No. 13 Miami Travels to Ft. Myers to Face FGCU Wednesday
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The 13th-ranked University of Miami baseball team will play its final mid-week road game of the 2010 season when the Hurricanes travel to Ft. Myers on Wednesday, April 14 to take on Florida Gulf Coast at 6:30 p.m. at Hammond Stadium. The `Canes enter the contest with a record of 23-9 overall, while FGCU comes in with a mark of 21-10.
Miami has won four of its first five Atlantic Coast Conference series of the year and has won eight of its last 10 overall coming into the match-up with the Eagles. After struggling in mid-week play in late March, the `Canes have picked up their play on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, winning their last three mid-week games by a combined score of 31-10.
Wednesday’s game will be the first meeting between the two teams this season after the initial match-up scheduled for Feb. 24 in Coral Gables was postponed due to inclement weather. The `Canes and Owls are slated to play again in the final week of the regular season on May 18 at Alex Rodriguez Park.Junior catcher Yasmani Grandal has been one of the hottest hitters over the last few weeks, hitting .510 with six homers and 21 RBI in Miami’s last 12 games. Heading into this week, Grandal leads the ACC in on-base percentage (.520) while ranking second in hitting (.415) and fifth in slugging percentage (.707).Senior right-hander David Gutierrez (2-0, 5.82 ERA) is slated to make his second start of the season on Wednesday. After opening the season as UM’s closer, Gutierrez made the transition to starter last week against FAU, tossing four scoreless to earn his second win of the season.
Offensively, the Hurricanes are averaging eight runs per contest while the team ERA of 3.67 is among the best in the ACC. Relievers E.J. Encinosa (1-0, 2.05 ERA) and Daniel Miranda (2-1, 2.36 ERA) continue to give the `Canes a couple of go-to guys at crucial moments late in games. Miranda earned his first career save last week against FAU after moving into the closer’s role upon Gutierrez’s transition into the starting rotation.
GAME 33: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 6:30 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERSHurricanes – David Gutierrez (2-0, 5.82 ERA) at Eagles – Patrick Nathanson (3-1, 5.45 ERA)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM
FGCU REPORT
The Eagles come in having won five straight, including a series sweep at Campbell over the weekend. FGCU is led offensively by Zach Maxfield, who is hitting a team-best .412 with five homers, 31 RBI and 27 runs scored. Maxfield is one of six hitters that currently boast an average of .350 or better. Tim Roberson (.340) is the team’s top power source, having hit seven homers and driven in 35 runs thus far. Stephen Wickens (.373) and Mikel Smierciak (.371) have 12 and 11 steals respectively to lead the Eagles on the base paths. Ace Chris Sale boasts a 5-0 record and a 1.41 ERA this season in 51 innings. Jack Wagoner (1-1, 3.32 ERA) is the team’s top reliever, coming in with five saves and 19 strikeouts in 19 innings of work.
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 first in the series played in Ft. Myers.
AFTER FGCU
The Hurricanes will return to Alex Rodriguez Park and play host to North Carolina in a three-game ACC series beginning April 16. Game times for the series against the Tar Heels are set for 8 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. All three games will be televised live on CSS.
MIAMI REMAINS IN TOP 15
After going 3-2 last week playing four of its five games on the road, Miami dropped a few spots in the major polls but remains a Top 15 across board, coming in at No. 13 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 14 in the NCBWA and No. 15 in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and the Baseball America poll.
`CANES VS. FGCU
Scott Lawson and Harold Martinez both had big games last season in Miami’s 13-7 win in Coral Gables. Lawson went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs scored while Martinez hit 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and finished with four RBI and two runs scored. Daniel Miranda tossed 1 2/3 scoreless in relief to earn the win for UM. Two years ago when the `Canes came away with a 4-2 win at Mark Light Field, David Gutierrez did not factor in the decision but pitched well, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out five in five innings of work.
ANOTHER PRO PARK
Wednesday’s game at Hammond Stadium – Spring Training home of the Minnesota Twins and regular season home to the Class A Advanced Fort Myers Miracle – will mark the fourth different professional parks the `Canes will have played in this season. Miami’s first trip to a pro park came on March 2, when UM played USF at George Steinbrenner Field — the spring training home of the New York Yankees in Tampa. The following day, the Hurricanes traveled back across the state to play the Florida Marlins in an exhibition contest at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. A few weeks after those games, Miami played a weekend series against Duke at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park – home of the Triple-A Durham Bulls – in Durham, N.C. Given that the Hurricanes finish as one of the top eight teams in the ACC at the end of the regular season, the `Canes will play in their fifth professional park the last week of May as the ACC Championships will be held at NewBridge Bank Park – home of the Class A Greensboro Grasshoppers.
GRANDAL NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Yasmani Grandal was been named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week by the league office on Monday. The award was the first for Grandal in his career and the second ACC weekly honor for the Hurricanes this season after Chris Hernandez was named Pitcher of the Week for the week of March 15-21. Grandal recorded arguably the most productive week of his collegiate career last week, going 11-for-20 with four home runs, 10 RBI and seven runs scored in five games. He homered in both mid-week games against FAU – hitting a two-run blast in Boca Raton on Tuesday and a three-run shot against the Owls at home on Wednesday – before belting a pair of two-run homers against No. 25 Virginia Tech on Saturday. The Miami native opened the weekend against the Hokies by recording a hit in each of his first six at-bats, going 4-for-4 with a pair of runs scored on Friday before opening the game Saturday with the homers in his first two at-bats. Grandal recorded multiple hits in four of UM’s five games on the week, added three walks to his 11 hits and reached safely on 14-of-23 plate appearances on the week.
