South Florida Visits Mark Light Field for a Two-Game Series
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March 10, 2003
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The University of Miami baseball team returns to the friendly confines of Mark Light Field on Tuesday, March 11, for the first game of a 10-game homestand against South Florida. The two teams will meet again on Wednesday, March 12, at 5 p.m. to conclude the series.
Sophomore Ryan Dixon will start for the Hurricanes, while David Austen will take the mound for the Bulls. Dixon has made one start for UM this season, lasting 2.2 innings and giving up six hits and four runs against Campbel on Feb. 7. Austen is USF’s ace and is 4-0 on the season with a 2.73 ERA.
Tuesday’s game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net Florida. Frank Forte and Luis Hernandez will make the call.
UM is coming off a sweep of then-No. 23 Tennessee in Knoxville. The Canes won the opener 5-2 and came from behind in games two and three, notching 8-4 and 10-4 wins. Miami has now won five straight games and moved up to No. 13 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, No. 14 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches poll and No. 17 in the Baseball America poll.
South Florida is 11-4 on the season and ranked 29th by Collegiate Baseball. USF is off to its best start since 1997 when they also opened the season with an 11-4 mark. The Bulls also opened the 1996 season with a 22-4 record. USF swept a three-game series from Siena over the weekend and carries a four-game winning streak into the two-game series with the Hurricanes. The Bulls are 2-2 away from home, including a 1-1 mark on an opponent’s home field.
South Florida is hitting .354 as a team, including a .343 mark away from home, while the USF pitching staff sports a 4.59 ERA. Comparatively, Miami is batting .311 as a team with a team ERA of 3.27.
The Bulls have nine regulars hitting .300 or better, including four with averages over .400. Senior center fielder Mike Cunningham leads USF with a .445 (25-of-46). Ronnie Handley is hitting .444 from his spot a first base, while catcher/designated hitter Devin Ivany is hitting .426. Left-fielder Travis Brown rounds out the group that is batting .400 with a .417 average.
UM is led by freshman Ryan Braun with a .407 batting average. He is also tied for the team lead with four home runs along with Jim Burt, who is hitting .389. Another freshman Gaby Sanchez ranks third on the team in hitting with a .377 average and a team-high 17 RBI.
Miami leads the all-time series 74-29, but lost both meetings with the Bulls last season. The Hurricanes had won seven straight in the series before last season. Miami Head Coach Jim Morris is 14-4 against South Florida during his tenure at UM. This will be the ninth consecutive year the two schools have faced each other, dating back to 1995.
