No. 11 Miami Returns Home to Face FGCU Wednesday Night
April 21, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – After playing six of its last seven games on the road, the 11th-ranked University of Miami baseball team will open its upcoming six-game homestand with Florida Gulf Coast Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
Miami (26-13) is coming off a series loss at No. 4 North Carolina that saw the Tar Heels win three close low-scoring affairs at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill. All three of Miami’s starters – Chris Hernandez, David Gutierrez and Iden Nazario – turned in solid outings, but the `Canes were only able to garner five runs of their own all weekend, falling 3-0, 5-4 and 4-1.
The Hurricanes just wrapped up a stretch of the season in which they played 16 games against ranked opponents in a span of 31 days from March 20 to April 19. Miami has faced a Top 25 team in each of the last five weekends, facing No. 7 Virginia, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 23 Florida State, No. 20 Clemson and the fourth-ranked Tar Heels this past weekend.
On the season, the Hurricanes have won six-of-nine weekend series, including series wins at No. 12 Florida, at No. 7 Virginia, and home against No. 23 Florida State.
With just 15 regular season games remaining, Miami will play nine games at home and six on the road before next month’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Hurricanes’ upcoming homestand will include six games in eight days, with a weekend series against Virginia Tech followed by mid-week contests against North Florida and FGCU next week.
FGCU REPORT
The Eagles (22-14) will visit Coral Gables after facing Florida Tuesday night in Fort Myers. Prior to the game against Florida, FGCU has won seven straight, including a series win at home against Lipscomb this past weekend.
Tim Roberson and Zach Maxfield are the top hitters on the FGCU roster. Roberson is hitting a team-best .388 with team-highs for homers (12), RBI (45) and slugging percentage (.673) while Maxfield is hitting .375 with 10 homers, 40 RBI and a team-best .466 on-base percentage. Josh Upchurch (7) and Steve Wickens (5) have combined for 12 of the team’s 18 steals thus far.
On the mound, Richie Erath (4-2, 5.14 ERA, 10 starts) and Chris Sale (5-3, 3.43 ERA, eight starts) have combined for half of the team’s 36 starts this season. Derek Shaw (3-2, 5.65 ERA) leads the team in appearances (14) and saves (3).
MIAMI vs. FGCU
Miami is 1-0 all-time against FGCU, with the first and only meeting between the two schools coming last season. The Hurricanes won the game, 4-2, in 11 innings against the Eagles on April 8 in Coral Gables.
AFTER FGCU
The Hurricanes will host Virginia Tech this upcoming weekend (April 24-26) before closing out the homestand with a pair of mid-week games next week against North Florida (April 28) and FGCU again (April 29).
HERNANDEZ, GRANDAL NAMED TO 2009 USA BASEBALL NATIONAL TRIALS
University of Miami sophomores Chris Hernandez and Yasmani Grandal have been named to a list of 17 initial invitees to the 2009 USA Baseball National Team Trials, as announced by USA Baseball on Tuesday. The National Team Trials, which will be held at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., June 15-24, will be comprised of 36 collegiate players vying for a spot on the final 22-man roster to be announced on June 24. Last season, Hernandez played alongside current UM junior Ryan Jackson on the 2008 team and went 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in 16 innings of work while Jackson finished the summer tied for fourth on the team in RBI (13). Grandal has started 28 games behind the plate for Miami this season and currently leads the team with 10 home runs. Hernandez is 4-3 this year for the `Canes, leading the team in both innings pitched (54) and strikeouts (57).
`CANES TOP 20 IN ALL FIVE MAJOR POLLS
Despite losing this past weekend’s series at No. 4 North Carolina, the University of Miami baseball team is still ranked in the Top 20 all five major college baseball polls. The USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Poll has the `Canes ranked 11th nationally and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll has UM at No. 12. In the three other polls, UM is ranked 17th by Rivals.com and 18th by both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America.
SANTANA’S START
Senior right-hander Jason Santana has overcome a number of injuries in his collegiate career and in 10 appearances this season, he leads the team in wins (6) and owns a 3.10 ERA in a career-high 40 2/3 innings of work. Santana, who has allowed just one earned run in three of his five starts, has 28 strikeouts and is holding his opponents to a .203 batting average against him. He has picked up a win in four of his five starts this season, including three against FAU in a span of 21 days (March 25 – April 15).
