Miami Hosts New York Tech In Regular Season Finale
May 18, 2001
University of Miami Hurricanes (41-12)
#1 Baseball Weekly/ESPN, Baseball America, NCBWA and #2 Collegiate Baseball
vs.
New York Tech Bears (19-27-1)
Weekend Broadcasts:
WACC 830 AM (Spanish), WVUM 90.5 FM, hurricanesports.com
May 18-20, 2001
Mark Light Stadium, Coral Gables, FL
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SENIOR PLAYING FINAL REGULAR SEASON WEEKEND — This weekend vs. New York Tech, seven members of the baseball team will be playing their final regular season games at Mark Light Stadium: Kevin Brown, Kris Clute, Tom Farmer, Charlton Jimerson, Greg Lovelady, Alex Prendes and Ethan Silverman.
HURRICANES GRADUATE — On Friday, May 11, the 2001 Hurricanes had four of their own walk across the graduation stage: Kevin Brown (Finance), Charlton Jimerson (Computer Science), Greg Lovelady (Finance) and Ethan Silverman (Sports Administration).
GEORGE HUGUET RANKS THIRD IN SAVES — With his 12 saves, freshman closer George Huguet is tied for third nationally. Huguet is tied with Cal State Fullerton’s Chad Cordero. Huguet remains two behind national leader Lee Gronkiewicz of South Carolina (15) and one behind No. 2 Dave Bush of Wake Forest (13). The UM record for freshman closers is 14 by Robbie Morrison in 1996.
TOM FARMER CHECKS IN AT NO. 15 WITH HIS 11 WINS — Tom Farmer’s team-best 11 wins on the season ties him for 15th nationally. National leader Nate Fernley of BYU is 14-2 on the season.
JAVY RODRIGUEZ LEADS NATIONALLY-RANKED UM TRIO IN STOLEN BASES — Javy Rodriguez, with 50 stolen bases and a 0.98 per game average, leads the nation. The No. 2-rated player is Matt Davis of VCU (47 SB, 0.90 avg.). Additionally, Marcus Nettles (40 SB) places fifth nationally with a 0.87 per game average. Mike Rodriguez (36 SB) falls in at No. 19 with a 0.69 per game average.
THE OTHER RODRIGUEZ, MIKE, ALSO A RECORD-BREAKING BASE THIEF– Mike Rodriguez broke a 21-year school record by recording his 31st consecutive stolen base without a caught stealing during the Florida Southern series. Overall, Rodriguez has a current school-record of 33 consecutive steals. The previous record was 30 straight by Joel Green over the 1969 and 1970 seasons. For the season, Rodriguez is 36-of-37 on steals and was last caught against FIU on February 7.
CURRENT UM BASE STEALERS AMONG PROGRAM’S ALL-TIME BEST– The Hurricanes top four base stealers in 2001, Javy Rodriguez (50), Marcus Nettles (40), Mike Rodriguez (36) and Charlton Jimerson (17), combine to become some of the top-rated groups in UM history.
The tandem of Javy Rodriguez and Nettles combined 90 steals rates fourth-highest for a UM tandem. Orlando Gonzalez (62) and Jim Crosta (46) lead the way with 108 steals in 1974. Ryan Grimmett (53) and Bobby Hill (41) had 94 steals in 1997, followed by Calvin James (53) and Donnie Rowland (39) with 92 in 1985.
Javy Rodriguez, Nettles and Mike Rodriguez have a combined 126 stolen bases in 2001 to rate as the second-most prolific trio in UM history behind Gonzalez, Crosta and Wayne Krenchicki’s (26) 134 combined stolen bases in 1974.
The quartet of Javy Rodriguez, Nettles, Mike Rodriguez and Jimerson check in with 143 steals this season to place third all-time at Miami. The top quartet in UM history was the 1985 group of James, Rowland, Rick Richardi (31) and Mike Fiore (28) with 151. The 1974 group of Gonzalez, Crosta, Krenchicki and Rick D’Innocenzio (14) had the second-most for a foursome with 148 combined stolen bases.
HURRICANES RANKED NO. 1 IN THREE POLLS– The Hurricanes enter the final weekend of the regular season ranked No. 1 by Baseball America, Baseball Weekly/ESPN and NCBWA. Collegiate Baseball has UM ranked No. 2.
For the fourth consecutive week, Baseball America has had a different No. 1-ranked team atop its poll, led by most-recent Miami. UM was last Baseball America’s top-ranked team following their National Championship season in 1999. UM was previously ranked No. 3 in the Baseball America poll last week. Southern California (35-16) comes in at No. 2
For the second consecutive week, UM was ranked atop the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Top 25 College Coaches Poll. Like Baseball America, prior to last week, the Hurricanes were last atop of the Coaches poll following 1999. Miami is receiving 996 points with 29 of 41 possible first-place votes. Southern California was No. 2 with 977 points and nine first-place votes. Notre Dame (#4), Nebraska (#5) and Tulane (#7) were the other schools to receive at least one first-place vote.
