No. 9 Miami Returns Home to Host FGCU Tuesday Night
May 17, 2010
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – No. 9 Miami will look to extend its 16-game home winning streak Tuesday night when it plays host to Florida Gulf Coast at 6 p.m. at Alex Rodriguez Park. The game marks the final mid-week and non-conference game for the Hurricanes this season.
Miami (37-13) has just four regular season games remaining, with top-ranked Virginia set to visit Coral Gables for a three-game set beginning Thursday, May 20. Following the series against the Cavaliers, the `Canes will head to Greensboro, N.C. for next week’s 2010 ACC Baseball Championship.
Junior catcher Yasmani Grandal continues to build his case for national and ACC player of the year. Grandal currently leads the conference in batting average (.425), on-base percentage (.547) and slugging percentage (.764), in addition to ranking second in doubles (21) and walks (45). His .474 average against ACC opponents is 89 points higher than the league’s next-best hitter in conference play (Georgia Tech’s Matt Skole, .385) while his .995 fielding percentage on the year ranks among the league’s best.
This past weekend at Georgia Tech, Grandal was one of four UM hitters – along with Nathan Melendres, Chris Pelaez and Scott Lawson – to record five hits against the Yellow Jackets. Harold Martinez also had a big weekend at the plate, recording a team-high five RBI while hitting two home runs to increase his team-leading total to 17 this season.
Miami’s 3.64 team ERA this season trails only Virginia (3.50) while its 449 strikeouts as a team trails only North Carolina (451). Chris Hernandez, who earned his team-leading eighth win of the season Saturday in Atlanta, ranks fifth in the ACC in ERA (3.04), second in wins (8) wins and fifth in strikeouts (82). Lefty reliever Sam Robinson made two appearances out of the bullpen against the Yellow Jackets and allowed just one unearned run on two hits while striking out six in 3 1/3 innings. On the year, Robinson boasts a 1-0 record and a 0.47 ERA, allowing just one earned run while striking out 18 in 19 1/3 innings.
Freshman left-hander Steven Ewing (2-2, 6.75 ERA) is slated to make his fifth start of the season Tuesday night. Ewing last appeared in a game on March 31 when he allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings in a start against FAU.
MID-WEEK SCHEDULE
GAME 51: TUESDAY, MAY 18, 6 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
FGCU – RHP Jack Wagoner (1-3, 4.20 ERA) vs. MIAMI – LHP Steven Ewing (2-2, 6.75 ERA)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM
FLORIDA GULF COAST REPORT
The Eagles (34-17) have won six of their last seven games, including two-of-three this past weekend at Jacksonville. Mikel Alvarez is hitting a team-best .379, while three other FGCU hitters are hitting above .360. Tim Roberson has team-highs for homers (13), RBI (58) and total bases (129) while Stephen Wickens (.372) has 17 of the team’s 34 stolen bases. Jack Wagoner (1-3, 4.20 ERA) has appeared in a team-high 23 games and has nine of FGCU’s 16 saves but is slated to start Tuesday night. Fellow reliever Jacob Barnes (2-2, 7.71 ERA) also has 20 appearances.
MIAMI-FLORIDA GULF COAST ALL-TIME SERIES
The Hurricanes are 3-0 all-time against Florida Gulf Coast. Miami won 4-2 in Coral Gables in 2008, 13-7 last season in Coral Gables and 9-0 in Ft. Myers earlier this season on April 14.
AFTER FLORIDA GULF COAST
The Hurricanes will wrap up their 2010 regular season schedule when they play host to Virginia in a three-game series beginning Thursday, May 20. Game times for the series against the Cavaliers at Alex Rodriguez Park are set for 7 p.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday.
POLL UPDATE
The `Canes continue to be ranked in the Top 15 in all major polls heading into the final week of the regular season. Miami is ranked as high as No. 9 by Collegiate Baseball, in addition to ranking 13th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, 14th in Baseball America and 15th by Rivals.com. The NCBWA poll will be released Monday night.
MID-WEEK SUCCESS
Miami has won seven straight mid-week games going back late March and is 10-2 this year against opponents in the mid-week. During its recent seven-game mid-week streak, Yasmani Grandal, Chris Pelaez, Scott Lawson and Nathan Melendres are all hitting .340, with Grandal leading the way going 12-for-23 with four homers and 12 RBI in those wins.
TICKET INFO
To order tickets to any of the four remaining regular season home games left on Miami’s schedule, visit www.hurricanesports.com or call 1-800-GO-CANES.
