No. 2 UM Looks to Extend Winning Streak at Duke
March 27, 2008
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Game 22
Friday: <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Miami at Duke
Mar. 28, 7 p.m. (Jack Coombs Field)
Radio: WVUM (90.5 FM)
Probable Starting Pitchers:
UM: 27 Chris Hernandez, LHP (4-0, 1.11 ERA)
DUKE: 8 Andrew Wolcott, RHP (2-1, 2.54 ERA)
Game 23
Saturday: Miami at Duke
Mar. 29, 2 p.m. (Jack Coombs Field)
Radio: WVUM (90.5 FM)
Probable Starting Pitchers:
UM: 31 Enrique Garcia, RHP (0-0, 7.53 ERA)
DUKE: 45 Will Currier, RHP (2-3, 4.50 ERA)
Game 24
Sunday: Miami at Duke
Mar. 30, 1 p.m. (Jack Coombs Field)
Radio: WVUM (90.5 FM)
Probable Starting Pitchers:
UM: TBA
DUKE: 35 Grant Monroe, RHP (4-1, 3.46 ERA)
HURRICANES LOOK TO EXTEND STREAK AT DUKE
No. 2 Miami (19-2, 7-1 ACC) looks to extend its six-game winning streak when the Hurricanes travel to Durham, N.C. for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series against the Duke Blue Devils (21-5, 4-5 ACC). Game times are 7 p.m., 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All three games will be carried on the radio by the Student Voice of UM, WVUM (90.5 FM), which can also be picked up online at www.wvum.org.
ABOUT THE MIAMI HURRICANES
Miami (19-2, 7-1 ACC) looks for win No. 20 on the season when UM makes just its second road trip of the season. Miami is in the midst of a six-game winning streak. The Hurricanes are 2-1 on the road after winning an Atlantic Coast Conference series at NC State a few weeks ago. This weekend’s trip to Duke is the first Coastal Division series the Hurricanes are playing. The Hurricanes took a mid-week series from Bethune-Cookman earlier this week. UM outscored WakeForest, 40-6 in two games and hit 10 home runs to win last weekend’s ACC series. Miami has now won 14 of its last 15 games. UM set a school record with its sixth straight game in which it had scored 10 or more runs in the 10-5 win over Bethune-Cookman. Junior centerfielder Blake Tekotte has been one of the hot bats during the six-game winning streak. He is hitting .588 (10-for-17) during the streak including 10 runs scored, five RBI and six stolen bases. Junior second baseman Jemile Weeks had a good series against the Demon Deacons. He hit .444 (4-for-9), scored three runs, homered twice and drove in six RBI. In ACC play, Weeks is hitting .500 (17-for-34) with three doubles, two triples, four home runs and a team-high 14 RBI. He’s slugging 1.059. The Hurricanes are now hitting .341 as a team while the pitching staff has compiled a 3.51 team ERA. Opponents are hitting just .225 against UM pitchers, while the staff has struck out 199 in 187.1 innings and walked 59. Offensively, Preseason All-Americans Jemile Weeks (.425, 27 Runs, 31 Hits, 7 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 26 RBI) and Yonder Alonso (.397, 24 Runs, 26 Hits, 7 2B, 5 HR, 23 RBI) anchor the lineup, but shortstop Ryan Jackson (.373, 19 Runs, 28 Hits, 2 HR, 20 RBI), catcher Jason Hagerty (.328, 16 Runs, 19 Hits, 6 HR, 20 RBI), third baseman Mark Sobolewski (.358, 18 Runs, 29 Hits, 2 HR, 19 RBI) have all been hot. Junior right fielder Dennis Raben has now played in 10 games and hasn’t missed a beat. Raben is hitting .280 with 11 RBI, 13 runs scored while walking 11 times. Six of his seven hits have gone for extra bases – two doubles and four home runs. Miami’s rotation has a little bit of a shakeup this weekend as sophomore lefty Eric Erickson won’t go. Freshman lefty Chris Hernandez (4-0, 1.11 ERA) will start Friday’s series opener at Duke while senior right-hander Enrique Garcia (0-0, 7.53 ERA) will start on Saturday.
RECAPPING THE BETHUNE-COOKMAN SERIES
– Freshman catcher Yasmani Grandal drove in the game-winning run after junior Dave DiNatale hit a two-run game-tying single in the bottom of the eighth as No. 2 Miami rallied to defeat Bethune-Cookman, 7-6, Wednesday night at Mark Light Field. Junior right-hander Carlos Gutierrez tossed the final inning to record his fifth save for the Hurricanes, who improved to 19-2 on the season.
