Baseball Team Heads To Wake Forest For First ACC Road Series
March 17, 2005
The sixth-ranked Miami Hurricanes (18-4, 5-1 ACC) travels to Winston-Salem, N.C. for their first-ever ACC road series against Wake Forest (9-10, 3-3 ACC) this weekend. UM and Wake Forest begin the series at 3 p.m. Friday, March 18 at Gene Hooks Stadium and continue with a 1:30 p.m. tilt on Saturday, followed by the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Miami is coming off a 12-game stretch at home in which it finished 10-2. Nineteen of the Hurricanes’ 22 games this season have been played within the friendly confines of Mark Light Field. The Hurricanes went 1-2 in their only other road series of the year at Florida, Feb. 18-20.
The Hurricanes’ projected starting rotation of ace Cesar Carrillo, senior Dan Touchet and sophomore Ricky Orta have been dominant in their last four starts. The trio of right-handers threw a combined 24.2 innings, gave up 17 hits, no earned runs and had 20 strikeouts in four wins last week.
Miami’s hitters have been equally impressive during the team’s current six-game winning streak. Led by third baseman Ryan Braun, left fielder Jon Jay and first baseman Danny Valencia, the Hurricanes have provided 61 runs of offensive support and are hitting .358 during the six-game stretch.
Wake Forest is 8-2 at Gene Hooks Stadium this season and have had no problems putting runs on the scoreboard. Senior catcher J.B. Tucker has provided the Demon Deacons with with seven doubles, four home runs and 24 RBIs. Designated hitter Brendan Enick leads the team with a .585 slugging percentage and a .434 average at the plate.
The Miami-Wake Forest Series
The Hurricanes hold a 7-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Demon Deacons. UM and Wake last played in the 2000 season in Orlando, with Miami coming out on top, 6-3. This weekend’s games will be the first Miami has played in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest edged Miami, 5-4, at Chapel Hill, N.C. in 1993 for its only win in the series.
Wednesday Night…
Miami 13, Rutgers 2 – March 16, 2005 – Brandon Camardese pitched five scoreless innings and 11 Hurricanes collected hits in a 13-2 win against Rutgers at Mark Light Field. Sophomore first baseman Danny Valencia led the 17-hit Miami attack, going 4-5 with two doubles and three RBIs. Left fielder Jon Jay scored three runs and batted in another three, and senior Brendan Katin hit his third home run of the season.
Last Week…
Miami 3, Pittsburgh 0 – March 8, 2005 – Sophomore Ricky Orta pitched six scoreless innings of two-hit ball to lead Miami to its first shutout since the season opener. Sophomore first baseman Danny Valencia played a part in all three Hurricane runs and finished the night with two doubles in three at-bats. The UM defense turned five double plays in the game.
Miami 14, Duke 3 – March 11, 2005 – Nine different Hurricanes crossed the plate and Miami starter Cesar Carrillo moved his record to 4-0, giving up seven hits, one unearned run and striking out seven in six innings of work. Jon Jay went 2 for 3, with two RBIs and three runs and Danny Figueroa hit a home run, double and had two RBIs to lead Miami. Nine different Hurricanes had at least one RBI, including two apiece from Jay and Brendan Katin.
Miami 12, Duke 1 – March 12, 2005 – Miami used a seven-run fifth inning to pull away from the Blue Devils. Eight of Miami’s 13 hits went for extra bases, including a pair of doubles from third basemen Ryan Braun. Jon Jay went 2 for 4 with a triple and three RBIs and Paco Figueroa scored two runs and drove in another two to lead the Hurricanes. Ten of UM’s 12 runs came with two outs. UM starter Dan Touchet gave up five hits, one unearned run, walked two and struck out three to move his record to 2-1 this season. The Hurricanes scored seven runs with two outs in the fifth, two of which came on a passed ball and wild pitch.
Miami 6, Duke 1 – March 13, 2005 – Ricky Orta picked up his second victory in five days and pitched six and two-thirds innings of scoreless ball. The Hurricanes completed their first-ever sweep of an ACC opponent with the win. Orta struck out a career-high seven batters and gave up only three hits to move his record to 4-1 this season. Sophomore shortstop Roger Tomas, who missed the first two games of the Duke series with illness, went 3-4 with a double, two singles and three RBIs.
THIS AND THAT FROM LAST WEEK
Left fielder Jon Jay went 0-4 on Sunday to stop his hitting streak at 17 games… The Hurricanes improved to 8-2 all-time against Duke and have won their last eight meetings with the Blue Devils… Ryan Braun’s first-inning RBI on Saturday was the 150th of his career… Freshman Walter Diaz became the first Hurricane to have two hits in an inning (fifth, March 12 vs. Duke) since Adam Ricks had two in the seventh inning against Florida Atlantic on May 8, 2004…UM’s six doubles against Duke on March 12 were a season high and the most hit since the Hurricanes had seven doubles against Florida Atlantic on May 19, 2004… Braun tied a UM record with three stolen bases in the fourth inning of Friday’s win against Duke, marking the first time a Hurricane had accomplished the feat since Javy Rodriguez stole three in the second inning against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 22, 2002.
