No. 5 Miami Closes Out Homestand with FAU Tuesday Night
April 6, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The fifth-ranked University of Miami baseball team will wrap up its eight-game homestand Tuesday when it plays host to FAU at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The 6 p.m. contest between the two South Florida programs is the second of three meetings between the two teams this season, with the Hurricanes winning 13-6 at FAU on March 25 in the first match-up.
After taking two-of-three from No. 23 Florida State over the weekend, the `Canes enter Tuesday’s contest with an overall record of 23-8. UM has now won six of seven weekend series this year, and will look for its third series win against a ranked opponent on the road as the Hurricanes will face No. 20 Clemson this weekend in South Carolina.
Harold Martinez and Jason Hagerty carried the UM offense last week, combining to go 15-for-29 with five home runs, 13 RBI, 14 runs scored and 35 total bases in four games last week. Martinez, who had just two homers in 104 career at-bats coming into the weekend, smacked three homers against FSU, picking up his first on Friday before hitting two in Sunday’s series-clinching win over the Seminoles.
Kyle Bellamy converted his fifth inning-plus save of the season on Saturday, striking out five of the seven batters he faced while holding FSU hitless over the final 2 1/3 innings in UM’s 6-4 win. Bellamy, who owns a team-best 0.81 ERA, has allowed just two earned runs while striking out 38 in 22 1/3 innings of work.
Senior Jason Santana (4-0, 3.25) will take the mound for the ‘Canes on Tuesday. It will mark the second time in 13 days Santana will take the mound against the Owls.
RECAPPING THE FIRST MEETING
Four Hurricanes drove in multiple runs – including three RBI from both Vickash Ramjit and Jason Hagerty – and Jason Santana improved to 4-0 on the season as the second-ranked University of Miami baseball team picked up a convincing 13-6 win over FAU Wednesday night at FAU Stadium.
Tied 3-3 after four, Miami pulled away in the top of the fifth, scoring six runs in the frame to essentially put the game out of reach. On the night, UM out-hit FAU, 15-to-6, while the first four hitters in the Hurricanes’ lineup scored 10 of the team’s 13 runs.
For the second consecutive week, Santana (4-0) turned in a solid outing, allowing three runs on just three hits while walking two and striking out three in 5 2/3 innings. Ramjit, who had just six hits and two RBI in his career coming into the game, finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Scott Lawson finished the night 1-for-3 with two walks, two RBI and three runs scored while Chris Herrmann also scored three in a 2-for-5 night.
FAU REPORT
The Owls (17-11) have gone 3-4 since facing UM on March 25. This past weekend, FAU took two of three at home against South Alabama, winning 6-5 on Friday and 12-11 on Saturday before dropping the series finale, 9-3, on Sunday.
Travis Ozga is FAU’s top hitter. Ozga leads the club in average (.361), doubles (10), RBI (24) and total bases (58) in addition to scoring 23 runs. Nick DelGuidice’s 40 hits leads the team, while Tom Hatcher has a team-high five home runs.
The Hurricanes will face left-hander Brent Adheen again on Tuesday. The first time these two teams met, Adheen started and allowed six runs on six hits and three walks in just four innings before giving way to the FAU bullpen.
MIAMI VERSUS FAU
The Hurricanes lead FAU, 42-8, in the series between the two South Florida programs. UM has won six of the last seven meetings with the Owls, including two of three last season. The last time the two teams met, Miami came away with a 13-6 win on March 25, 2009 in Boca Raton.
AFTER FAU
Miami will make its second ACC road trip of the year when the team heads to South Carolina to face No. 20 Clemson in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Hurricanes own a 27-22-1 edge over the Tigers all-time. Last season, Miami won all four meetings with Clemson, sweeping the regular season series in Coral Gables before winning again at the ACC Tournament in Jacksonville.
HAROLD’S WEEKEND
Freshman Harold Martinez has been one of UM’s most consistent run-producers this season and it showed in the Florida State series. Martinez, who had just two homers in 104 career at-bats coming into the weekend, smacked three homers against No. 23, picking up his first on Friday before hitting the next two in Sunday’s series-clinching win. He finished the weekend 7-for-12, including three-hit performances on both Friday and Sunday. His best day at the plate as a `Cane came on Sunday, going 3-for-5 with a grand slam, a solo homer, five RBI and two runs scored in UM’s 14-8 win. On the season, Martinez is hitting .317 with five home runs, 29 RBI and 23 runs scored.
HAGERTY EMERGING
In UM’s last eight games dating back the March 25th contest against the Owls in Boca Raton, Jason Hagerty has easily been the team’s top hitter as of late. Over that span, Hagerty is hitting .483 (14-for-29) with four doubles, two homers, 16 RBI, 11 runs scored and seven walks. Hagerty is also slugging .897 in his last eight games and has a .595 on-base percentage over that span. Heading into the first FAU game, Hagerty was hitting .254. Heading into the second meeting on Tuesday, he is now second on the team with a .323 average.
WHAT’S LEFT?
After Tuesday’s game against FAU, Miami will close out the regular season playing 12 of its final 22 games on the road. The next two weekends, UM plays at Clemson and at North Carolina, before returning home to face Virginia Tech, April 24-26. Following that series, UM closes out the regular season with a road trip to Boston College (5/1-3), a home series against Bethune-Cookman (5/8-10) and a series at Wake Forest (5/14-16).
