No. 2 Hurricanes Travel To 15th-Ranked Florida
Feb. 17, 2005
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The Hurricanes baseball team (7-0) travels to Gainesville for a three-game series with the Florida Gators and their first road trip of the 2005 season. Miami and Florida get the series started at McKethan Stadium at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18 and continue at noon the following day. The series concludes with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday, Feb. 20. Friday and Saturday’s games will be televised by the Sun Sports Network and all three games will be broadcast locally by the Student Voice of the Hurricanes, WVUM 90.5 FM.
UM has opened the season with seven straight wins for the first time since 1992 and it is the best start for head coach Jim Morris since he took over the program in 1994. Miami swept a three-game series from South Florida last weekend in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes overcame a seven-run deficit in the sixth inning in the series opener to defeat the Bulls, 11-9, on Friday, Feb. 11. The three wins stretched Miami’s home winning streak to 19, dating back to the 2004 season.
Florida lost its season opener to Charleston Southern, 5-4, in 11 innings, but came back to win its last three games. The Gators have outscored their opponents 35-10 in their three wins, including a 17-2 thumping of Florida A&M Tuesday night, Feb. 15.
Miami will throw All-America candidate Cesar Carrillo against UF junior Alan Horne to open the series. Carrillo owns a 13-0 career record and the Hurricanes are 21-0 in games when he takes the mound. Horne and projected Florida starters Tommy Boss and Bryan Ball have combined for 15 strikeouts and allowed just four earned runs in 16 innings.
Miami junior Dan Touchet and sophomore Chris Perez are scheduled to start for the `Canes on Saturday and Sunday. Touchet’s 6.30 ERA is not indicative of his performance in two starts and Perez leads the team with 13 strikeouts in only 11 innings pitched.
The top portion of the Miami batting order (Danny and Paco Figueroa, Ryan Braun and Jon Jay) are batting a combined .489 with seven home runs, 26 RBI and a .822 slugging pct.
Senior outfielder and Brooks Wallace Award candidate Jeff Corsaletti is off to a hot start for the Gators with a .615 average with three home runs and 12 RBI. Sophomore Brian Leclerc has also hit three home runs and has a whopping 2.000 slugging pct. The two combined for five home runs and 11 RBI in the win against Florida A&M.
The Miami-UF Series
The Hurricanes are 115-85-1 all-time against the Gators and have only faced Florida State more times (240) in their baseball history. The teams last squared off in the 2004 NCAA Coral Gables Super Regional on June 12 and 13. Miami won both games to advance to the 2004 College World Series. UM has taken seven of the last 10 meetings but has not played at McKethan Stadium since a 5-3 loss on Feb. 15, 2003. The home team seems to have an advantage in this series and Florida owns 55-40-1 record in Gainesville against the Hurricanes.
Weekly Notes…
Home, Sweet Home
The Hurricanes are currently riding a 19-game home-winning streak, dating back to a 13-3 win against Florida Atlantic on May 19, 2004. Miami won its last 12 home games of the 2004 season, including five wins in the NCAA playoffs. The longest home winning streak in school history is 29 games, lasting from April 25, 1980 to March 14, 1981. UM’s next home opponent is George Washington on Feb. 25-27. The Hurricanes are 9-0 all-time against GW.
21-0
An appearance by junior hurler Cesar Carrillo has meant only one thing for Miami over the last two seasons: victory. The Hurricanes are 21-0 when Carrillo pitches. He upped his career pitching record with the Hurricanes to 13-0 with a win against Florida International in the season opener on Feb.1. He picked up his first save of the season in a 7-5 win against South Florida on Saturday, Feb. 12. Carrillo is 1-0 on the season with one save and has given up only one run in nine innings with a 1.00 ERA. He is second on the team with 12 strikeouts.
