Baseball Hosts #24 Cal State Fullerton Tonight At 7 p.m.
March 29, 2001
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) — – The University of Miami baseball team (25-6), ranked as high as fourth by Baseball America, host #24 Cal State Fullerton (16-10) for a three-game series beginning this Friday through Sunday at Mark Light Stadium. Game times are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
All three games can be heard over the Internet at hurricanesports.com. UM’s flagship station Sports Radio 560 WQAM, featuring the “Voice of the Hurricanes” Marc Vandermeer and Joe Zagacki, will carry the Saturday and Sunday games, while UM’s Spanish Broadcast Network on WACC 830 AM Radio Paz with Jerry del Castillo and Pepe Campos will pick-up the Friday and Sunday games. Fox Sports Net Florida will televise the Saturday and Sunday contests live with WPLG Channel 10 sportscaster Frank Forte, Zagacki and Luis “Wicho” Hernandez on the call. All three games can also be heard on the student voice of the Hurricanes, WVUM 90.5 FM.
The Hurricanes enter this weekend’s three-game series against Cal State Fullerton with an all-time record of 5-7 against the Titans. Among the 12 all-time meetings, seven have taken place in the regular season and five at the College World Series in Omaha, NE. The two teams have not faced each other since the 1996 season, when the Hurricanes took two of three games at Mark Light Stadium. In the seven regular season meetings, UM has a 4-3 record. Additionally, 10 of the 12 games have been decided by three runs or less.
Miami is coming off a three-game sweep of Northeastern last weekend. In Sunday’s 5-3 victory over the Huskies, Head Coach Jim Morris earned his 1,000th career win. Morris enters the Cal State Fullerton series with a 1,000-398-2 record as a head coach (20 seasons). At Miami, he has guided the Hurricanes to a 365-113-1 mark in eight seasons. From 1982-1993, Morris recorded a 504-244-1 record at Georgia Tech. He started his career totaling a 131-41 record at DeKalb (GA) Community College from 1976-1979.
The Hurricanes No. 4 national ranking from Baseball America is it’s highest since being ranked No. 3 by the publication on March 5th. Additionally, Miami is ranked fifth in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper and sixth in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches’ polls. Cal State Fullerton holds a No. 24 ranking by Baseball America, No. 28 by Baseball Weekly/ESPN and No. 29 by Collegiate Baseball.
On the mound for the Hurricanes Friday night will be left-hander Brian Walker (7-0, 2.72 ERA). Walker last earned a win in UM’s 5-3 win over Northeastern last Friday at Mark Light. His victory over the Huskies was his 14th consecutive dating back to the 2000 season. Additionally, Walker holds the school record for career pick-offs (23), the single-season record (his 12 current) and single-game record (three, twice this season).
Following Walker, on Saturday, will be right-hander Kiki Bengochea (5-1, 1.83 ERA) and on Sunday, right-hander Tom Farmer (6-1, 3.19 ERA). Bengochea earned the win against Northeastern on Saturday night and places first on the staff with 46 strikeouts. Farmer assisted the Hurricanes to the series sweep over Northeastern last Sunday, pitching a season-best 7.0 innings with no earned runs and six strikeouts.
Offensively, UM is led by Marcus Nettles’ .388 batting average, followed by Javy Rodriguez (.360) and Kevin Howard (.352). Nettles also leads the team with his .505 on-base percentage and places second with 26 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. Rodriguez leads the club with 32 RBI and a career-high 29 stolen bases. Howard has a club-best 43 hits and 63 total bases.
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.
