Baseball Takes On Duke In ACC Showdown
March 10, 2005
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The sixth-ranked Miami Hurricanes (14-4, 2-1 ACC) will face the Duke Blue Devils (6-11, 0-3 ACC) in a three-game ACC series at Mark Light Field this weekend, where the Hurricanes own a 13-2 record this season. UM and Duke begin the series with a 7 p.m. first pitch on Friday, March 11 and continue the series at 7 p.m .on Saturday, followed by a 1 p.m. tilt on Sunday.
Miami and Duke have met seven times, with the Hurricanes taking the last five contests to hold a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series. The teams have not met since April 20, 1997, a 17-1 UM win.
The Hurricanes, who currently sit in a tie for third place in the ACC, are looking to gain ground on conference leaders Georgia Tech and Wake Forest (both 3-0). Miami took two of three from N.C. State last weekend at the Light in its first-ever ACC series. UM beat Pittsburgh, 3-0, on Tuesday, March 8 and was rained out the following night against Quinnipiac.The Blue Devils are still searching for their first ACC win of the season after being swept by Georgia Tech last week.
Staff ace Cesar Carrillo will take the mound on Friday against Duke’s Greg Burke. Carrillo was named ACC Pitcher of the Week after striking out a career-high 10 batters against N.C. State in a 6-1 win last Friday, March 4. Senior Dan Touchet will face David Torcise on Saturday and Hurricane sophomore Ricky Orta will pitch on short rest against Danny Otero on Sunday. Orta pitched a career-high six inning in a four-hit shutout against Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Orta and Carrillo have been dominant in each of their last two starts. Both are 2-0 in their last two starts with Carrillo posting a 0.68 ERA in 13.1 innings and Orta a 0.82 ERA in 11.0 innings.
The Miami bats are led by a pair of ACC leaders, sophomore left fielder Jon Jay’s .536 average and junior Ryan Braun’s seven home runs and 29 RBI. Jay and Braun lead a potent attack that averages 8.2 runs per game and is hitting .338. The Hurricane pitching staff is holding opponents to .212 at the plate and averages 9.0 strikeouts per game.
Duke is led by freshman Brett Bartles’ .483 average and 15 RBIs. Sophomore catcher Eric Baumann is hitting .341 and leads the team with three home runs and a .614 batting average. Six Blue Devils have direct ties to the Miami area, including junior Javier Socorro (Miami), Ryan Sember (Boca Raton), Jonathan Anderson (Miami), Torcise (Homestead), Otero (Coral Gables) and Cody Wheeler (Coral Springs).
CARRILLO NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Last week was one of firsts for the Hurricanes baseball team. It began with the team recording its first win in 23 years against a Major League Club, continued with its’ first ACC win against North Carolina State and ended with Cesar Carrillo garnering the first ACC individual accolade in program history. Carrillo was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week on Monday for his performance against N.C. State on Friday, March 4.
Carrillo struck out a career-high 10 batters in 7.1 innings of work to lead Miami to its first-ever ACC win in the Hurricanes’ conference debut. He gave up only three hits and one run in a 6-1 win, holding the Wolfpack to a .120 batting average, .213 percentage points below their season average coming into the game. His 10 strikeouts were the most against N.C. State this season.
Carrillo moved his career record to 15-0 with the win and the Hurricanes are now 24-0 all-time when he takes the mound. He leads the Hurricanes this season with a 3-0 record, 1.61 ERA, 36 strikeouts against three walks in 28.0 innings and also has one save.
BRINGING OUT OUR SUNDAY BEST
Sunday certainly is not a day of rest for the Hurricanes. Miami is averaging nearly 12 runs (11.8) per game on Sundays, compared to 7.2 every other day of the week. The Hurricanes are 4-1 on Sunday games and are batting .423 compared to .303 other days. Leading the way at the plate is junior Ryan Braun, who is batting .550 with five of his seven home runs with 13 RBIs on the five Sundays he has played in with a 1.350 slugging percentage. Sophomore left fielder is batting .636 on Sundays, .106 higher than his season batting average of .530. The following is a comparison of Miami’s production on Sundays compared to the rest of the week:
W-L AVG. AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB SLGMon.-Sat. 9-3 .303 396 86 120 22 3 5 71 163 .412Avg. .303 33.0 7.2 10.0 1.8 .3 .4 5.9 13.6 .412Opponent Avg. .212 35.0 4.4 7.5 1.7 .3 .4 3.8 12.1 .317
Sunday 4-1 .423 182 59 77 14 2 10 55 125 .687Avg. .423 36.4 11.8 15.4 2.8 .4 2.0 11.0 25.0 .687Opponent Avg. .265 34.0 5.8 9.0 .4 0 .6 5.2 11.2 .329
24-0
Cesar Carrillo and the Hurricanes just keep winning when he steps on the mound. The Hurricanes are 24-0 when Carrillo pitches. He upped his career pitching record with the Hurricanes to 15-0 with a career performance against N.C. State last week. Carrillo pitched a season-long 7.1 innings and gave up only three hits and one run with a career-high 10 strikeouts. He picked up his first save of the season in a 7-5 win against South Florida on Saturday, Feb. 12. Although he did not earn a decision at Florida on Feb. 18, the team still won, 9-7. Carrillo is 3-0 this season with a 1.61 ERA, team-best 36 strikeouts and only three walks in 28.0 innings.
