President Shalala to Throw Out First Pitch Against the Marlins
Feb. 25, 2003
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami baseball team will take a quick break from regular-season action and venture to Jupiter, Fla., for an exhibition game with the National League’s Florida Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 3:05 p.m.
UM President Dr. Donna E. Shalala is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Wednesday’s game that features the nationally-ranked Miami Hurricanes and the Florida Marlins. It will be the seventh meeting between the two clubs dating back to 1995. In their last meeting, the Hurricanes and Marlins tied 5-5 on March 6, 2002, in a rain-shortened contest at Mark Light Field. The Marlins hold a 5-0-1 edge in the series.
The game can be heard on the student voice of the Hurricanes, WVUM 90.5 FM. For more information on Hurricane athletics check out www.hurricanesports.com, UM’s official athletics web site.
Miami enters the game with a 7-2 record after a weekend sweep of Tony Gwynn’s San Diego State Aztecs. The wins pushed the Hurricanes into Baseball America’s Top 25 at No. 23, while the Canes moved up to No. 13 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll and remained 13th in Collegiate Baseball’s national rankings.
UM will send sophomore right-hander Ryan Dixon to the mound against the Marlins. Dixon has made one start this season, going 2.2 innings against Campbell on Feb. 8. He is coming off of a freshman campaign where he pitched 18.2 innings out of the bullpen with a 3.86 ERA. The Marlins will counter with left-hander Dontrelle Willis, a 21-year-old prospect from Oakland, Calif. Willis was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2002 by Sports Weekly after posting a 12-2 record with a 1.83 ERA in 24 appearances.
The Marlins’ starters are expected to play at least one inning, or one at-bat. It will be the first action of the spring for Florida, which will open its spring training schedule on Thursday, Feb. 27 against the Baltimore Orioles.
Miami will return to its regular-season schedule on Friday, Feb. 28, as the Citadel visits Mark Light Stadium for the first of a three-series starting at 7 p.m. Game two on Saturday is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first pitch with Sunday’s series finale beginning at 1 p.m. Friday night’s game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net Florida on a tape-delayed basis at 8 p.m. WVUM will broadcast all three games over the weekend with WQAM 560 AM carrying Friday night’s game and WMNA 1210 AM broadcasting Saturday’s game.
