Hurricanes Head To Duke For First ACC Road Series
March 16, 2006
Miami will take its 12-game winning streak to Durham, N.C. for its first Atlantic Coast Conference road series of the season against Duke. The 19th-ranked Hurricanes (18-6, 3-0 ACC) and Blue Devils (8-13, 1-2 ACC) begin the series at 7 p.m. Friday at Jack Coombs Stadium and continue with games at 7 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Doug Kroll will call the action for all three games on The Student Voice of UM, WVUM 90.5 FM.
The Hurricanes sit atop the ACC’s Coastal Division after sweeping Virginia Tech last week and are heading out on the road for the first time since a three-game series at UCLA in the second week of February.
UM and Duke have met 10 times previously, with the Hurricanes winning eight of those games, including a three-game sweep in Coral Gables last year. This weekend’s series will mark the first time the teams have played in Durham.
Miami has overcome a 6-6 start to the season by winning its last 12 games with a combination of solid pitching and the continual improvement of its young lineup. The Hurricanes are hitting .330 during the streak, while the pitching staff has held opponents to a .179 average at the plate and own a 1.67 ERA in that span.
Carlos Gutierrez (5-1, 1.99 ERA) will get the starting nod Friday’s game and is tied for the ACC lead in wins. Miami’s Saturday starter, lefty Manny Miguelez (3-1, 2.09 ERA) has won his last two starts and Sunday starter Scott Maine (3-0, 3.93 ERA) has won his last three decisions.
UM’s starters are backed by a stingy bullpen that hasn’t given up a lead after the sixth, seventh or eighth innings this season. Setup men Danny Gil, Jon McLean and Andrew Lane pave the way for closer Chris Perez, who is among the ACC’s leaders with four saves.
The Miami offense has been hot, putting double digits on the scoreboard in four of its last five games. Catcher Eddy Rodriguez played a major role in that production last week, hitting .583 against Virginia Tech to earn his second career ACC Player of the Week honor.
Danny Valencia leads the team with a .400 average and freshman Yonder Alonso is on pace to set a new freshman record for RBI in a season with 34 through the first 24 games of the season.