Braun Back To Form
Junior preseason All-American third baseman Ryan Braun is showing no ill effects from a rib cage injury he suffered in the middle of the 2004 season that caused him to miss 18 games. Hitting in the three hole, Braun has delivered with a .476 batting average and leads the team in runs (14), home runs (four), RBI (12), total bases (23), slugging percentage (1.095) and stolen bases (six). Braun has knocked in the game-winning run in three of Miami’s seven wins this season, including a two-run home run against South Florida in the fifth inning on Sunday, Feb. 13. Braun scored three runs in the each of the first two games of the South Florida series. He hit solo home runs on consecutive at bats in a 10-1 win against High Point last Sunday, the second of which turned out to be the game-winning run. It was the first time a Hurricane had hit home runs in consecutive at-bats since Jim Burt accomplished the feat against Illinois-Chicago on March 20, 2004. In the 11th inning of a 7-6 win against High Point on Saturday, Feb. 5, Braun made a diving stop and throw at third with runners at second and third to prevent the go-ahead run from scoring.
Perez Brings His Sunday Best
Sophomore pitcher Chris Perez’s two starts this season have been the best performances of his young career and have both completed a series sweep of an opponnent. Perez set a career high with nine strikeouts in six innings against South Florida on Sunday, Feb. 13 to run his record to 2-0 on the season in a 9-4 win. The Hurricanes improved to 7-0 for their best start since the 1992 season with the win. Perez worked steadily through the Bulls’ lineup, striking out six through the first three innings. He gave up three singles and two runs in the third inning but was otherwise overpowering. All five hits Perez gave up were singles. He retired the last 10 batters he faced and has given up only three runs in 11 innings of work this season.
Perez had the strongest showing of any UM starter in the High Point series to pick up his first career win, 10-1. He leads the team with 13 strikeouts, a 2.45 ERA and only two walks.
Gil Continues Winning Ways
If pitcher Danny Gil’s performance in three appearances this season is any indicator, the undefeated hurler will not fall victim to a sophomore slump. Gil picked up right where he left off from an 8-0 freshman season and pitched two scoreless innings to get his ninth career win in a 7-6, 11-inning victory against High Point on Feb. 5. He picked up his first save of the season in a 7-5 win against South Florida on Feb. 11.
They’re Not Clones
The Figueroa’s, centerfielder Danny and his twin brother, second baseman Paco, are interchangeable in almost every way. Not only are the twins identical, but Paco follows leadoff hitter Danny in the Hurricanes’ lineup. They have put up similar numbers at the plate so far this season with Danny hitting .467 with two HRs and five RBI in four games and Paco batting .483 with a home run and five RBI in seven starts. In addition, Paco filled in flawlessly in center field for Danny when missed the High Point series with an injury. Confusing the two is common to the untrained eye, but at least their uniform numbers are different: Paco wears No. 16 and Danny wears No. 2.
Game-Winning Hits
Date Player Result (Inning)Feb. 1 vs. FIU Ryan Braun Sacrifice fly, RBI (1st)Feb. 4 vs. High Point Brendan Katin Single, 2 RBI (5th)Feb. 5 vs. High Point Paco Figueroa* Single, RBI (11th)Feb. 6 vs. High Point Ryan Braun Solo home run, RBI (4th)Feb. 11 vs. South Florida Brendan Katin Two-run home run, 2 RBI (8th)Feb. 12 vs. South Florida Roger Tomas Single, RBI (3rd)Feb. 13 vs. South Florida Ryan Braun Two-run home run, 2 RBI (5th)*indicates walk-off hit
Carrillo And Gil Named To Brooks Wallace Award Watch List
Junior pitcher Cesar Carrillo and sophomore hurler Danny Gil were named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch list by the College Baseball Foundation on Feb. 15. The award is presented annually to college baseball’s player of the year. A selection committee will narrow the current list of 65 student-athletes down to 12 on May 25, and then to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals at a press conference in Omaha on Thursday, June 16, 2005. The finalists, their head coaches, and their parents will be invited to Lubbock, Texas for a golf tournament, a welcome dinner and the award banquet. The Wallace Award is dedicated to the memory of former Texas Tech shortstop and assistant coach, Brooks Wallace. In the summer of 1984 he was diagnosed with cancer and fought the disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27.