1-2 PUNCH IN THE 3-4
Sophomore left fielder Jon Jay and junior third baseman Ryan Braun have formed a formidable and interchangeable offensive charge hitting in the 3 and 4 spot for the Hurricanes this season. Jay has batted in the cleanup spot 14 times, while Braun has been no. 4 in the order three times. There is no Robin in this dynamic duo: Both are Batman. Jay is hitting .536 with a team-best seven doubles and is second on the team with 21 RBIs. Braun is second on the team with a .457 average and six doubles and leads the team with 29 runs, seven home runs, 28 RBIs and a .843 slugging percentage. In 15 of the team’s 18 games, both Jay and Braun have had hits. Braun’s 16-game hitting streak ended against Pittsburgh on March 8, while Jay has hit safely in 15 straight games and 32 of the last 33 games.
JAY JOINS HURRICANE ELITE
Jon Jay’s fifth at-bat against N.C. State on March 6 was the 300th of his career at Miami and qualified him for placement among the school’s all-time hit leaders with 300-plus career at-bats. Jay debuted at No. 2 among Hurricane greats with a .403 average (121-of-300), second only to Pat Burrell (1996-98). Jay was carrying a .406 career average heading into the Duke series. The following is a look at who Jay has etched his name next to in the Miami record books:
Miami All-Time Leading Batting Average (300+ AB)1. .442 Pat Burrell (1996-98)2. .406 Jon Jay (2004-current)3. .400 Aubrey Huff (1997-98)4. .396 Jason Michaels (1997-98)5. .373 Orlando Gonzalez (1973-74)
OLD RELIABLE
In his relatively short career at Miami sophomore left fielder Jon Jay has become somewhat of “a given” to teammates, fans and coaches. The expectation of Jay putting the bat on the ball came about during a stellar 2004 postseason that culminated with freshman All-America honors, and has continued into 2005. Jay leads the team with a .536 average at the plate and a team-best six doubles. A 17-game hitting streak that carried into 2005 from 2004 ended against High Point on Feb. 5. Since then, Jay has hit safely in 15 straight games, and has recorded a hit in 32 of the last 33 games, dating back to May 19 of 2004. Jay has hit safely in 17-of-18 games in 2005 including 13 multi-hit games.
TALENT TRANSFERRABLE
The Hurricanes knew they were getting a talented player when Danny Valencia transferred to Miami after a stellar freshman season at UNC-Greensboro. The sophomore first baseman hit .338 and led the team with eight home runs, 16 doubles and 117 total bases on his way to earning Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and second-team all-conference honors. But Valencia’s smooth transition and performance thus far has been better than anticipated. Through 13 games, Valencia is on pace to better the numbers he put up for the Spartans in 2004. He is batting .408 with three doubles, a home run and 16 RBI. Last Sunday he had arguably the best game of his career, going 4-4 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs.
Below is a comparison of Valencia's freshman and sophomore season: Year Avg. GP-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB Slg. 2004 .338 55-54 222 39 75 16 1 8 36 117 .527 2005 .377 14-14 53 12 20 3 0 1 16 26 .491
THE FIGUEROAS, SIDE-BY-SIDE
Danny and Paco Figueroa have played virutally their entire baseball careers together. They are identical twins and the untrained eye wouldn’t be at fault if it confused the two. Danny hits in the leadoff spot and is followed Paco. While Paco is a second baseman, he has been playing in right field, next to Danny in center, and even filled in when Danny was hampered by an early-season injury. Their statistics are even similar: Danny is batting .345 with two home runs and eight RBIs, while Paco is hitting .348 with one home run and eight RBIs. Thankfully, the rules of baseball require them to wear different numbers. Paco wears No. 16, Danny wears No. 2.
4-FOR-4
Miami’s 16-3 win against George Washington Sunday, Feb. 26, produced 2005 team highs in runs, hits and home runs. The offensive effortwas headed by the quartet of Jon Jay, Ryan Braun, Danny Valencia and Walter Diaz. Each had four-hit games and accounted for 10 runs, 13 RBIs and batted a collective .889. Braun, Valencia and Diaz all hit home runs in the game. Below is a look at what the four did in UM’s most productive offensive onslaught of 2005:
vs. George Washington - 2/27/05 Player AB R H 2B HR RBI Jay 4 3 4 1 0 3 Braun 5 3 4 1 1 4 Valencia 4 2 4 2 1 5 Diaz 5 2 4 1 1 1 18 10 16 5 3 13
ESPY?
Maybe not. But college baseball highlights rarely make prime-time cable, save for great plays in Omaha in late June. Senior Brendan Katin’s fifth-inning catch against the Florida Marlins on March 1 was the exception. Katin’s leaping snare of Jason Stokes’ two-out shot over the right-field fence preserved a 9-1 lead and prevented a two-run home run. The catch debuted at No. 4 on ESPN’s Top 10 Plays of March 1 and proved to be the difference in Miami’s 9-7 win. Two other highlights just missed the cut: Katin highlight hit a second-inning inside-the-park home run off Dontrelle Willis and junior Andrew Lane struck out MLB All-Star Carlos Delgado on three straight pitches.
GAME-WINNING HITS *indicates walk-off hit
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. USF Brendan Katin Two-run home run, 2 RBI (8th)Feb. 12 vs. USF Roger Tomas Single, RBI (3rd)Feb. 13 vs. USF Ryan Braun Two-run home run, 2 RBI (5th)Feb. 18 at Florida Danny Valencia RBI bunt (9th)Feb. 25 vs. GW Walter Diaz RBI walk (2nd)Feb. 27 vs. GW Jon Jay Single, RBI (3rd)March 2 vs. NortheasternRyan Braun Double, 2 RBI (1st)March 4 vs. N.C. State Paco Figueroa Reached on error, run scored (2nd)March 6 vs. N.C. State Jon Jay Single, 2 RBI (4th)March 8 vs. Pittsburgh Danny Valencia Double, 2 RBI (1st)