The NCBWA had UM ranked 6th before moving the Hurricanes to No. 1 this week. UM had previously been top-ranked in the NCBWA poll on April 23.
Collegiate Baseball newspaper had Miami ranked No. 4 last week, and bumped the Hurricanes up two spots to a season-high No. 2 behind top-ranked Southern California.
BENGOCHEA, HOWARD INVITED TO USA BASEBALL TRIALS — Kiki Bengochea was among the first 19 collegiate players invited to participate in the 2001 USA Baseball National Team Trials – to be held in Tucson, Arizona June 16-19. Kevin Howard was recently selected in the second wave of invitations. The USA National Team will be selected from a pool of approximately 20-29 players. Team USA will play 30 games on the Red, White and Blue Summer Tour, beginning on June 22 with the 30th annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series, which this year will be played in Japan.
Last season following his freshman campaign at Miami, Bengochea was among the first players invited and eventually made the team. He compiled a 3-0 record for Team USA with a 0.00 ERA in 20.0 innings. He assisted the National team to an all-time best 1.56 team ERA and 27-3-1 record.
Howard was chosen to be a member of the 1998 Junior National Team, but due to no qualifying tournament for the World Championships no games were ever played.
PLAYING AWAY FROM THE LIGHT — The Hurricanes have recorded a 12-1 record in games played away from Mark Light Stadium, including a current 12-game win streak. So far this season, UM is 8-1 in away games and 4-0 in neutral-site games.
Under Jim Morris, UM’s previous best record away from home was 12-6 in 1998. The 1964 Hurricanes also went 8-1 away from home.
The lone loss for UM outside Coral Gables was a narrow 11-10 loss at FAU in the second game of the season, where the Hurricanes took a lead into the bottom of the ninth inning against the Owls.
HURRICANES HARD TO NO-HIT — Entering the New York Tech series, Miami has not been no-hit in 2,227 games. The last time the Hurricanes were no-hit was by Ken Huebner of Florida Southern on April 18, 1964 in Lakeland.
HURRICANES SWEEP FLORIDA SOUTHERN — The Hurricanes three-game sweep over Florida Southern pushed their record to 56-22 against the Moccasins since the 1947 season. UM has now won 13 straight over FSC, including 11 at Mark Light. Under Morris, UM is 29-1 against opponents from the Division II Sunshine State Conference. The lone loss in this span was 4-2 to Rollins College on April 5, 1994. The Hurricanes are currently holding a 28-game win streak against Division II foes since 1994.
UM PULLS OUT ONE-RUN WIN FOR SWEEP OF MOCCASINS — The Hurricanes won their eighth one-run game of the season, 5-4, to sweep Florida Southern. UM found itself down 2-0 after the first inning, but Tom Farmer re-grouped for his team-high 11th win of the season. After FSC went up 3-0, UM answered with five straight, including a four-run sixth. The four-run sixth was paced by Danny Matienzo’s two-RBI triple and Kevin Mannix’ two-run home run. Closer George Huguet allowed a run before earning his 12th save of the season.
ALL-AROUND PRODUCTION LEADS 16-3 ROUT OVER FLORIDA SOUTHERN IN GAME TWO — An all-around effort by the club led to favorable statistics in nearly every category in game No. 2 vs. Florida Southern. The offense belted a season-high 16 runs, 15 hits, 15 RBI, two home runs, three doubles, two sac flys and drew 11 walks.
While on the bases, UM accumulated nine steals on multiple-efforts from the top four speedsters: Marcus Nettles’ career-high 3 (38), Mike Rodriguez 2 (35), Javy Rodriguez 2 (50), Charlton Jimerson 2 (17).
A failed pick-off attempt was the lone defensive miscue in otherwise a performance that saw two inning-ending double plays and a spectacular over-the-fence catch by Jimerson to rob an early ending home run threat.
Starter Brian Walker (10-1) pitched 5.0 solid innings with three earned runs on five hits, three walks and three strikeouts. Walker gave up two solo home runs in the second inning. He left the game with the Hurricanes comfortably ahead 10-3. Following Walker was a season-best bullpen effort that saw four pitchers allow one hit, one walk with six strikeouts.
Vince Vazquez shed an early hit in the sixth to retire his final five batters faced in 1.1 innings with a walk and two strikeouts. Alex Prendes had a strikeout-passed ball for a base-runner in the seventh. Luke DeBold followed up with three strikeouts in 1.1 innings. George Huguet finished the ninth retiring the side.
BACK TO BACK NIGHTS OF OFFENSE AGAINST FLORIDA SOUTHERN — UM has notched a combined 28 runs scored, 23 hits, 26 RBI, five double, three home runs, 23 walks and nine stolen bases in the two games vs. FSC. The 28 runs scored is the most in a two-span this season, as is the 26 RBI and 23 walks. The 12 and 11 walks, respectively, are the No. 1 and 2 highs this season. The 16 runs ties for a season-high (Savannah State).
