Miami Set to Take On Rival FSU at ACC Baseball Championship
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Fourth-seeded Miami will begin its ACC Baseball Championship schedule by taking on fifth-seeded Florida State on the tournament’s opening day – Wednesday, May 26 – at 4 p.m. at NewBridge Bank Park. The `Canes (39-15, 20-10 ACC) are slated to start freshman right-hander Eric Whaley, while FSU (39-16, 18-12) will counter with lefty Sean Gilmartin.
Miami and FSU are joined by No. 1 seed Virginia (23-7 ACC) and No. 8 seed Boston College (14-16) in Division A of the tournament. Under the pool-play format, each team will play one game against each of the other three opponents in its division Wednesday through Saturday. The two teams with the best records within their respective division brackets will advance to the title game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
After facing FSU on Wednesday, the Hurricanes will turn around and play Boston College at noon on Thursday before taking a day off on Friday. Pool play then wraps up on Saturday, with Miami and Virginia squaring off at noon.
ACC Player of the Year Yasmani Grandal will lead the Hurricanes this week in Greenboro. Grandal enters the tourmanent leading the league in hitting (.428), on-base percentage (.552) and slugging percentage (.759). Lefty ace Chris Hernandez (8-3, 2.94 ERA) is expected to start against Boston College, while David Gutierrez (5-1, 4.32 ERA) will take the mound against Virginia.
Fans can still purchase tickets to the tournament. Complete books to all 13 games are available, as well as individual game tickets. Online ticket information can be found at http://www.theACC.com/championships/10-baseball-tix.html.
All 13 games of this year’s ACC Baseball Championship will be televised for the fourth straight year via RSN, a regional network that covers the entire conference footprint. Please check theACC.com for local affiliates and stations.
MIAMI’S TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
GAME 55: WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 4 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
FSU- LHP Sean Gilmartin (6-6, 4.63 ERA) vs. MIAMI – RHP Eric Whaley (4-1, 4.58 ERA)
TV: RSN
RADIO: 560 WQAM, 1450 ESPN DEPORTES, 90.5 WVUM
GAME 56: THURSDAY, MAY 27, 12 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
BC – RHP Mike Dennhardt (4-7, 7.22 ERA) vs. MIAMI – LHP Chris Hernandez (8-3, 2.94 ERA)
TV: RSN
RADIO: 560 WQAM, 1450 ESPN DEPORTES, 90.5 WVUM
GAME 57: SATURDAY, MAY 29, 12 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
VIRGINIA – LHP Danny Hultzen (8-1, 2.08 ERA) vs. MIAMI – RHP David Gutierrez (5-1, 4.32 ERA)
TV: RSN
RADIO: 560 WQAM, 1450 ESPN DEPORTES, 90.5 WVUM
FSU REPORT
The Seminoles have dropped four of their last six entering play this week, including dropping all three games at Clemson in its last regular season series. All-ACC performers Tyler Holt (.341, 11 HR, 40 RBI) and Mike McGee (.332, 11, 60 RBI) lead the offense, while McGee also doubles as FSU’s closer with four wins, nine saves and a 0.43 earned run average. Sean Gilmartin (6-6, 4.63) is slated to throw against the `Canes on Wednesday.
MIAMI-FSU ALL-TIME SERIES
Miami trails FSU, 134-119-4, in the all-time series between the long time rivals. The `Canes had won 7 of 10 against FSU before the Seminoles took two-of-three from UM earlier this season in Tallahassee.
BOSTON COLLEGE REPORT
The Eagles lost two-of-three last weekend at home to No. 6 Georgia Tech, dropping the first two before picking up a 6-3 win in its regular season finale. First baseman Mickey Wiswall (.300) earned first team All-ACC honors after recording team-highs for homers (18), RBI (60) and total bases (142). Anthony Melchionda (.361) leads the team in hitting. Mike Dennhardt (4-7, 7.22 ERA) has started a team-high 13 games and is slated to throw against the Hurricanes on Thursday.
MIAMI-BOSTON COLLEGE ALL-TIME SERIES
Miami is 9-3 all-time against Boston College. Last year, the teams split four games, with Miami winning two-of-three at BC before the Eagles defeated UM, 10-1, in the 2009 ACC tournament. Earlier this season, Miami took 2-of-3 from Boston College in Coral Gables.
VIRGINIA REPORT
The Cavaliers have won 16 of their last 17 games heading into the ACC tournament. Oufielder Phil Gosselin (.379, 7 HR, 49 RBI) was recently named first team All-ACC, while Keith Werman (.446, 0 HR, 21 RBI), Tyler Cannon (.342, 3 HR, 34 RBI) and Jarrett Parker (.340, 8 HR, 48 RBI) all earned second team honors. Lefty ace Danny Hultzen (8-1, 2.08) was named ACC Pitcher of the Year while closer Kevin Arico (ACC-high 15 saves) was garnered first team honors.
MIAMI-VIRGINIA ALL-TIME SERIES
Miami owns an 18-1 record all-time against Virginia and has won eight of its last 11 meetings with the Cavaliers. Last year, Miami took two-of-three in Charlottesville but the Cavaliers bounced back in 2010, taking two-of-three last weekend in Coral Gables.
GRANDAL IS ACC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Junior catcher Yasmani Grandal was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year on Monday, headlining five Hurricanes named to the 2010 All-ACC baseball team, as announced by commissioner John D. Swofford. Grandal is the second Hurricane to garner the prestigious award after Ryan Braun was named the league’s player of the year in 2005. Junior left-hander Chris Hernandez joined Grandal on the ACC’s first team, while senior first baseman Scott Lawson, sophomore third baseman Harold Martinez and sophomore left-hander Daniel Miranda all garnered second team honors. The teams were voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches. Grandal is having one of the most productive seasons in the history of Miami baseball. He currently leads the ACC in hitting (.428), on-base percentage (.552) and slugging percentage (.759), while ranking second in walks (50) and doubles (21). He leads the `Canes in nearly every offensive category – including hits (80), RBI (54) and total bases (142) – while ranking second in homers (13). He led the conference in hitting, on-base percentage (.570), slugging percentage (.833), hits (50), doubles (14) and total bases (90) in ACC play, hitting safely in 26 of 30 ACC games.
CAPTAINS NAMED
Following the conclusion of the regular season, juniors Yasmani Grandal and Chris Hernandez were named team captains for the team’s postseason run – beginning with this week’s ACC tournament. POLL UPDATE The `Canes continue to be ranked in the Top 20 in all major polls heading into conference tournament week. Miami is ranked as high as No. 10 by Collegiate Baseball, in addition to ranking 13th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, 14th in the NCBWA poll and 17th in Baseball America and Rivals.com.
WHALEY TO MAKE HIS SECOND START
Freshman right-hander Eric Whaley is slated to make just his second career start on Wednesday against the Seminoles. Currently second on the team with 26 appearances on the year, Whaley has mostly been used in middle relief. This past weekend against Virginia, he turned in the best outing of his career, tossing four scoreless relief innings, allowing just two hits while striking out a career-high seven.
