NO. 1 MIAMI ENDS REGULAR SEASON WITH NO. 2 NORTH CAROLINA
May 15, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game 49<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Thursday: North Carolina at Miami
May 15, 7 p.m. (Mark Light Field)
Radio: WVUM (90.5 FM), WQAM (560 AM),
Spanish Radio WWWK (102.5 FM) and WPIK (104.5 FM)
TV: CSS
Probable Starting Pitchers:
UNC: 6 Alex White, RHP (8-2, 2.36 ERA)
UM: 27 Chris Hernandez, LHP (9-0, 2.70 ERA)
Promotion: First 2,000 fans receive 2008 UM Trading Card Sheets
Game 50
Friday: North Carolina at Miami
May 16, 7 p.m. (Mark Light Field)
Radio: WVUM (90.5 FM), WQAM (560 AM),
Spanish Radio WWWK (102.5 FM) and WPIK (104.5 FM)
TV: CSS
Probable Starting Pitchers:
UNC: 28 Adam Warren, RHP (7-1, 4.50 ERA)
UM: 17 Eric Erickson, LHP (7-0, 3.31 ERA)
Promotion: Senior Night & First 1,000 fans receive Miami Maniac Bobblehead (1 per person)
Game 51
Saturday: North Carolina at Miami
May 17, 1 p.m. (Mark Light Field)
Radio: WVUM (90.5 FM), WQAM (560 AM)
TV: RSN (FSN Florida/SunSports/Comcast SportsNet)
Probable Starting Pitchers:
UNC: 43 Matt Harvey, RHP (6-2, 2.25 ERA)
UM: 31 Enrique Garcia, RHP (5-1, 4.85 ERA)
Promotion: First 2,000 fans receive 2008 UM team photo
No. 1 Miami (42-6, 22-3 ACC) wraps up its best regular season under head coach Jim Morris when UM hosts No. 2 North Carolina (43-9, 20-6 ACC) Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Mark Light Field. Game times are 7 p.m., 7 p.m. and 1 p.m. All three games will be televised with games on Thursday and Friday shown on CSS. RSN (FSN Florida/SunSports/Comcast SportsNet) will air the game on Saturday. All three games can be heard on WVUM (90.5 FM) and WQAM (560 AM). Games on Thursday and Friday will be broadcasted in Spanish on WWWK 104.5 FM and WPIK 102.5 FM.
ABOUT THE MIAMI HURRICANES
Miami (42-6, 22-3 ACC) topped North Florida, 5-2, in its final nonconference game Tuesday. Junior first baseman Yonder Alonso and junior second baseman Jemile Weeks each had two hits to lead the Hurricanes to their 12th midweek win. Alonso’s 16th homer of 2008 ended up being the eventual game-winner in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore right-hander David Gutierrez struck out five in six innings for his third win. Last weekend, Miami won its 12th weekend series of the season and 15th straight dating back to last season. Junior centerfielder Blake Tekotte batted .545 (6-for-11) with three home runs, a double and five runs scored while sophomore shortstop Ryan Jackson hit .455 in the series win at Virginia Tech. Tekotte hit three home runs in the series opener and tied the school record set by Kevin Brown on May 27, 2001 vs. Stetson. He recorded his second multiple home run game for the Hurricanes this season. Tekotte also homered in consecutive plate appearances for the second time this season. Freshman lefty Chris Hernandez improved to 9-0 with a 2.70 ERA while senior right-hander Enrique Garcia moved to 5-1 on the season. Miami also scored at least 10 runs in a game for the 21st time in the series opener.
The Hurricanes continue to rank among the top teams nationally as UM enters the week sixth in slugging percentage and fielding percentage, eighth in scoring, ninth in batting average, 10th in strikeouts per nine innings, 13th in home runs, 23rd in ERA
Offensively, second baseman Jemile Weeks (.375, 61 Runs, 66 Hits, 15 2B, 4 3B, 10 HR, 48 RBI), centerfielder Blake Tekotte (.377, 63 Runs, 69 Hits, 37 RBI, 21 SB), and Yonder Alonso (.382, 63 Runs, 58 Hits, 10 2B, 1 3B, 16 HR, 53 RBI) anchor the lineup, but shortstop Ryan Jackson (.363, 35 Runs, 66 Hits, 17 2B, 2 HR, 39 RBI), third baseman Mark Sobolewski (.344, 34 Runs, 64 Hits, 6 HR, 45 RBI) and right fielder Dennis Raben (.311, 39 Runs, 41 Hits, 10 2B, 8 HR, 40 RBI) have all been swinging the bat well.
RECAPPING THE NORTH FLORIDA GAME
Sophomore right-hander David Gutierrez struck out five in six innings and junior first baseman Yonder Alonso homered for the 16th time – the eventual game winner – as No. 1 Miami topped North Florida, 5-2, Tuesday night at Mark Light Field in the final nonconference game of the regular season. Jemile Weeks added a pair of doubles for the Hurricanes, who improved to 42-6 on the season before their big showdown with No. 2 North Carolina. David Gutierrez remained perfect on the season running his record to 3-0. He allowed just one earned run on three hits and walked two. Anthony Nalepa, P.J. Fisher, Kyle Bellamy and Carlos Gutierrez combined to toss the final three innings. Alonso went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, two RBI and two walks. He gave Miami the lead for good with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Weeks went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored.
