Hurricanes Take On #17 Virginia At The Light This Weekend
April 20, 2006
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Miami, ranked No. 19 in the latest coaches’ poll, returns to the friendly confines of Mark Light Field Friday at 7 p.m. to begin a crucial Atlantic Coast Conference series against No. 17 Virginia. Miami continues its fourth series in a row against a ranked opponent with a 7 p.m. start on Saturday and concludes the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
All three games will be broadcast live by the Student Voice of UM, WVUM 90.5 FM. UM’s flagship station, WQAM, will broadcast all three games on its sister station, WKAT 1360 AM, with Joe Zagacki calling the play-by-play and Brian London providing color analysis. Friday and Saturday’s game can be heard in Spanish on WWFE 670 AM. Sunday’s series finale will be televised live on Comcast Sports Southeast with Frank Forte and former Hurricane Wicho Hernandez calling all the action.
Miami (26-13 overall, 11-7 ACC) and Virginia (32-9, 11-7) are knotted in second place in the ACC’s Coastal Division and are separated by only two spots in the national polls. Both teams are coming off solid weekends and have built momentum heading into the series. The Hurricanes swiped a series from then second-ranked Florida State in Tallahassee, becoming the first team to do so in nearly two years. The Cavaliers have won seven straight and haven’t given up an earned run in 20 innings, a stretch that was highlighted by the team’s first no-hitter in 40 years against Boston College last Sunday.
UM leads the all-time series, 9-4, including a 5-2 record in Coral Gables. All three games between the two teams last year were decided by one run. Miami took the first two games of the series, 7-6 and 1-0, before dropping the series finale, 4-3. Although it played well in all three games, the series-ending loss began a late-season tailspin for Miami that developed into a six-game losing streak.
Several Hurricanes stepped up in crucial situations last week. Danny Valencia (.331, 27 RBI) hit a game-changing grand slam to erase a Florida State lead and ultimately clinch a series-opening victory last Friday. Freshman Blake Tekotte (.279, 4 HR) snapped a 7-for-51 slump by crushing two home runs in the series-clinching win on Sunday against the ‘Noles. Sunday starter Scott Maine (6-2, 4.66 ERA) survived a rough first inning and went on to pitch his best game of the season to beat FSU and Chris Perez (1.68 ERA) overcame illness to seal the win with his eighth save of the season.
Similar performances will be needed against one of the best all-around teams in the ACC and the country. UVA is the only team to have three players ranked among the conference’s top 10 pitchers and batters. In addition, the Cavaliers entered the week with the second-best team ERA in the country at 2.51, which dropped to 2.45 following a 5-0 win against VMI on Tuesday, and are ranked 10th in the NCAA, hitting .331 as a team.
Virginia’s starting rotation is led by one of the best all-around players in the country, lefty Sean Doolittle, who doubles as the Cavs starting first baseman. Doolittle is averaging 10.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings with a 2.15 ERA and is hitting .300 at the plate. The ACC’s leading hitter, right-fielder Brandon Marsh, sports a .422 average and is surrounded by seven Cavalier regulars who are hitting .300 or better.
Sophomore right-hander Carlos Gutierrez (8-3, 2.99 ERA), who was stellar in last Friday’s win at FSU, will take the hill against Doolittle (6-1) on Friday. Gutierrez is tied for second in the conference and fourth nationally in wins. Lefty Manny Miguelez (5-3, 3.19 ERA) will get the nod for Miami on Saturday against Virginia freshman sensation Jacob Thompson (7-1, 2.57 ERA). Maine (6-3, 4.66 ERA) is coming off a career-high eight strikeouts against the Seminoles and will duel with Mike Ballard (6-2, 2.30 ERA), who threw Virginia’s first no-hitter since 1966 against Boston College last Sunday.