HURRICANES NOTCH 40TH WIN IN GAME NO. 2 VS. FSC — The Hurricanes scored a win in game No. 2 against Florida Southern, to mark their 40th victory of the season and eighth straight year under Jim Morris doing so. Additionally, UM has won at least 40 games in 12 of the last 13 seasons and 26 of the past 28. Earlier in the season, UM hit its 30th win for the 31st consecutive season with at least that amount. The last time UM failed to win 30 games was 1970 when the Hurricanes finished 28-15-1. Morris’ lowest season win total in his seven previous seasons at UM was 41 in 2000. Miami has hit 50 wins in a season in four the past five seasons under Morris.
MORRIS DIDN’T SEE THE WIN IN HIS 500TH GAME AT MIAMI — Off a disputed home run call on a shot down the left field in the second inning, Jim Morris was ejected from the game. The ejection was a first for Morris in 2001. He listened for the rest of the evening as UM earned the 16-3 win in his 500th game at Miami. Morris is just one of two coaches at Miami to manage at least 500 games for the Hurricanes. In his eight seasons, he has accumulated a 380-119-1 record. Legendary UM head coach Ron Fraser, 1962-92, took part in 1,718 games for the Hurricanes over 30 seasons with a 1,271-438-9 mark.
KEVIN BROWN OUT OF THE PARK IN GAME NO. 2 AGAINST FSC– Coming off the bench in game No. 2 against Florida Southern, Kevin Brown went 2-for-2 with a double and a two-run home high over the left field scoreboard. The home run tied him with Mike DiRosa for the 2001-team best and gave him 41 for his career. He now stands alone in third-place all-time, moving ahead of Manny Crespo (40, 98-00). Brown also moved ahead of Crespo, from eighth to seventh, on the RBI list with 159.
JIMERSON HITS A CAREER-HIGH FOUR RBI IN UM’S 12-4 OVER FLORIDA SOUTHERN IN GAME ONE — Recent graduating seniors Charlton Jimerson, who belted a career-high four RBI, and Greg Lovelady, a two-run home run in the sixth, came up big in UM’s 12-4 win. Kiki Bengochea scored the victory on the mound, while Danny Touchet allowed three of the four runs over the final 2.0 innings. Javy Rodriguez and Kris Clute also had multiple-RBI efforts.
UM WINS FINAL TWO GAMES TO TAKE JACKSONVILLE SERIES — The Hurricanes defeated Jacksonville 13-3 on Saturday and 6-2 on Sunday to clinch their series with the Dolphins. JU defeated Miami 3-2 on Friday.
Tom Farmer led UM to a series clinching victory over Jacksonville on Sunday, as the starter allowed no earned runs with a career-high 10 strikeouts for his team-best 10th win of the season. UM used a four-run first inning to get past the Dolphins in the decisive third game. UM also stole a season-high 10 bases in the game, led by Marcus Nettles’ school-recor five.
Game No. 2 saw UM break open the game with a seven-run second inning. After UM forced JU starter Darren Truty off the mound in 1.0 inning of work, the Hurricanes found themselves up 10-1 after two innings. Charlton Jimerson ended the scoring in the eighth with a two-RBI triple. Dan Smith pitched his finest game in relief earning the win in a career-high 4.0 innings with two hits, two walks another career milestone six strikeouts.
Miami leads the series with Jacksonville 68-16 dating back to the 1958 season. The all-time mark includes a 20-6 record in the most recent span of games dating to 1993.
UM RECORDS SEASON-HIGH STOLEN BASES IN JACKSONVILLE SERIES — The Hurricanes closed out their series with Jacksonville with a season-high 10 stolen bases against the Dolphins on Sunday. In the game, Marcus Nettles tied a school-record with five stolen bases. For the three-game series, UM stole 15 bases.
The 10 stolen bases eclipses the single-game high of nine set three times this season against Elon, Rutgers and South Florida. The 15 stolen bases falls one short of the season-high of 16 set against Elon and Savannah State. UM also totaled 16 stolen bases in two games at South Florida.
Nettles five stolen bases is the most by a UM player since Ryan Grimmett stole five at Hawaii in 1997. Five players have now stolen five bases at Miami (Nettles, Grimmett, Wes Robbins, Morehead State, 1977, Errol Akchurin, Seton Hall, 1997, Whitey Campbell, Stetson, 1950).
HURRICANES KNOCK OFF STETSON IN BOTTOM OF THE NINTH — Javy Rodriguez hit a walk-off single with bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to push Miami past Stetson 10-9. Down 9-6 in the top of the ninth, Stetson’s Brian Snyder hit a two-out three-run home run off UM closer George Huguet to tie the game. UM rallied in the bottom of the inning as Kris Clute led off with a double to right center. Kevin Brown then hit an infield single to move Clute to third. After Greg Lovelady struck out, Stetson intentionally walked Brad Safchik to load the bases. Javy Rodriguez followed with his game-winning single, a ground ball that bounced over third base.