Junior first baseman Yonder Alonso hit his sixth home run in the last 10 games in the fifth inning. He needs just two more to tie his season-high.
ABOUT THE NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS
The Tar Heels are ranked No. 2 in all four of the major college baseball polls and bring a 43-9 overall mark into the weekend. North Carolina sits in second place in the ACC Coastal Division at 20-6. UNC has won six of its last seven games and 18 of its last 20 games.
Like the Hurricanes, UNC has not lost a weekend series in 2008. The Tar Heels have the top-ranked pitching staff in the nation with a 2.28 team ERA. Opponents are hitting just .226 against the Tar Heels while the pitching staff has struck out 525 in 470 innings pitched. Starters Alex White (8-2, 2.36 ERA), Adam Warren (7-1, 4.50 ERA) and Matt Harvey (6-2, 2.25 ERA) are a combined 21-5.
Offensively, UNC is hitting .326 led by first baseman Dustin Ackley, who hits .392 while tying with right fielder Tim Fedroff for the team-lead with 82 hits. Second baseman Kyle Seager hits .382 with 79 hits including a team-best 25 doubles and 65 RBI. He ranks second in the ACC in runs batted in.
UNC has won the last two series over the Hurricanes. North Carolina won two of three games in 2006 in Coral Gables and swept Miami last season in Chapel Hill.
HURRICANES IN THE POLLS
The Hurricanes held on to the No. 1 spot in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches, Baseball America, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper polls released Monday making UM the consensus No. 1 team for the sixth straight week. The Atlantic Coast Conference continues to have the top three teams ranked in two major college baseball polls as North Carolina (No. 2 in Baseball America, NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball, USA Today/ESPN Top 25) and Florida State (No. 3 in the NCBWA and USA Today/ESPN Top25) also represent the conference. Miami (41-6, 22-3 ACC) also held the top spot in the Rivals.com, PingBaseball, Perfect Game Crosschecker and CollegeBaseballhub.com polls.
CANES HAVING BEST REGULAR SEASON UNDER MORRIS IN 15 YEARS
Miami is wrapping up one of the best regular seasons under Jim Morris. UM will finish the regular season with less than 10 losses for only the second time since Morris took over as head coach in 1994. The 1998 UM team finished 46-9 in the regular season. The fewest losses by a Morris coached team is 12 losses twice – 1998 and 2001. The 2001 Hurricanes won the national title.
No. 1 vs. No. 2 AGAIN
For the second time this season, No. 1 and No. 2 will play during the regular season in college baseball and for the second time that matchup will include No. 1 Miami. The top-ranked Hurricanes faced then No. 2 Florida State April 18-20 in Tallahassee earlier this season. UM won two of the three games to win the series over the Seminoles.
HURRICANES CLOSE TO CLINCHING DIVISION, REGULAR SEASON TITLE
One win over the Tar Heels and Miami will win its first ACC Coastal Division title since UM joined the league in 2005. The Hurricanes have already won the most games in conference play since joining three seasons ago. If UM wins two games over North Carolina, Miami will win its first ACC regular season championship and clinch the No. 1 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament.
MADE FOR TV
No. 1 Miami’s entire showdown with No. 2 North Carolina will be televised this weekend. CSS will carry the games on Thursday and Friday while The Regional Sports Network (FSN Florida/SunSports/Comcast SportNet) will air Saturday’s ACC Game of the Week. UM is 6-1 this season in TV games with lone loss coming in the series finale to Florida.
HURRICANE JUNIORS LOOKING TO SNAP SKID AGAINST TAR HEELS
Miami’s junior-laden team has one more task to accomplish in their three seasons in Coral Gables. The UM juniors are just 1-5 against North Carolina. Miami has lost four straight to UNC including a series sweep last season. UM’s junior class won its first series against Virginia this season sweeping the Cavaliers in Coral Gables. They also won their first series over Florida at the start of the season winning two of three games. UNC is the only ACC team that the class has won a series against since arriving on campus in 2006.
OH YONDER
Junior first baseman Yonder Alonso has nine home runs in his last six weekend series including his first career grand slam in the series finale win at No. 2 Florida State. Alonso now has 44 career homers, which ranks fifth all-time in career home runs. He needs one more to tie current Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun for fourth place all-time. If he finishes the season as UM’s home run leader, he will have become just the second player in school history to hit double-digit home runs while leading the team in long balls for three consecutive seasons. Alonso, who hit 10 as a freshman in 2006 and 18 as a sophomore in 2007, would join former MLB and UM player Charles Johnson, who accomplished the feat with 11 homers in 1990, 15 in 1991 and 12 in 1992.
