No. 10 Miami Plays Host to FGCU Wednesday Night
Feb. 23, 2010
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The 10th-ranked University of Miami baseball team returns to Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field for its first mid-week game of the 2010 season Wednesday night when the Hurricanes play host to Florida Gulf Coast at 6 p.m.
Miami (3-0) is coming off a sweep of Rutgers this past weekend in a three-game series that saw the Hurricanes score 31 runs – the most for a UM team in its first three games since 2006. Junior college transfer Chris Pelaez led the `Canes offensive attack, going 8-for-11 with a homer, two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored in his first three games as a Hurricane.
Sophomore clean-up hitter David Villasuso also had a big weekend in his first three games as a full-time starter, hitting two homers on Sunday and collecting a team-high seven RBI on the weekend. The Hurricanes were a perfect 10-for-10 on the base paths against the Scarlet Knights, as sophomore rightfielder Nathan Melendres and freshman shortstop Stephen Perez combined for seven stolen bases.
The UM pitching staff also got off to a strong start, and it started with junior left-hander Eric Erickson, who allowed just two hits and no earned runs in 5 2/3 innings on Friday to earn the victory in his first outing in over 20 months. Senior right-hander David Gutierrez also opened the year on an impressive note, picking up a save on Saturday and a win on Sunday in his first weekend as Miami’s full-time closer.
The three-game series against the Scarlet Knights drew 9,516 fans out to Alex Rodriguez Park – the highest total for a season-opening series in Coral Gables since 10,919 fans attended the 2004 opening series against Florida.
Miami will send freshman left-hander Steven Ewing to the mound on Wednesday to make his first career collegiate start. Opposing Ewing – a 6-2, 223-pound native of Orlando – will be preseason All-America junior left-hander Chris Sale, who is widely considered to be one of the top pitching prospects for this year’s upcoming Major League Baseball draft.
GAME 4: WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24, 6 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS MIAMI – LHP Steven Ewing vs. FGCU – LHP Chris Sale
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM
FGCU REPORT
The Eagles are lead offensively by Austin Gaines, who went 8-for-11 with two doubles, a triple, six RBI and five runs in FGCU’s series sweep of Temple. Gaines, who was named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week for efforts, also walked three times to finish the weekend with a .786 on-base percentage. Tim Roberson, Luke Smierciak and Stephen Wickens all had six hits in FGCU’s first three games, while Wickens was successful on both of his stolen base attempts. Junior left-hander Chris Sale is expected to start for the Eagles Wednesday night. Sale, who was named as the top prospect in Cape Cod League by Baseball America this past summer, earned Louisville Slugger Preseason Second Team All-American honors by Collegiate Baseball after going 7-4 with a 2.72 ERA in 2009. Junior right-hander Richie Erath struck out six and tossed six scoreless innings in FGCU’s opener last Friday.
MIAMI-FGCU ALL-TIME SERIES
The Hurricanes are 2-0 all-time against Florida Gulf Coast, winning 4-2 in 2008 and 13-7 last season. Wednesday’s game will be the third straight held in Coral Gables to open the series. AFTER FGCU Miami will conclude its seven-game season opening homestand when it plays host to Manhattan in a three-game series, Feb. 26-28. Game times against Manhattan are set for 7 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The `Canes are 3-0 all-time against Manhattan, winning dring the regular season in Coral Gables during the 2006 season before beating the Jaspers twice in the Lincoln Regional later that season.
PELAEZ BREAKS OUT
Junior leftfielder Chris Pelaez had quite a weekend against Rutgers last weekend in his first action as Hurricane. The Miami native finished the series 8-for-11 (.727) and slugged 1.182 in his first three games at Miami. A transfer from Louisville via Miami Dade College, Peleaz had a homer, two doubles, four RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base as the `Canes swept the three-game series over the Scarlet Knights. After going 1-for-3 in his first game at UM on Friday, Pelaez went 3-for-3 on Saturday and 4-for-5 on Sunday to lead a `Canes offense that plated 31 runs on the weekend. He reached base in 10 of his 13 plate appearances, adding a walk and a hit-by-pitch to his hit total.
DEVOSS’ DEBUT
Freshman centerfielder Zeke DeVoss didn’t waste any time in becoming a fan favorite in Coral Gables. In just his third game as a `Cane, DeVoss joined the long list of Miami players to hit a walk-off homer at Alex Rodriguez Park, smacking a two-out, three-run shot to give UM a 9-7 victory over Rutgers on Sunday. The opposite field homer was the first of his collegiate career and gave UM the sweep over the Scarlet Knights.
`CANES ENTER NCBWA’S TOP 10
After its three-game sweep of Rutgers last weekend, the `Canes moved up from No. 12 to No. 10 in the first regular season poll released by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. UM also moved from 12 to 10 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, while remaining No. 16 in Baseball America’s poll. The USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll does not release a regular season poll until two weeks into the season.
TICKET INFO
Single game and season tickets are currently available for the 2010 University of Miami season. Single game prices start as low as $10, while season tickets start at $100. Group packages are also available. For more information or to order your tickets for Hurricanes baseball, visit www.hurricanesports.com or call 1-800-GO-CANES.