UM was led in the game by Rodriguez and Danny Matienzo, who each had three hits. Lovelady led the way with four RBI, ahead of Rodriguez and Matienzo’s two each. UM starter Chris Sheffield recorded nine strikeouts in 5.0 innings of work with just three hits allowed.
HURRICANES TAKE FINAL TWO GAMES TO CLINCH SERIES VS. VIRGINIA — After dropping the first game to Virginia, 5-0, the Hurricanes rebounded to win the next two, 5-1 and 12-6, and earn the series victory.
The 5-0 loss to the Cavaliers marked UM’s first home shut out since a 4-0 loss to Texas A&M during the 1995 NCAA Regionals. UVa starter Brandon Creswell pitched a complete-game against UM allowing just four singles with four walks and nine strikeouts. The Cavalier offense came off a pair of home runs.
Game No. 2 saw UM rebound off a season-high eight strikeouts from Brian Walker, who earned his ninth win of the season. UM’s three hits were its lowest all season.
Miami clinched the series on Sunday after recording 11 hits and a solid effort by Tom Farmer. Farmer earned his ninth win of the season after allowing two runs (one earned) in 5.0 innings. UM had an 11-2 lead when he left the game. The UVa offense came off a grand slam in the seventh inning.
JIM MORRIS’ HURRICANES AGAINST THE ACC — Since Jim Morris’ first season with the Hurricanes in 1994, Miami has forged a 64-33 record against Atlantic Coast Conference schools. Subtract the annual six-game series with the Seminoles and UM is 32-12.
MIAMI TAKES FIVE OF SIX GAMES AGAINST FLORIDA STATE — With similarities to Miami’s 1999 National Championship season, UM took five of six games against the Seminoles this season. The annual six-game series against FSU began with UM falling to the Seminoles, 10-9, in game No. 1 in Coral Gables, but rebounding to win the final two games at home, 5-4 and 7-1.
The Hurricanes then went up to Tallahassee and swept FSU in all three games, 7-5, 9-6 and 7-4. The sweep at FSU marked a first for the Seminoles since UM did the same during the 1998 season. In fact, UM is the only school to ever sweep FSU at home in a three-game series, attaining the feat in 1992, as well as 1998 and 2001.
The series victory in Tallahassee marked the fifth under Jim Morris that UM won the three-game series at Dick Howser Stadium. Additionally, it was the third time under Morris that UM swept both the Coral Gables and Tallahassee series in a single season. The series win in Coral Gables also marked the third consecutive season UM won its home series.
The five of six games won by UM marks the fifth time under Morris that UM has won the majority of the annual six games played. UM is 5-2-1 in the “six-game” series against FSU since 1994. Since FSU coach Mike Martin took the helm of FSU in 1980, FSU is 6-9-6 against UM in the annual six games.
FSU still leads the overall series with UM 115-104-3. The Miami/FSU series is the second-oldest on-going rivalry on the Hurricanes schedule behind the Florida series (1940), but UM and FSU have played the most games (222).
Game #3, Miami 7, Florida State 4 (Tallahassee) — The Hurricanes came up with three runs in the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie an clinch the three-game sweep of FSU. After loading the bases on Robby Read, FSU relieved him with Justin Lord who threw a wild pitch to score the eventual game-winning run. FSU third baseman Scott Toole then allowed a Javy Rodriguez grounder threw his glove for an error and two more runs to score. The bullpen allowed three hits, no runs or walks and two strikeouts over the final 3.0 innings.
Game #2, Miami 9, Florida State 6 (Tallahassee) — UM broke open a 6-6 game in the eighth inning with Kevin Brown’s two-run home run off reliever Daniel Hodges then added a run in the ninth off Kevin Howard’s RBI single to clinch the series victory. The game started off with a first-pitch home run from Charlton Jimerson off starter Matt Lynch. Mike DiRosa also tallied his team-best eighth home run in the fourth inning that broke open the FSU pitching with eight runs over the final six innings.
Game #1, Miami 7, Florida State 5 (Tallahassee) — After FSU jumped out to a 5-1 lead, UM came back to score six unanswered runs over the final four innings for the win in the series opener. UM scored three runs in the seventh inning to tie the game with home runs from Mike Rodriguez and Mike DiRosa (two-run shot). In the eighth, the Hurricanes pulled ahead on Danny Matienzo’s solo home run and added a run in the ninth on Charlton Jimerson’s RBI single. The bullpen allowed just three hits, no runs or walks with two strikeouts over the final 3.0 innings pitched.
