No. 6 Miami Preparing To Host Duke In Another ACC Weekend
March 12, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Winners of six straight and 10 of its last 11 games, the sixth-ranked University of Miami baseball team hosts its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference opponent this weekend as the Hurricanes will face Duke, March 13-15, at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. Miami, fresh off back-to-back mid-week wins over Saint Joseph’s and Pittsburgh, is currently 12-2 overall and 3-0 in league play after last weekend’s sweep of NC State.
The Hurricanes are off to one of the best starts in head coach Jim Morris’ 16-year tenure at Miami. Only two of his past UM teams won more contests before losing its third game of the season, with the 2008 team opening 27-2 and the 1995 team starting 23-2.
Preseason All-American closer Kyle Bellamy and current ACC Pitcher of the Week headlines a UM bullpen that has allowed just four earned runs in the last 50 1/3 innings over the last 10 games. Bellamy, who has an ACC-high four saves thus far, has yet to allow an earned run and has a team-high tying 20 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. Set-up man Taylor Wulf has been nearly as impressive, tossing eight shut-out innings in six relief appearances thus far.
Veteran Dave DiNatale leads the Hurricanes in hitting, coming into the weekend with an average of .362. DiNatale, who hit a home run in each of Miami’s games this past mid-week, has three homers on the year to go along with three doubles, 11 RBI and 15 runs scored. Harold Martinez leads the club with 15 RBI while Yasmani Grandal hit his team-leading fourth homer in UM’s 11-6 win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Jonathan Weislow hit his third homer of the season against the Panthers, blasting a three-run shot in the fifth for what proved to be the game-winner.
Five UM pitchers have a record of 2-0, including all three weekend starters. Chris Hernandez is tied with Bellamy for a team-high 20 strikeouts, while David Gutierrez has arguably been one of the league’s top starters through the early part of the season. Gutierrez has allowed just one earned run in 18 innings and is riding a 13-inning scoreless streak coming into his start on Saturday.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
GAME 15: FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 7 P.M.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – LHP Chris Hernandez (2-0, 4.24 ERA) vs. Duke – LHP Christopher Manno (1-2, 6.19 ERA)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM
GAME 16: SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 7 P.M.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – RHP David Gutierrez (2-0, 0.50 ERA) vs. Duke – RHP Andrew Wolcott (2-0, 1.71 ERA)
RADIO: 560 WQAM, 90.5 WVUM
INTERNET VIDEO: ACC SELECT
GAME 17: SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 12 P.M.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – LHP Iden Nazario (2-0, 7.62 ERA) vs. Duke – RHP Ryan Knott (1-0, 3.00 ERA)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM, 1450 ESPN DEPORTES
INTERNET VIDEO: ACC SELECT
DUKE REPORT
The Blue Devils come into the weekend with records of 9-4 overall and 2-1 in ACC play. After opening the season with a loss, Duke rattled off six straight wins before splitting the last six. Last weekend, the Blue Devils took two of three from Virginia Tech in Durham, winning 5-4 on Saturday and 7-5 on Sunday after dropping the opener, 19-4.
Jeremy Gould leads all Duke hitters in at-bats (57), hits (25) and doubles (8) in addition to leading the team with a .439 average. Nate Freiman (.341) has been the team’s top power source, hitting four homers and driving in a team-high 14 while also leading the team with a .682 slugging percentage. Duke is one league’s most-efficient base-stealing teams, having a success rate of 88 percent (15-for-17).
Michael Ness might be the team’s most important player. Ness, who leads the team with 17 runs scored and is second in hitting (.415), also serves as one of the team’s top arms out of the bullpen. In four appearances, he has a record of 1-0, an ERA of 1.64 and 12 strikouts in 11 innings of work.
Andrew Wolcott (2-0) however has proven to be Duke’s top arm early this season. He comes into the weekend with a 1.71 ERA in three starts, having struck out 21 while walking just four in 21 innings. Ness and Alex Hassan (1-0, 1.69 ERA) have been the team’s most efficient relievers thus far. In four appearances, Hassan has three saves in 5 1/3 innings of work.
MIAMI VS. DUKE ALL-TIME
The `Canes own a comfortable 18-2 advantage in the all-time series with Duke. Miami has won the last 18 games against the Blue Devils, including all 11 games since UM joined the ACC. Last year, Miami won its only two games 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.
AFTER DUKE
Miami will close out its 12-game homestand with two more mid-week games against St. Thomas on March 17 and UMBC on March 18. At the completion of the homestand, the Hurricanes will head to Charlottesville, Va. to take on the Virginia Cavaliers in a three-game set, March 20-22.
RELIABLE RELIEF
Over the last 10 games, Miami’s relief pitchers have allowed just four earned runs in 50 1/3 innings of work. Nine Hurricane relievers – Travis Miller, Jason Santana, Kyle Bellamy, John Housey, Michael Rudman, Taylor Wulf, Sam Robinson, Rene Guerra and Daniel Miranda – have a combined 0.70 ERA since the series opener at Florida on Feb. 27. Over that span, Santana has won two games and allowed just one earned run in 10 innings. Bellamy leads the group with 8 2/3 scoreless innings over that span.
QUITE AN IMPRESSIVE START
Despite having one of the least-experienced teams of his 16-year tenure, head coach Jim Morris has the 2009 team off to one of the best starts since his arrival in Coral Gables. Only two of his past UM teams won more contests before losing its third game of the season, with the 2008 team opening 27-2 and the 1995 team starting 23-2.
WEEKEND WARRIOR
Freshman centerfielder Nathan Melendres has been the club’s top hitter during weekend series play, hitting a team-best .372 (16-for-43) in 10 weekend games compared to just a .133 (2-for-15) average in four mid-week games. Melendres, who has 16 hits in weekend play (1.6 hits per game) compared to just two during the week (0.50 per game), is slugging 309 points higher from Friday to Sunday and has 19 total bases in weekend games to just two on a school night.
