Hurricanes Host No. 8 Florida State Friday Through Sunday

April 12, 2002

The University of Miami baseball team (18-15) host eighth-ranked FloridaState (31-11) for a three-game series beginning this Friday night at MarkLight Stadium. The three games with the Seminoles are scheduled for 7 p.m.on Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. Celebrity first pitches,outrageous promotions and collegiate baseball at its best will highlightthis weekend’s festivities.

Former Hurricanes wide receiver Lamar Thomas will throw out tonight’sceremonial first pitch. The First National Bank of South Miami Dash for Cashand Fuddrucker’s One Pound Hamburger Eating Contest will also take placeduring the first 4 innings.

University of Miami President Donna Shalala will throw out the ceremonialfirst pitch during Saturday night’s game vs. the Seminoles. In addition, onelucky fan will have the chance to hit a home run for $100,0000, during theOleoMed $100,000 Homerun Challenge.

St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk will be on hand to throw out theceremonial first pitch Sunday afternoon, the final game of the 3 gameseries. Faulk, a 5 time Pro Bowl running back & NFL Most Valuable Player,helped guide the St. Louis Rams to their first ever Super Bowl victory in2000. During that season, he earned both NFL Most Valuable Player andOffensive Player of the Year honors in remarkable season that saw him setthe NFL record for touchdowns in a season (26), become the only player inNFL history to score four touchdowns in game three times in one season, andjoin Jim Brown to become only the second player in league history to gain atleast 2,000 yards in three consecutive seasons…all this despite missingtwo games with a knee injury.

On the mound for the Hurricanes Friday night will be Sophomore RHP T.J. Prunty (4-2, 5.76 ERA). Sophomore RHP Dan Touchet (3-1, 3.92 ERA) will pitch Saturday night. Junior RHP Kiki Bengochea (2-4, 6.18 ERA) will get the start on Sunday.