Game #3, Miami 7, Florida State 1 (Coral Gables) — Tom Farmer earned the win with 5.0 innings and three singles in winning the “rubber” game and the series. The bullpen allowed two more singles over the final 4.0 innings. UM broke open the game with a four-run sixth inning that featured a three-run home run from Mike DiRosa.. The six-run margin of victory was the largest for the Hurricanes since a 7-1 UM win in 1998, 22-game span.
Game #2, Miami 5, Florida State 4 (Coral Gables) — The Hurricanes scored five runs over the first 2.0 innings and held on for a 5-4 win. After Brian Walker following 5.1 innings, the bullpen held the Seminoles to one hit, three walks and six strikeouts over the final 2.2 innings. Luke DeBold recorded a career-high five strikeouts. Danny Matienzo had his sixth home run, a two-run shot in the first. FSU recorded two errors to allow Kevin Howard to score in the third, followed by a Charlton Jimerson two-RBI double later in the inning.
Game #1, Florida State 10, Miami 9 (Coral Gables) — FSU raced out to a 7-2 lead, before UM stormed back with seven unanswered runs to take the 9-7 lead going into the sixth. FSU’s Mike Futrell hit a first-pitch two-run home run off T.J. Prunty to immediately tie the game, 9-9, in the sixth. Later in the inning, FSU’s Karl Jernigan hit a double, took third on a Prunty wild pitch and came around to score the eventual game-winning run on a throwing error by Greg Lovelady.
AN ATTENDANCE HIGH FOR UM/FSU– The 13,443 fans that attended the 2001 UM/FSU Coral Gables series were the most for a three-game series at Mark Light Stadium since 13,980 attended the UM/FSU series in 1995. The 5,643 in attendance on Saturday was the largest crowd at Mark Light Stadium since 6,136 watched UM defeat South Carolina, 14-2, in the NCAA Regionals on May 23, 1998. The crowd was also the largest vs. FSU since 6,290 came out to see the Hurricanes defeat the Seminoles, 5-4, on April 25, 1992.
In Tallahassee, a season-high crowd showed up for two consecutive nights on Friday (4,736) and Saturday (5,051). For the six games against the Seminoles, a total of 26,823 fans attended – an average of 4,471.
BULLPEN HAS SOLID SEASON VS. FSU — The UM bullpen was a significant reason in UM’s season series win over Florida State. For the six games, the bullpen had an ERA of 1.96 and allowed a run in just two of the four games. The FSU bullpen had a 4.88 ERA and were scored on in five of six games. The starters ERA was 4.94 to 6.11, in favor of Miami. Additionally, UM’s pen totaled more strikeouts than the starters (23 to 20).
MIAMI SWEEPS SAVANNAH STATE — The Hurricanes swept their series with Savannah State to mark the third three-game sweep of the season for UM and sixth overall on the year. UM is now 151-34 in first-time meetings (no service or international teams included). UM has defeated Albany and San Diego State in first-time meetings. UM snapped the Tigers 19-game win streak heading into the series.
UM totaled a season-high 16 runs and 16 RBI in game No. 3. Chris Sheffield had a one-hitter threw 4.1 innings of game No. 2 before a blister on his pitching hand forced him to leave the game. Kiki Bengochea had a career-high nine strikeouts in game No. 1, while Danny Touchet earned his first save.
UM SWEEPS SERIES WITH NORTHEASTERN — The Hurricanes swept the series with Northeastern and moved their all-time record against the Huskies to 9-0. The Sunday victory allowed Head Coach Jim Morris to earn his 1,000th career victory. George Huguet tallied saves in all three games.
SHEFFIELD TOSSES 11 STRIKEOUTS IN 2-1 WIN OVER CORNELL IN 10 — With bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, pinch-hitter Jim Burt hit a walk-off single to right field to score Javy Rodriguez from third for the game winning run. Right-hander Chris Sheffield had arguably one of the best outings by a UM starter this season, pitching a career-high 7.0 innings (108 pitches) with a team-season-best 11 strikeouts. He allowed a season-low by a starter two hits with just one earned run, with three walks. Reliever Andrew Cohn earned his first collegiate victory, retiring the final Cornell batter in the top half of the 10th.
MIAMI WINS SERIES WITH EAST CAROLINA — Miami took its series with East Carolina two games to one and now have an all-time record of 3-2 vs. the Pirates. A rain-delay and travel curfew allowed UM to win 8-4 in eight innings in game No. 3 to clinch the series. Andrew Cohn earned his first save in game No. 3, while Kevin Howard went a perfect 4-for-4. UM lost game No. 2 when ECU put it away with a four-run ninth. Game No. 1 saw the bullpen allow a 12-2 lead to evaporate into a narrow 14-13 UM win.
MIAMI SWEEPS SOUTH FLORIDA IN TAMPA — The Hurricanes took both games with South Florida in Tampa to extend its streak to seven straight over the Bulls. UM has not lost to USF since the final meeting of the 1998 season. The two wins push the all-time series to 73-25 in favor of UM, including a 15-3 mark under Jim Morris.
