No. 6 Miami Continues Homestand with St. Joe's, Pitt
March 9, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The sixth-ranked University of Miami baseball team, coming off its second series sweep in as many weekends, will play host to Saint Joseph’s (Pa.) and Pittsburgh in a pair of mid-week games this week at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
The Hurricanes, winners of seven of their last eight, swept NC State over the weekend to improve to 10-2 overall and claim their first Atlantic Coast Conference series of the season. Miami continues to move up in all of the major national collegiate baseball polls, jumping up at least two spots in all five rankings released Monday. The `Canes highest ranking of No. 6 comes via the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches’ poll.
Miami will host SJU on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before Pittsburgh visits Alex Rodriguez Park on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Junior right-hander John Housey is slated to go for Miami on Tuesday while freshman left-hander Daniel Miranda will likely earn the start on Wednesday.
Junior closer Kyle Bellamy, who has yet to allow an earned run in 8 2/3 innings in relief this year, was named Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday. The Davie, Fla. native played a crucial role in two of Miami’s four wins on the week, picking up a win on Friday and a save on Sunday the sweep over NC State. On the week, he held his opponents scoreless in three outings, allowing just three hits while striking out 12 in 5 1/3 relief innings.
Bellamy anchors a bullpen that has allowed just three earned runs in 37 innings of work. Junior set-up man Taylor Wulf has also kept his opponents off the board, striking out eight while allowing six hits in 6 2/3 innings this year.
A pair of freshman lead the `Canes offensively, as centerfielder Nathan Melendres leads the club in average (.367) and hits (18) while first baseman Harold Martinez leads in RBI (13) and total bases (25) while ranking second in average (.356). Melendres also owns a team-best 12-game hitting steak.
Junior Jason Hagerty, who leads club in walks (11), slugging percentage (.625) and on-base percentage (.457), hit Miami’s first walk-off homer of the season with a two-run blast in the 12th-inning in Friday’s 7-6 win over the Wolfpack. Hagerty is tied with fellow catcher Yasmani Grandal for the team-lead with three homers.
Junior right-hander David Gutierrez continued his hot start to the season over the weekend, extending his scoreless innings streak to 13 after tossing six scoreless innings on Saturday in UM’s 4-0 shutout win over the Wolfpack. Gutierrez, who has started the last three Saturdays, is 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA, allowing just one earned run to come across in 18 innings thus far.
After sweeping No. 12 Florida in Gainesville, Feb. 28 – March 1, UM returned home and opened a 12-game homestand by splitting a pair of mid-week games against Rhode Island and Mount St. Mary’s. This week’s contests mark the sixth and seventh games of UM’s current 12-game stand at Alex Rodriguez Park.
St. Joseph’s Report
The Hawks (1-7) are lead offensively by Ryan McDonald, who is hitting .480 (12-for-25) with four RBI, three runs and 13 total bases. David Valesente (.333) and Mike Blahusch (.313) are the other regulars hitting over .300 for SJU. Left-hander Randy Mower (0-1, 3.86 ERA) is slated to take the mound for the Hawks on Tuesday. In his only outing, Mower gave up eight runs, only two of which were earned though. Quentin Farr (0-0, 6.75) has appeared in a team-high four games.
Pittsburgh Report
The Panthers (4-3) have won three straight – including a 17-5 win over Saint Joseph’s on Monday. Over the last three days, Pitt beat St. Bonaventure, 12-8, in 11 innings and Akron, 8-5, before picking up the 12-run win over SJU. Prior to this past weekend’s games, Chris Sedon had the best average of any regular player, hitting .467 (7-for-15). Four Pitt pitchers had both started and come out of the pen at least once prior to this past weekend. The Panthers will play SIU Edwardsville on Tuesday prior to their match-up with the `Canes.
Miami vs. SJU & Pitt
Miami has a combined record of 23-1 against Saint Joseph’s (18-1) and Pittsburgh (5-0). The `Canes have faced Pitt most recently, beating the Panthers 3-0 in 2005 and 6-2 in 2001. The last time UM played SJU was in 1981 was the `Canes swept a three-game set. All 24 games Miami has played against SJU and Pitt were played in Coral Gables.
After Pitt
Miami remains at home this weekend to play its second ACC series against Duke, March 13-15. The `Canes own the all-time series with Duke, holding an 18-2 advantage. Miami has won the last 18 games against the Blue Devils, including all 11 games since UM joined the ACC. Last year, Miami won two in Durham while the last time the two teams met in Coral Gables, Miami out-scored Duke, 28-9, in a three-game set from May 17-19, 2007.
Bellamy Named ACC Pitcher of the Week
Junior closer Kyle Bellamy was named Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday. The honor marks the second consecutive week a UM hurler was recognized after junior David Gutierrez was named ACC Pitcher of the Week last week. In one game versus Mount St. Mary’s and two against NC State, he held his opponents scoreless while allowing just three hits while striking out 12 in 5 1/3 relief innings. On the season, Bellamy (1-0) has converted all four of his save opportunities and had yet to allow an earned run in six appearances. In 8 2/3 innings thus far, Bellamy has struck out 18 and has allowed just five hits while holding his opponents to a .152 batting average against him.
Miami Enters Boyd’s World RPI Top 5
After sweeping NC State over the weekend, Miami entered Boyd’s World’s RPI Top 5 at No. 4 on Monday. The `Canes (10-2), who have won seven of their last eight, trail only No. 1 TCU (9-2), No. 2 Cal State Fullerton (9-2) and No. 3 North Carolina (10-2). In addition to UM and UNC, three other ACC teams (Georgia Tech – 5, Duke – 7, Clemson – 9) also rank in the Top 10.