– Sophomore right-hander Kyle Bellamy won for the second time after tossing a scoreless eighth inning. He relieved Alex Koronis, who kept the game close for the Hurricanes. Koronis struck out five in three scoreless innings and allowed just one run on one hit. Sophomore right-hander David Gutierrez made his first career start and gave up three earned runs on five hits in three innings. He struck out three. Blake Tekotte and Grandal each collected two hits for the Hurricanes.
– Sophomore shortstop Ryan Jackson went a perfect 4-for-4, including his second career home run in the bottom of the fourth, as the No. 2 University of Miami baseball team won the first of two mid-week contests against Bethune-Cookman, 10-5, Tuesday night at Mark Light Field. Jackson scored a career-high three runs in addition to tying his career-best marks with four hits and four RBI. Sophomore catcher Jason Hagerty went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI for the Hurricanes (18-2), who set a new school record with their sixth straight game with 10 or more runs. Sophomore third baseman Mark Sobolewski also went 2-for-4 for Miami.
– John Housey earned his second win of the season in his just fourth career start, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out four. Iden Nazario, Kyle Bellamy and Carlos Gutierrez combined to throw the final 3 2/3 innings to secure the victory.
– The Hurricanes set a new school record scoring in double-digits for six consecutive games.
Junior second baseman Jemile Weeks tied the school record for career triples with his 17th career triple and third triple of 2008 in the third inning. Weeks tied Calvin James, who played for UM from 1981-82 and 1984-85.
– Miami improved to 17-1 at Mark Light Field this season.
– Sophomore right-hander Kyle Bellamy picked up his second career win. Bellamy now has 22 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings and has given up just four hits while opponents are hitting 0.85 against him.
-Miami improved to 7-0 in the midweek after sweeping the mid-week series from Bethune-Cookman. As a team, the Hurricanes hit .338 in the two games.
HURRICANES IN THE POLLS
Miami moved up to No. 2 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association (NCBWA) poll and No. 3 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll. UM jumped to No. 4 in the Baseball America poll. The Hurricanes are also ranked No. 2 by Rivals.com and No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Perfect Game Crosschecker has the Hurricanes No. 3 in its poll.
ABOUT THE DUKE BLUE DEVILS
Duke brings a 21-5 overall record and 4-5 ACC record into the weekend. The Blue Devils are owners of one of the best pitching staffs in the ACC with a 2.97 team ERA while fielding an ACC-best .979. Duke has a series win over No. 15 Virginia earlier in the season and won one game at No 21 Georgia Tech.
Offensively, the Blue Devils are led by centerfielder Alex Hassan, who is hitting .400 with 42 hits, 10 doubles and 22 RBI. Left fielder Jeremy Gould hits .394 with a team-high 25 RBI. Hassan also serves as the team’s closer with four saves to date. He is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA. Duke’s weekend rotation stays intact for the sixth straight weekend. RHP Andrew Wolcott (2-1, 2.54 ERA) will go on Friday while RHP Will Currier (2-3, 4.50 ERA) will start Saturday. RHP Grant Monroe (4-1, 3.46 ERA) is slated for the start on Sunday.
ALL-TIME SERIES MIAMI vs. DUKE
Miami leads the all-time series, 14-2. The Hurricanes have won 14 straight in the series including a three-game sweep last season.
WEEKS TIES RECORD
Junior second baseman Jemile Weeks hit his third triple of the season in the second game against Bethune- Cookman. It also was his 17th career triple, tying him with Calvin James for the UM record. James played from 1981-82 and 1984-85. Weeks now needs just one triple to become the all-time leader at Miami. Weeks recorded an ACC-best six triples in 2007. He now is tied for 10th place all-time in career triples in the ACC.
STREAKING WITH THE CANES
The Hurricanes are riding a six-game winning streaking heading into the Duke series. During the stretch, the Hurricanes have hit .370 and posted a 4.00 ERA. UM has hit 14 homers and 82 RBI while averaging 15 runs scored and 13 hits. Freshman catcher Yasmani Grandal has batted .600 with six runs scored, two home runs and seven RBI while Blake Tekotte has gone 10-for-17 with 10 runs, five RBI and six stolen bases. Sophomore Ryan Jackson boasts a .455 average (10-for-22) with nine runs and 10 RBI while sophomore Mark Sobolewski has hit .444 with eight RBI, two doubles and a home run. UM is slugging .645 during the stretch. On the mound, UM has struck out 62 in 54 innings while holding opponents to a .230 batting average giving up on average 7.8 hits a contest.
TWO-OUT RBI TIME
UM scored three runs with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to rally to defeat Bethune-Cookman, 7-6, Wednesday. The Hurricanes have been impressive with two outs through 21 games. UM is hitting .332 (80-for-241) with two outs led by junior first baseman Yonder Alonso, who hits .565 (13-for-23) with two outs. Of UM’s 182 RBI on the season, 65 (36 percent) have come with two outs. With runners on third base and two outs, UM is hitting .600.