Game No. 2 was a slugfest with the score tied, 7-7, by the end of the second inning. Dan Smith earned his first win with a career-best 4.0 innings of relief in game No. 2. Chris Sheffield earned the win for UM in game No. 1 as he went a career-high 6.0 innings with just two earned runs. UM turned a 2-1 deficit into the 8-2 win with seven runs over the final four innings.
HALL OF FAMER TONY OLIVA VISITS HURRICANES AT METRODOME — Hall of Famer Tony Oliva, who played for the Minnesota Twins from 1962-76, visited the Hurricanes in their dugout just prior to the game vs. Minnesota. Oliva was the only player in major league history to win batting titles in his first two full seasons (1964-65). He was one of the most graceful, natural hitters of all time, but had his career cut short by a bad knee. He was an All-Star selection from 1964-71 and was the Gold Glove award winner in 1966.
HURRICANES WIN HORMEL FOODS CLASSIC TITLE WITH SWEEP — Miami claimed the 2001 Hormel Foods Baseball Classic with a three-game sweep of San Diego State, Minnesota and Arkansas at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Javy Rodriguez was named the tournament’s MVP as well as All-Tournament shortstop, while Brian Walker (SP), Kevin Howard (3B), Kevin Mannix (OF) and Mike Rodriguez (OF) were also named All-Tournament selections.
The sweep gave Miami its second University of Minnesota tournament championship in its three all-time appearances (1986, 1990, 2001). The Hurricanes also had a three-game sweep for the title during the 1990 season at the Pillsbury Baseball Classic. The 1986 advanced to the championship game of the Wheatis Tournament of Champions, but fell to Michigan. Javy Rodriguez joins Oscar Munoz (1990) as UM’s Tournament MVP’s.
Game #3 Miami 8, Arkansas 2 — UM moved to 4-0 all-time vs. Arkansas and 158-114-1 vs. the SEC with its 8-2 win. Tom Farmer earned the win with 7.0 innings pitched with both runs coming off misplayed fly balls in right field. Mike DiRosa homered for the second time during the tournament.
Game #2 Miami 10, Minnesota 1 — UM moved to 11-3 all-time vs. Minnesota and 94-40-5 vs. the Big Ten with its 10-1 win. UM is also 20-4-1 vs. the Big Ten under Jim Morris. Brian Walker won his 12th game and allowed a team-season-best three hits in 7.0 innings. Javy Rodriguez went 4-4 in the game with three RBI.
Game #1 Miami 8, San Diego State 6 — UM won the first-ever meeting with San Diego State and moved to 4-0 all-time vs. teams currently in the Mountain West Conference with its 8-6 win. Kiki Bengochea went 7.0 innings for the win with a eight strikeouts. Mike DiRosa and Kevin Brown each homered.
VAZQUEZ MAKES RETURN IN 14-0 SHUTOUT OF ALBANY– Vince Vazquez made his long-awaited return to the mound against Albany pitching the seventh inning. Vazquez, a preseason All-American entering the 2000 campaign, missed all of 2000 recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery. In his one inning against Albany, Vazquez retired all three batters faced, two by strikeout.
Miami recorded three triples in the bottom of the seventh to set a new school-record. The previous mark was two, set by one player Manny Crespo, against Illinois on March 6, 1998. Matt Dryer, Kevin Mannix and Kevin Howard each recorded their first triples the 2001 season for the new mark.
MIAMI TAKES THREE-GAME SERIES AND SEASON SERIES WITH FIU — UM took two of three games for the series victory over FIU. Additionally, Miami won three of four games played with FIU in 2001. Miami now leads the overall series with FIU, 81-18, dating back 1973. The Miami/FIU series is the third-longest on-going rivalry on the UM schedule behind Florida (1940) and Florida State (1951). UM has won 12 of the past 16 meetings with FIU, including five of the last six. Jim Morris is 20-8 vs. FIU since coming to UM in 1994.
Game #4 (Homestead), Miami 2, FIU 0 — Kiki Bengochea threw the first complete-game shutout in the Jim Morris era along with four hits, one walk and eight strikeouts. Javy Rodriguez led off the scoring by stealing home in the first inning, followed by Charlton Jimerson’s second home run in as many days in the eighth. Bengochea’s complete-game was just the fifth at Miami during the Morris tenure. The last player to record a complete-game was David Gil, twice during the 2000 season (Jacksonville and FAU). UM’s shutout was also the first on the season and first since defeating N.C. State, 12-0, in 2000.
Game #3 (Homestead), Miami 10, FIU 2 — Charlton Jimerson led off the game with a solo home run. Ten UM batters had hits, while six had multiple hits. Along with Jimerson, Danny Matienzo and Mike Rodriguez each homered. Brian Walker went a career-high 8.0 innings pitched in the game with seven hits, two earned runs, three walks and six strikeouts. Jim Morris won his 350th at UM.
