Play Ball!
Jan. 27, 2006
The University of Miami baseball team begins its 61st season of play against Miami-Dade County rival Florida International University at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Mark Light Field. The game is the first of a home-and-home series that concludes with a 1 p.m. first pitch at University Park in Miami on Sunday, Jan. 29.
Fans for Saturday’s game can park on campus and can enter the game at the ticket gate on San Amaro Drive. UM and FIU are hardly strangers on and off the field. This weekend’s games will be the 110th and 111th meetings between the two schools and many of the student-athletes on both teams grew up playing baseball with and against one another in South Florida. Miami won both games last year, a 7-0 win in the season opener, and an 11-3 win at University Park last March 23.
UM sophomore Carlos Gutierrez will start the opener for Miami against 6-6 side-winding junior Walker Whitley. Gutierrez made huge strides in his game after a freshman season that saw him compile an 8.10 ERA and 12 strikeouts. The righty has shown great movement with control on his pitches in the preseason, earning the confidence of his teammates and the UM coaching staff.
Sophomore lefty Manny Miguelez will start for the Hurricanes on Sunday against another southpaw, FIU’s Chris Siebenaler. Miguelez had his moments on a veteran-dominated staff in 2005, going 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA. Like Gutierrez, Miguelez has shown great improvement from his freshman to sophomore season.
Adding to the excitement and buildup that normally comes with the start of any season are the renovations being made at Mark Light Field and the debut of one of head coach Jim Morris’ youngest teams in his 13 seasons at Miami.
Mark Light Field’s transition to Alex Rodriguez Park began in October with reenforcement of the grandstand and the addition of premium seating. New dugouts have been crafted and the backstop has been moved up to enhance the game experience for those in attendance. While there has been some delay in erecting Miami’s new light system, due to code changes following hurricanes Wilma and Katrina, “The Light” is ready to play ball.
Just like the stadium, UM has seen its share of new additions this season. Fifteen newcomers grace the Hurricanes’ roster, five of whom will be making their first career start at UM. While the starting lineup is filled with eager freshmen, it is veteran catcher Eddy Rodriguez who will lead the team on the diamond from the catcher position. Rodriguez is looking to build on a solid sophomore season in which he hit .320 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs. The highly-touted junior, known primarily for his defense, is a career .500 hitter against FIU, including a three-run home run last year at University Park.
One of Rodriguez’s high school teammates from Coral Gables High will be making his collegiate debut 90 feet down the line at first base. Yonder Alonso, a 15th-round selection of the Minnesota Twins in the 2005 MLB Draft, is expected to perform early on and provide the same type of offensive support that earned him two all-state and three all-Dade selections in high school. Alonso is a lefty who can hit for power and average to all parts of the field and should be one of Miami’s most dangerous hitters.
He is joined in the Hurricane infield by another stellar freshman, second baseman Jemile Weeks. Weeks, an eighth-round selection of the Milwaukee Brewers, turned down a chance to play in the same organization as his brother, Brewers’ shortstop Ricki Weeks, in favor of Miami. A switch-hitter, Weeks is as fast and fluid on the base paths as he is in the field and is expected to be an impact player, beginning with the very first pitch he sees on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Roger Tomas will get the starting nod at shortstop, where he made 48 starts in 2005 and has 88 career starts. Tomas, who batted left-handed in 2005, has gone back to hitting from both sides of the plate. He has drawn praise from coaches for his work ethic and attitude and is entering the `06 season with extra incentive at the plate. His .268 average in 2005 was more than .070 lower than his average as a freshman, but was hardly indicative of his ability to hit the ball. Tomas had the fewest strikeouts of any starter with 22 in 198 at-bats in 2005.
Danny Valencia will start at third base after spending the 2005 season as the Hurricanes’ steady at first base. Valencia is one of Miami’s most productive players returning. The junior hit .300 and knocked in 63 runs last year in his first season as Hurricane after transferring from UNC-G reensboro. Although the position change may seem drastic, Morris is confident in Valencia’s abilities and considers him to have the best arm of any infielder in the ACC.
The Hurricane outfield will feature three different players at each position from last year. While junior Jon Jay started nearly every game in left field, he will shift over and play as UM’s centerfielder. Jay spent last summer on the USA National Team with reliever Chris Perez after a stellar sophomore campaign in which he earned First Team All-ACC honors with a .408 average and 86 hits. He is a preseason second team All-American and is on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List.
Jay will be flanked on either side by two newcomers. Freshman Blake Tekotte will be starting in left field and junior college transfer Tommy Giles will be in right field. Tekotte has already shown great promise in the preseason, playing with the athleticism that made him a standout quarterback and punter at Hickman High School in Missouri. Giles has deceptive power in his 6-0, 190-pound frame. The senior from Vero Beach has taken the pass less traveled to Coral Gables, playing two seasons at Central Florida Community College after a stint in flight school that was preceded by him getting cut from the Indian River Community College team as a freshman.
Perhaps Miami’s most diverse player, freshman Dennis Raben can pitch, play in the outfield and play in the infield. He is expected to start the season as the designated hitter, but has pitched well enough to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. Raben was the Sun-Sentinel 6A Player of the Year as a senior at St. Thomas Aquinas.
