No. 7 Miami Wraps Up Season Series with FAU Tuesday Night
April 13, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The seventh-ranked University of Miami baseball team will play its third and final regular season game against FAU on Tuesday, as the Owls visit Alex Rodriguez Park for the second time in a week. First pitch for Tuesday’s game is slated for 6 p.m.
Miami (25-10) won each of the first two meetings with FAU (17-15) this year, winning 13-6 in Boca Raton on March 25 before picking up an 8-7 victory last Tuesday in Coral Gables.
Miami dropped two of three games over the weekend at No. 20 Clemson, splitting a Saturday doubleheader before dropping the rubber game on Sunday, 9-6. FAU comes in having lost five straight, including all three at Troy over the weekend.
Scott Lawson continues to lead the team with a .333 batting average. Yasmani Grandal hit his team-leading 10th home run of the season at Clemson while Jason Hagerty hit his seventh and eighth of the season against the Tigers. Hagerty leads the team in both runs (35) and RBI (36) while Ryan Jackson has a team-high six stolen bases.
RECAPPING THE FIRST TWO MEETINGS
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 on March 25 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, Miami out-hit FAU, 15-to-6, while the first four hitters in the Hurricanes’ lineup scored 10 of the team’s 13 runs.
In the second meeting, Miami held on for an 8-7 win as Santana again picked up a win over the Owls. In six innings pitched, Santana allowed three earned runs while striking out six to win his staff-high fifth game of the year. The Hurricanes, trailing 2-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, used a four-run inning to take the lead for good against the Owls. Jason Hagerty led the Hurricanes offensively, reaching base three times and going 2-for 3 with an RBI and a run scored. Ramjit also contributed offensively again by going to 2-for-3 with a run scored.
FAU REPORT
The Owls were swept by Troy over the weekend, falling 12-3 on Friday, 6-5 on Saturday and 11-5 on Sunday.
Travis Ozga continues to lead the Owls offensively and comes into Tuesday’s contest hitting .336 with three homers, 27 RBI and 25 runs scored. Colby Gratton, who owns a team-best .351 average, is second on the team with seven stolen bases. Tom Hatcher is the team’s top power source, having hit seven thus far.
Left-hander Brent Adheen started both of the first two meetings between UM and FAU and suffered the loss in each, allowing nine earned runs in a combined eight innings. Alex Pepe is the team’s top reliever, owning a 2-0 with a 2.22 ERA in a team-high 19 appearances.
MIAMI VERSUS FAU
The Hurricanes lead FAU, 43-8, in the series between the two South Florida programs. UM has won seven of the last eight meetings with the Owls, including two of three last season and the first two this year. The last time the two teams met, Miami came away with an 8-7 win last Tuesday in Coral Gables.
AFTER FAU
After the season finale with the Owls on Tuesday, the Hurricanes will make their second straight ACC road trip this upcoming weekend when they head to Chapel Hill, N.C. to take on No. 5 North Carolina, April 17-19, at Boshamer Stadium.
MORRIS, BELLAMY RECOGNIZED BY BASEBALL AMERICA
Baseball America has announced its midseason college baseball awards and both head coach Jim Morris and junior closer Kyle Bellamy have been recognized for their first-half performances. Morris, who has led the `Canes to an overall mark of 25-10 and a ACC record of 11-7, was named Top Coach by the national publication while Bellamy was named as the closer on the Midseason All-America Team.
Morris, who has led UM to a College World Series appearance in 11 of his 15 seasons in Coral Gables, has had the Hurricanes ranked in the Top 10 in most polls all season after losing eight players in last summer’s Major League Baseball draft. UM is currently tied with Clemson for an ACC-high 11 league wins and has series wins over No. 12 Florida, No. 7 Virginia and No. 23 Florida State to its credit.
Bellamy currently leads the Hurricanes with a 1.46 ERA, allowing just four earned runs while striking out 43 in 24 2/3 innings. In a team-high 17 appearances this season, Bellamy has three wins (all against ACC opposition) and a league-high nine saves in nine chances. He is also holding his opponents to a team-best .161 batting average against him.
RAMJIT AGAINST FAU
Freshman first baseman Vickash Ramjit, who has just 28 at-bats in 17 games this year, has been at his best against the Owls, having recorded five of his 11 hits this season in the two games against FAU. On March 25 in Boca Raton, Ramjit went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a runs scored before going 2-for-3 last week in Coral Gables.
HAGERTY’S HOT STREAK
In UM’s last 12 games dating back the March 25 contest against the Owls in Boca Raton, Jason Hagerty has arguably been the top hitter in the ACC. Over that span, Hagerty is hitting .442 (19-for-43) with five doubles, four homers, 20 RBI, 16 runs scored and 10 walks. He is also slugging .884 in his last 12 games and has a .536 on-base percentage over that span. Heading into the first FAU game, Hagerty was hitting .254. Heading into the second meeting, he was hitting .323 and heading into Tuesday’s game, he trails team-leader Scott Lawson (.333) by just six points at .327.
WHAT’S LEFT?
After Tuesday’s game against FAU, Miami will close out the 2009 regular season playing nine games at home and nine on the road. After traveling to UNC this weekend, Miami will return home to host Florida Gulf Coast (4/22) and Virginia Tech (4/24-26). The series against the Hokies will mark UM’s final ACC series at Alex Rodriguez Park this season.
Following that series, UM will host North Florida (4/28) and Florida Gulf Coast again (4/29) before closing 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).
