Baseball Hosts Virginia This Weekend
April 26, 2001
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) — – The University of Miami baseball team (33-10), ranked as high as No. 3 in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches’ Poll, host the University of Virginia (23-23, 9-12 ACC) for a three-game series, Friday through Sunday, at Mark Light Stadium. Game times are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Fox Sports Net Florida will televise the Friday and Saturday games with WPLG Channel 10 sportscaster Frank Forte, WQAM’s Joe Zagacki and former UM standout Wicho Hernandez. The Friday night game will be appear on tape delay at 11:30 p.m., while Saturday will be live.
UM’s flagship station Sports Radio 560 WQAM, with the voice of the Hurricanes Marc Vandermeer, will carry the Saturday game only. UM’s Spanish Broadcast Network on WACC 830 AM Radio Paz with Jerry del Castillo and Pepe Campos will pick-up the Saturday and Sunday contests. All three games can be heard over the Internet at hurricanesports.com, as well as on the student voice of the Hurricanes, WVUM 90.5 FM.
The Hurricanes enter the Virginia series having won five of six games against top-rival Florida State, including a three-game sweep of the Seminoles in Tallahassee last weekend. The last time Miami won five of six games against FSU was during its third National Championship season in 1999. Miami has forged a 62-32 record against Atlantic Coast Conference schools under Jim Morris with a 30-11 mark coming against ACC schools other than FSU.
Miami and Virginia have met just once, during the Hurricanes’ second National Championship season in 1985 in the NCAA Atlantic Regional at Mark Light Stadium. UM defeated the Cavaliers, 11-6, in the second game of the tournament.
Virginia enters the series on a two-game slide after losing mid-week games to James Madison (7-6) and George Mason (10-5). Prior to those two games, the Cavaliers swept an ACC series with Maryland. UVA is led offensively by a pair of upperclassmen senior Hunter Wyant and junior Dan Street. Wyant paces the team with a .391 batting average, followed by Street’s .374. Wyant also leads the team with 26 extra-base hits. Street is also one of the Cavaliers top pitchers with a 3-4 record and a 2.86 ERA. Senior Jon Benick leads the team with 16 home runs.
In the current college baseball rankings, UM shot up to as high as No. 1 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association after dominating the weekend and season series against FSU. Additionally, Baseball America ranked the Hurricanes fourth and Collegiate Baseball has them seventh.
Freshman closer George Huguet sits atop of the NCAA rankings with his 11 saves in 2001. The Goleman High School graduate closed out all five wins against the Seminoles earning saves in each contest. Along with a 1.88 ERA, Huguet now ranks among the all-time best in school history tied for seventh in career saves with Mike Browning (1981) and Mike Gibbons (1986-87).
Junior shortstop Javy Rodriguez continues to lead the Hurricanes in 2001 with his .399 batting average, as well as team-best numbers in hits (63), RBI (41), triples (3), total bases (90) and stolen bases (39). The Gulliver Prep graduate also ranks second nationally in stolen bases with his 39 steals and 0.951 per-game average.
For the season, UM is led by Javy Rodriguez’ .399 batting average, followed by Marcus Nettles (.345), Kevin Howard (.339) and Mike Rodriguez (.308). Javy Rodriguez batted .500 against FSU in Tallahassee last weekend, going 7-of-14 at the plate with four runs scored, a triple and two stolen bases. Nettles is tied for the team lead with 35 runs scored and has the second-most stolen bases (27) and walks (23). Howard currently leads the team with 13 doubles, while holding the second-most hits (58) and total bases (82). Mike Rodriguez is tied for second on the team with 35 runs scored, 11 doubles and 27 stolen bases.
On the mound for the Hurricanes Friday night will be right-hander Kiki Bengochea (6-2, 3.39 ERA). The sophomore from Miami leads the team in innings pitched (74.1) and strikeouts (68). The former third-round pick of the Kansas City Royals will be making his fifth appearance as UM’s No. 1 pitcher on Friday. Last weekend against FSU, he took his second consecutive no-decision against the Seminoles.
Following Bengochea, will be left-hander Brian Walker (8-1, 3.44 ERA) on Saturday. The junior and former Pittsburgh Pirates draft pick is tied for the team lead with his eight wins and also has a school-record 12 pick-offs. Walker owns the school-record for single-game pick-off (3, twice), single-season (12) and career (23).
Senior Tom Farmer (8-2, 3.99 ERA) rounds out the starting rotation on Sunday. Farmer is tied with Walker for the team-high in wins (8). Farmer was the lone starting pitcher in the Miami/Florida State series to score a victory for either team, on Sunday in the Coral Gables series.
Virginia will counter UM’s three pitchers with senior LHP Brandon Creswell (6-2, 3.58 ERA) on Friday, freshman RHP Canon Hickman (3-4, 6.46 ERA) on Saturday and freshman LHP Joe Koshansky (4-4, 5.64 ERA).
Miami will immediately return to action on Monday against No. 9 Stetson at 7 p.m. at Mark Light Stadium. The game was not originally on the schedule, but was later added to make up a date when the second game against Florida in Gainesville was cancelled.
The Hurricanes will then host state-rival Jacksonville, May 4-6, in a three-game series at Mark Light Stadium. Those games are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
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.