Game #2 (Coral Gables), FIU 17, Miami 10 — The 17-10 victory over Miami marked the most runs scored and largest margin of victory in the all-time series for FIU. Six lead changes and a see-saw battle between UM No. 4 starter Chris Sheffield and FIU ace William Collazo paved the way for the highest combined score (27) between the two schools. Collazo, who entered the game with a 4-0 mark and a 0.67 ERA, left following 3.0 innings pitched and six earned runs (seven overall). FIU’s Tommy Duenas gave his team the lead for good with a three-run home run in the fourth to put FIU up 9-6. The eight relief pitchers used by UM tied the school record set twice during the Ron Fraser era.
Game #1 (Miami, 2/7), Miami 4, FIU 3 — UM moved to 14-10 against FIU in one-run games with a 4-3 win in front of a sell-out crowd at University Park. Kiki Bengochea, who pitched 5.1 innings, went five no-hit innings before a three-run homer moved FIU within one run. From that point, the bullpen took the final 3.2 innings with three hits, no walks and seven strikeouts.
MIAMI AT THE HOMESTEAD CHALLENGE — The 2001 season marked the Hurricanes fourth consecutive year participating in the Homestead Challenge. Miami has forged a 7-1 record since the 1998 season and have currently placed two players, Kevin Howard (2000) and Daryl Roque (1999), on All-Tournament teams. Most notable is that five of the top six paid attendance games, including the all-time high, are Miami games. The Miami/FIU game in 2000 drew a Homestead Challenge-best 3,861, while UM’s most recent two games with FIU drew the No. 2 (2,782) and No. 3 (2,317) attendance marks.
MIAMI SWEEPS ELON IN THREE-GAME SERIES — In game No. 3, Kevin Mannix broke a 4-4 tie in the fifth with a solo home run, while Kevin Brown added another (two-run shot) later in the inning. George Huguet closed the final 2.0 innings of game No. 3 for his first save. Game No. 2 saw Kevin Mannix hit an RBI single in the 12th to score Charlton Jimerson for the extra-inning victory. Mannix went 4-6 behind the plate, while Javy Rodriguez had a career-numbers in 5-6 with a triple, a grand slam, six RBI and two stolen bases. Danny Touchet finished off the final 2.0 innings of game No. 2 for his first win. Brian Walker set a new school-record in game No. 1 with three pick-offs, surpassing J.D. Arteaga’s mark of two set vs. Jacksonville on May 10, 1997. Arteaga, coincidentally, threw out the first pitch.
UM SWEEPS SERIES WITH FLORIDA FOR 12 STRAIGHT OVER THE GATORS — With wins in both games against Florida at Mark Light Stadium, Miami pulled off the season-sweep of the Gators for the first time since winning all four games in 1991, including the 14-5 win in Gainesville on February 3.
The two wins at home also extends UM’s win streak over Florida in Coral Gables to 12 straight games since the 1996 season. The earlier win in Gainesville snapped a 10-game losing streak for UM at McKethan Stadium.
Additionally, the three-game sweep of UF marks the the eighth straight overall series won by the Hurricanes dating back to 2000. A total of 9,694 fans came for the two-game series at the Light, marking a two-game high in the series since 11,342 came in 1989.
Miami brings its all-time series total to 105-80-1 vs. Florida since the 1940 season. The UF series is the longest on-going series on the Hurricanes’ schedule. Only Miami and Florida State have met more times (214), since the 1951 season. Since the 1994 season, Head Coach Jim Morris has gone 19-14 against the Gators, including a 16-2 mark in Coral Gables. Against the Southeastern Conference while at Miami, Morris is 35-25 since 1994.
Game #2 (Coral Gables), Miami 8, Florida 7 — Mike DiRosa had sat out nearly the entire game resting a bruised shoulder suffered in the Friday win over UF, and in his lone at bat in the bottom of the ninth he came up with a walk-off single to score Charlton Jimerson for the winning margin. UM fell behind, 4-0, early, but rallied behind a Mike Rodriguez two-run home run, a Danny Matienzo home run and a Kris Clute two-RBI single.
Game #1 (Coral Gables), Miami 10, Florida 4 — UM received an all-around effort in the victory with 10 runs and 13 hits from its offense, no errors and 11 Gators left on base from its defense and just one earned run off a balk from the bullpen. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the second, Kris Clute hit a three-run home run deep to left field to put UM ahead for good in the bottom of the second. Clute tied his career-best in the game with four RBI.
