Radio 560 WQAM, in Spanish on WACC 830 AM Radio Paz and on WVUM 90.5 FM.
Call 1-800-GO-CANES for season and individual game ticket information. To join the excitement, log on to hurricanesports.com and become a member of Hurricane Watch, the on-line loyalty program that allows you to purchase tickets on-line, transfer tickets to friends via email and earn Hurricane rewards for each game you attend at the Light.
SERIES INFORMATION:
WHAT: Florida International University (8-3) at University of Miami (9-2)
WHEN: Wednesday, February 21 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Mark Light Stadium on the UM campus
RADIO: WVUM 90.5 FM
INTERNET: Audio broadcast through www.hurricanesports.com
