No. 4 Miami Heads to No. 7 Virginia for Early ACC Road Test
March 19, 2009
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –The fourth-ranked University of Miami baseball team will play its first Atlantic Coast Conference road series of the year this weekend as the Hurricanes are set to take on No. 7 Virginia, March 20-22, at Davenport Field in Charlottesville, Va. Winners of 10 of their last 11 games, the `Canes are heading back out on the road after wrapping up a 12-game homestand with an 11-1 win over UMBC on Wednesday.
Miami comes into the weekend with a record of 16-3 overall and 5-1 in ACC play while UVa enters with a mark of 4-0 in league play and a perfect 18-0 record overall. Scott Lawson has been Miami’s hottest hitter as of late, with the junior hitting .467 (14-for-30) over the last seven games. On the season, Lawson leads the club with a .382 average, while also leading all `Canes with nine doubles and 43 total bases. Dave DiNatale has also gotten off to strong start this season, hitting .359 with three homers, 15 RBI and 16 runs scored.
Jason Hagerty, who hit his second walk-off homer of the year last Sunday against Duke, leads all hitters in slugging percentage (.660), on-base percentage (.500) and walks (18), in addition to being tied for the home run lead with fellow catcher Yasmani Grandal (4).
The back end of Miami’s bullpen continues to thrive through the first month of the season. Miami’s closer (Kyle Bellamy) and set-up man (Taylor Wulf) have a combined ERA of just 0.72 this season, with the pair allowing just two earned runs in 24 2/3 innings (18 combined appearances). Bellamy, who leads the team in ERA (0.69) and saves (4) and is tied for the team-lead in wins (3), has struck out 21 in 13 innings while allowing opponents to hit just .188 against him. Wulf, who has appeared in six of Miami’s last seven games, owns a 0.77 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings setting up Bellamy.
The Hurricanes will go with their usual weekend rotation of left-hander Chris Hernandez (2-0, 3.91 ERA) on Friday, right-hander David Gutierrez (2-1, 0.75 ERA) on Saturday and left-hander Iden Nazario (2-0, 6.27 ERA) on Sunday.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
GAME 20: FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 6 P.M.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – LHP Chris Hernandez (2-0, 3.91 ERA) vs. UVa – LHP Danny Hultzen (4-0, 1.04 ERA)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM
INTERNET VIDEO: ACC SELECT
GAME 21: SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 1 P.M.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – RHP David Gutierrez (2-1, 0.72 ERA) vs. UVa – RHP Andrew Carraway (3-0, 1.27 ERA)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM
INTERNET VIDEO: ACC SELECT
GAME 22: SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 12 P.M.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – LHP Iden Nazario (2-0, 6.27 ERA) vs. UVa – RHP Will Roberts (2-0, 2.81 ERA)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM
INTERNET VIDEO: ACC SELECT
VIRGINIA REPORT
The Cavaliers enter this weekend’s series with a perfect record of 18-0. After opening the season with 10 straight non-conference wins, UVa went on the road to pick up a sweep of ACC foe Wake Forest, out-scoring the Demon Decons 47-to-13 in the three-game set. Last weekend two of UVa’s three home games against Florida State were postponed, but in the one they got it, the Cavaliers eased past the Seminoles, 15-2.
Four UVa regulars are hitting .400 or better coming into the weekend, let by Dan Grovatt who is hitting .472 (34-for-72) with three homers, 21 RBI and a team-high 28 runs scored. Steven Proscia has nearly matched Grovatt’s numbers, with a .444 average, 22 RBI and 21 runs scored.
As a team, UVa is hitting a league-best .389 while the team has been successful on 50-of-57 steal attempts. Three Cavaliers – Grovatt, Tyler Cannon and Phil Gosselin – are in a three-way tie for the team lead in steals (10).
The Cavs’ pitching staff boasts and ERA of 1.94, allowing just 35 earned runs in 162 innings. Danny Hultzen, who is slated to start Friday night, has the best numbers on the staff, owning a 4-0 record with a 1.04 ERA. Hultzen has allowed just three earned runs while striking out a team-high 39 in 26 innings. Andrew Carraway (3-0, 1.27 ERA) and Will Roberts (2-0, 2.81 ERA) are slated to throw on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
MIAMI vs. VIRGINIA
Miami leads the all-time series between the two schools, 15-8, with UM entering this weekend’s series having won the last five. UM swept UVa, April 25-27, in Coral Gables last year before beating the Cavaliers, 8-4, in the ACC Championship game on May 25 in Jacksonville. The last time UM played at UVa, the Cavaliers took two out of three in 2007.
AFTER UVA
After this weekend’s visit to Charlottesville, the Hurricanes will return to Coral Gables where they will play nine of their next 10 games at Alex Rodriguez Park. UM will host Ohio State on Tuesday, March 24 before the `Canes make a short trip north to Boca Raton to take on FAU on Wednesday, March 25.
`CANES ENTER NCBWA TOP 5
The University of Miami baseball team earned its first Top 5 national ranking of the 2009 season, coming in at No. 4 in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll released on Monday. In addition to the `Canes No. 4 ranking in the NCBWA poll, UM is ranked seventh in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches poll, eighth in the Rivals.com poll, ninth in Collegiate Baseball’s poll and 11th in the latest Baseball America rankings. Only No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Georgia rank ahead of UM in the NCBWA poll.
SANTANA’S START
Senior right-hander Jason Santana has overcome a number of injuries in his collegiate career and in six appearances this season, is tied for the team-lead in wins (3) and owns a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings of work. Santana, who allowed just one run in five innings in his first start of the season on Wednesday against UMBC, has 14 strikeouts thus far and is holding his opponents to a .167 batting average against him.
WEEKEND WARRIOR
Freshman centerfielder Nathan Melendres has been the club’s top hitter during weekend series play, hitting a team-best .364 (20-for-55) in 13 weekend games compared to just a .111 (2-for-18) average in six mid-week games. Melendres, who has 20 hits in weekend play (1.5 hits per game) compared to just two during the week (0.33 per game), is slugging 307 points higher from Friday to Sunday and has 23 total bases in weekend games to just two on a school night.
