No. 1 Miami Hosts Arizona in NCAA Super Regional
June 5, 2008
2008 NCAA Super Regional Preview in PDF Format 
Friday, June 6 (Mark Light Field)
Game 1 – Arizona at Miami, 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN
(Play-by-Play- Karl Ravech; Color Analyst – Robin Ventura)
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Arizona: 11 Preston Guilmet, RHP (6-4, 4.29 ERA)
UM: 27 Chris Hernandez, LHP (11-0, 2.55 ERA)
Saturday, June 7 (Mark Light Field)
Game 2 – Miami at Arizona, 7:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
(Play-by-Play- Karl Ravech; Color Analyst – Robin Ventura)
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Arizona: 19 David Coulon, LHP (8-3, 3.54 ERA)
UM: 17 Eric Erickson, LHP (8-1, 4.13 ERA)
Sunday, June 8 (Mark Light Field)
Game 3 – Miami at Arizona, 7 p.m. (If Necessary)
TV: ESPN2
(Play-by-Play- Karl Ravech; Color Analyst – Robin Ventura)
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Arizona: 18 Eric Berger, LHP (8-3, 4.43 ERA)
UM: 31 Enrique Garcia, RHP (6-2, 4.80 ERA)
Radio for the Hurricanes:
WVUM (90.5 FM), WQAM (560 AM),
Spanish Radio WWWK (102.5 FM) and WPIK (105.5 FM)
No.1 overall national seed Miami (50-8) hosts No. 1 seed and Ann Arbor Regional winner Arizona (41-17) in the best of three NCAA Super Regional at Mark Light Field Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Game times are 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. the first two days with an if necessary game three scheduled for Sunday at 7 p.m. All three games will be nationally televised on either ESPN or ESPN2 with Karl Ravech handling play-by play and Robin Ventura serving as the color analyst. It is Miami’s ninth appearance in a Super Regional and first since the 2006 season.
MIAMI WINS 25TH NCAA REGIONAL
The Hurricanes claimed their 25th Regional title in 37 appearances dating back to 1974 when Miami defeated Ole Miss, 11-2, in the 2008 NCAA Coral Gables Regional title game last Sunday. Miami extended its NCAA record earning its 36th consecutive NCAA Regional berth when the Hurricanes were awarded the No. 1 national seed and No. 1 seed at the NCAA Coral Gables, Fla. Regional. Miami knocked off Bethune-Cookman, 7-4, in the regional opener and Missouri, 6-5, on its way to the title game. It was also Morris’ 11th regional title won at home in 15 seasons.
HURRICANE BROADCAST INFORMATION
All of the games of the 2008 NCAA Coral Gables (Fla.) Regional will be televised live on ESPN or ESPN2. The games can also be heard on WVUM (90.5 FM) and WQAM (560 AM) either online or on the air. Games will also be broadcasted in Spanish on WWWK 105.5 FM and WPIK 102.5 FM.
MIAMI SUPER IN HOME SUPER REGIONALS
The Hurricanes are a perfect 8-0 in Super Regional home games played at Mark Light Field. Miami won two games against Wake Forest in 1999, two games against Clemson in 2001, two games against NC State in 2003 and two games against Florida in 2004. The Hurricanes are 12-7 all-time in NCAA Super Regional games.
ABOUT THE 2008 MIAMI HURRICANES
Miami (50-8, 23-5 ACC) earned the No. 1 overall national seed after sweeping through the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship to win the program’s first ACC Tournament title. This past weekend, Miami claimed its 14th NCAA Regional title under head coach Jim Morris and 25th in the program’s history. Five Hurricanes were named to the all-tournament team led by shortstop Ryan Jackson, who was named the Regional’s Most Outstanding Player.
Junior first baseman Yonder Alonso hit two more home runs in the ACC Tournament to take over the conference lead. Alonso has been homering at an unreal pace lately. He has 15 home runs in the last 28 games. He leads the ACC with 21 long balls.
Freshman lefty Chris Hernandez is 11-0, which is the best record ever by a UM freshman. He has walked one batter in his last five starts, which includes a string of 34 1/3 innings. Sophomore shortstop Ryan Jackson hit .545 in the Coral Gables Regional belting two home runs and driving in four runs. Miami now has 94 home runs on the season – the first time since the 1999 season that UM has at least 90 homers in a season. The 94 homers by the 2008 team is the fourth most in school history.
Miami enters the Super Regional round winners of 17 of their last 20 games and seven in a row.
ABOUT THE ARIZONA WILDCATS
Arizona (41-17) advanced to the NCAA Coral Gables Super Regional after winning the Ann Arbor Regional as the No. 1 seed. The Wildcats defeated Eastern Michigan, 13-7, before holding off the host team Michigan , 4-3. Arizona knocked off Kentucky, 5-3, in the regional championship game. The Wildcats have won five in a row, which includes taking two of three from rival and No. 3 national seed Arizona State in the final regular season weekend. Arizona is hitting .305 as a team with a 3.93 ERA. First baseman C.J. Ziegler leads the team hitting .350 with a team-high 16 doubles, 19 home runs and 58 RBI. Third baseman Brad Glenn has 53 RBI and 14 home runs. On the base paths, centerfielder T.J. Steele has swiped 24 bases. Arizona prides itself on pitching. RHP Ryan Guilmet (6-4, 4.29 ERA) is slated for the start on Friday night. He has 89 K’s in 92 1/3 innings. LHP David Coulon (8-3, 3.54 ERA) will go on Saturday while LHP Eric Berger (8-3, 4.43 ERA) is listed for the if necessary game on Sunday. Arizona’s bullpen of LHP Daniel Schlereth, RHP Ryan Perry (6-3, 3.07 ERA) and right-handed closer Jason Stoffel are strong. Stoffel is 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA with 13 saves. This is Arizona’s first trip to Coral gables since 1987.
THE ONLY TIME
Miami earned its second ever No. 1 national seed in 2008. The last time Miami was the No. 1 national seed, the Hurricanes won the 1999 College World Series. UM is the only No. 1 national seed to ever win the CWS.
The Hurricanes were the No. 2 overall national seed in 2001 when it won the CWS title. Only three of top two national seeds have ever won the CWS – Miami in 1999 and 2001 and LSU in 2000. Only five of the top eight national seeds all-time have ever won the CWS. Besides Miami and LSU, Texas as a No. 5 seed won in 2002 and Rice as a No. 5 seed won in 2003.
50 AND COUNTING
The win over Ole Miss in the regional title game gave Miami its 19th 50-win season in program history and seventh under head coach Jim Morris in his 15 seasons. Those 50-win seasons include NCAA titles in 1999 and 2001 and 10 trips to the College World Series.