Game #1 (Gainesville), Miami 14, Florida 5 — UM defeated Florida on the Gators’ opening day at McKethan Stadium to end a string of 20 straight wins by the home team in the series. Miami last defeated UF in Gainesville, 10-2, on February 2, 1995. The nine-run margin of victory was the largest for UM in Gainesville since the 1985 season. The bullpen allowed just three hits and one run over the final 5.1 innings. The UM offense produced a season-best 14 hits and 14 runs. Six UM batters had multiple hits, including Kevin Mannix and Mike DiRosa, who each had three RBI.
HURRICANES START 2001 WITH SERIES WIN OVER FAU — Miami took its first series of the 2001 season by winning two of three games with Florida Atlantic. With the 2-1 mark against the Owls, Miami moves to 35-6 against FAU since the 1982 season, including wins in 17 of the last 19 meetings.
The Hurricanes never trailed in game No. 3, as starter Tom Farmer earned the victory and clinched the rubber game for the Hurricanes. Game No. 2 saw the Owls turn a 10-9 deficit in the ninth into an 11-10 victory in Boca Raton after DeBold allowed three hits, one walk and two earned runs for the loss. Six lead changes occured in the contest, including a late three-run rally by the Hurricanes to tie the game 9-9 in the eighth. In game No. 1, Miami broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth with three runs. UM then put the game out of reach in the eighth with four more runs.
MIAMI IN SEASON OPENERS — Miami holds a 36-21 overall record in season opening games. The Hurricanes defeated FAU, 9-3, in the 2001 season-opener at Mark Light Stadium on February 25. The last loss in a season-opener for the Hurricanes was January 16, 1997, a 3-2 loss at Hawaii. UM has not lost a season-opener at home since a 9-7 defeat to Florida on February 3, 1984 (14 games).
RIVALS.COM RATES TOP 100 COLLEGE PROSPECTS — Rivals.com has rated three UM players among its top 100 college prospects: #34 Kiki Bengochea, #48 Kevin Howard and #76 Brian Walker. In addition, Luke DeBold, Danny Matienzo, Marcus Nettles and Mike Rodriguez also appear on Rivals.com’s prospects list for the state of Florida.
BASEBALL AMERICA RATES TOP 100 COLLEGE PROSPECTS — Baseball America has rated three UM players among its top 100 college prospects in the next MLB draft in its latest Early Draft Preview edition: #39 Mike Rodriguez, #86 Brian Walker and #93 Marcus Nettles. In addition, Rodriguez and Nettles are listed as two of the fastest outfielders in the country.
WALKER, HOWARD EARN STREET & SMITH’S PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS — Junior ace Brian Walker and sophomore third baseman Kevin Howard were each named to Street &Smith’s 2001 preseason All-American team.
MIKE RODRIGUEZ, HOWARD EARN BASEBALL AMERICA PRESEASON THIRD-TEAM HONORS — Junior centerfielder Mike Rodriguez and sophomore third baseman Kevin Howard were each named to the Baseball America 2001 Preseaosn Third-Team All-America list, as selected by the Major League Scouting Directors. Rodriguez was last a freshman all-american two seasons ago, while Howard was arguably the highest decorated freshman player in the nation last season. Howard was the Baseball America National Freshman of the Year as well as first-team freshman All-American.
WALKER EARN NCBWA PRESEASON THIRD-TEAM HONORS — Junior ace Brian Walker was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association preseason third-team. Walker led the pitching staff in 2000 with a 12-2 record at the No. 2 position in the rotation.
WALKER, HOWARD EARN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL PRESEASON THIRD-TEAM HONORS — Junior ace Brian Walker and sophomore third baseman Kevin Howard were each named to Collegiate Baseball’s TPX Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American third-team. Howard was the Co-Freshman of the Year by Collegiate Baseball in 2000.
Collegiate Baseball – 1959-00 (42 polls)
Since Miami was ranked the first time in 1969’s final poll, the Hurricanes have been ranked 29 of 32 seasons. During that period, Florida State was ranked 28 times, while Florida was ranked 13 times.
Miami was rated in the top 10 21 times, FSU 17 times and UF four times. Miami was ranked in the top five 15 times, FSU seven times and UF one time.
Overall, Miami has been the highest rated team in the state 20 times, FSU nine times and UF one time (Jacksonville was the highest rated team on two occassions).
Baseball America – 1981-00 (20 polls)
Since 1981, Miami has been ranked in the final Baseball America poll 19 times as was FSU. UF has been ranked 11 times.
FSU has been rated in the top 10 14 times, UM 13 times and UF four times. Miami has been in the top five 11 times to FSU’s six and UF’s two.
The Hurricanes have been the highest rated team in the state nine times, FSU eight times and UF three times.
USA Today Coaches’ Poll – 1992-00 (9 polls)
Since 1992, Miami has been ranked in the Coaches’ final poll eight times, one behind FSU (9) and ahead of UF (6).
FSU has been ranked in the top 10 eight times, Miami seven, and UF twice. Miami has been ranked in the top five seven times, FSU four and UF one.
Miami has been the highest rated team in the state seven times and FSU twice.