25-0
Cesar Carrillo and the Hurricanes just keep winning when he steps on the mound. The Hurricanes are 25-0 when Carrillo pitches. Carrillo’s latest conquest was a six-inning scoreless performance against Duke on March 11 that upped his season record to 4-0 and his career record to 16-0. He leads all Hurricane starting pitchers with a 1.32 ERA, 43 strikeouts and has yielded 23 hits and five walks in 43.0 innings. The Hurricanes have outscored their opponents 55-17 when Carrillo takes the mound this season and opponents are hitting .167 against the right-hander this season.
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 16 times, while Braun has been no. 4 in the order five times. Jay leads the team in hitting (.512) and on-base percentage (.576), is tied for second with Braun with eight doubles, and is second on the team with 29 RBIs. Braun is second on the team with a .457 average, eight doubles and leads the team with 35 runs, seven home runs, 32 RBIs and a .815 slugging percentage. In 18 of the team’s 22 games, both Jay and Braun have had hits. Braun’s 16-game hitting streak ended against Pittsburgh on March 8, while Jay’s streak of 17 straight games was stopped last Sunday against Duke.
BRAUN HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Junior Ryan Braun leads the Hurricanes in nearly every offensive category this season and can hit for average, hit for power and is always a threat to steal on the base paths. A rib cage injury that sidelined him for 18 games in the middle of the 2004 season hasn’t slowed him down this year and it seems that he is making up for lost time. Braun is on his way to a career year, batting .457 and leading the team with 35 runs, seven home runs, 32 RBIs, 66 total bases, an .815 slugging pct. and six sacrifice flies. He is tied for second on the team with eight doubles and is tied with Paco Figueroa with 12 stolen bases.
CAN IT ALL BE SO SIMPLE?
In his relatively short career at Miami, sophomore left fielder Jon Jay has become somewhat of “a given” to teammates, fans and coaches. His unassuming nature make him perhaps the most unnoticeable .500 hitter in the country. But the quiet kid in left field with the simple name always seems to put the bat on the ball and is hitting better than any Hurricane in history this season. Jay leads the team with a .512 average and it seems that he is going to give Miami’s single-season batting average leader, Pat Burrell (.484 in 1998), a run for his money.
It would be easier to count the games Jay has not had a hit in this year rather than count the games he has had a hit in (two). He has made hitting above .500 look easy and has done so in a relatively quiet manner, without home runs. A 17-game hitting streak that carried into 2005 from 2004 ended against High Point on Feb. 5. Jay got right back on the horse and put together another 17-game hitting streak that ended last Sunday against Duke. He is the only player in the 60-plus years of the Miami program to put together two hitting streaks of at least 17 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 is now carrying a .406 career average heading into the Wake Forest 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)
TALENT TRANSFERRABLE
The Hurricanes knew they were getting a talented player when Danny Valencia transferred to Miami after a stellar freshman season a 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 22 games, Valencia’s numbers at the plate compare favorably to the impressive freshman season he had at Greensboro. He is batting .376 with nine doubles, a home run and 26RBIs. Valencia played a part in all three Miami runs in a 3-0 win against Pittsburgh on March 8 with two RBIs and a run scored. He had arguably the best game of his career against George Washington on Feb. 27, going 4-4 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs. He had his second four-hit game of the season against Rutgers Wednesday,going 4-5 with two doubles and three RBIs in a 13-2 win.
Below is a comparison of Valencia’s freshman and sophomore seasons:
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 .376 22-22 85 18 32 9 1 1 26 46 .541
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 .358 with three home runs and 12 RBIs, while Paco is hitting .337 with one home run and 13 RBIs. Thankfully, the rules of baseball require them to wear different numbers. Paco wears No. 16, Danny wears No. 2.
STRAIGHT OUT OF THE PEN
Miami is on pace to have more than 175 relief appearances this year and has a bevy of pitchers to choose from its bullpen. Twenty-three of those appearances have come from situational set up men Vince Bongiovanni and Andrew Lane. Both have been stellar, despite typically inheriting runners when they enter the game. A starter his first three years, Bongiovanni has adjusted well to life out of the pen. He has pitched 12.2 innings without giving up an earned run. Lane, a crafty junior left-hander, has been the Hurricanes’ most frequently-used option out of the bullpen, pitching in 14 games (63.6 pct.) this season and yielding only three earned runs in 15.2 innings. Lane, who has already pitched in the more gamesthan he did last year, picked up his first win of the season against N.C. State on March 6. Below is a look at Lane and Bongiovanni’s numbers:
ERA W-L APP IP R ER SO BBBongiovanni 0.00 0-0 9 12.2 1 0 13 7Lane 1.78 1-0 14 15.2 6 3 14 2
CARRILLO NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Miami ace Cesar Carrillo was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week on Monday, March 7, for his performance against N.C. State on March 4. It was the first in-season ACC honor bestowed upon a Hurricane in the program’s inaugural season in the conference. 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.
