Canes and Wildcats Meet in Midweek Baseball Contest
April 19, 2011
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The 20th-ranked University of Miami baseball team takes on Bethune-Cookman University in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, April 20, inside Alex Rodriguez Park at 6 p.m. The game is the first of just three midweek single-game affairs remaining on the 2011 slate for the Hurricanes.
Miami (24-12) comes into the week after collecting an Atlantic Coast Conference series win over the weekend at the University of Maryland – participating in the second Sunday doubleheader of the year for the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes have won six consecutive non-conference matchups, and are winners in 10 of the team’s last 11 games overall.
In the second game of Sunday’s two-game split with the Terrapins, UMiami head coach Jim Morris earned his 800th win as skipper for the Hurricanes, now enjoying his 18th year in Coral Gables.
Bethune-Cookman (22-17) enters Wednesday’s game leading the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in almost every statistical category, but more importantly, the wins column – sitting at a perfect 9-0 in league play. The Wildcats have a game in Jacksonville on Tuesday night against North Florida before making the four-hour trip to Coral Gables from Daytona Beach.
Miami is charged at the plate with four batters hitting above a .300 clip, including junior Rony Rodriguez and sophomore Zeke DeVoss each staking a .315 average. Last week, DeVoss led all Hurricanes performers with a .467 batting average, using seven hits on 15 official at-bats – including five runs scored, a double, a triple and a RBI. He was 5-of-6 on stolen bases, while drawing five walks. DeVoss leads the ACC in stolen bases with 24, and is third in walks (34).
Meanwhile, Rodriguez leads the team in home runs (5); ties for the lead in doubles (10); and sits second in RBI (22) and runs (24). His .559 slugging percentage tops the Canes in that department, and his .421 on-base percentage is second only to DeVoss – now using a team-leading .476 on-base average for the year.
Others performing well offensively for the Hurricanes include junior infielder Harold Martinez who moved from shortstop back to first base with the re-entry of sophomore Stephen Perez to the Hurricanes infield. Perez had missed the last 12 games in a starting role at short due to injury.
Martinez is now batting .305 on the year, raising his average more than 100 points since the beginning of March. He is second on the team in hits (39) and RBI (29). Just behind him is Nathan Melendres who bolstered his average to .303 overall with a team-high tying 10 doubles. Last week, the junior outfielder batted .462 with six hits in 13 trips – adding four runs, four doubles, four RBI and swiping four bases in five attempts.
Miami will send sophomore left-hander Steven Ewing to the mound in a starting effort Wednesday, while Bethune-Cookman counters with senior right-hander Julio Morales. Ewing enters working with a team-low ERA of 2.27, and holds a 5-1 record on the campaign. The Orlando native has claimed a win in his last five consecutive starts.
B-CU’s Morales enters with a 1-0 record and an ERA of 13.50. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native and Wabash Valley Community College product (Puerto Rico Baseball Academy & High School) will be making just his second start of the season and his seventh appearance overall for the Wildcats.
For ticket information for the 2011 baseball season, call 1-800-GO-CANES or visit Hurricanesports.com.
Live stats for the game will be provided through Game Tracker at HurricaneSports.com. Fans can also join the live chat, provided by Cover It Live, by visiting HurricaneSports.com as well. The game will be streamed live via Canes All-Access, also located at HurricaneSports.com.
For more information on the University of Miami baseball team, please log on to HurricaneSports.com. To follow the UM Baseball Team via twitter, please navigate to Twitter.com/CanesBaseball. You can also access the official UMiami Baseball blog at TheUBaseball.com.
Fans can keep up-to-date with all UM Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/HurricaneSports. You can also become a fan of the Hurricanes on Facebook at Facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes.
SCOUTING BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY
Entering their contest on Tuesday at North Florida, the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats are 22-17 on the year. The Wildcats are paced by Brashad Johnson with a .333 average at the dish, collecting a team second-best 43 hits and adding 24 RBI. Behind him is 2011 Preseason All-American catcher Peter O’Brien, who has increased his average immensely since the start of MEAC play, now second on the team with a .313 clip at the plate. O’Brien leads the MEAC with 11 home runs on a team-high 45 hits, while producing nine doubles and a MEAC-leading 47 RBI. Also hitting above .300 are Matt Wright (.308) and Nick Johnson (.305).
MIAMI VS. BETHUNE-COOKMAN ALL-TIME SERIES
Miami leads the all-time series against Bethune-Cookman by a count of 20-3, with all 23 games taking place in Coral Gables. UMiami took last year’s only meeting by a 5-2 count, while the Wildcats won their first-ever series against the Hurricanes in 2009, taking two-of-three at Alex Rodriguez Park. The Canes hold an 8-2 record in the last 10 meetings, including a 7-4 decision in the 2008 NCAA Coral Gables Regional opening contest for both teams.
POLL POSITION
Miami dropped to No. 20 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, but the Hurricanes are ranked in all four major polls this week – the first time for the occurrence since Feb. 21. The Canes are ranked in all six collegiate baseball polls, and use their highest ranking at No. 20 in the CBN poll, while sitting at No. 24 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.
HURRICANES SET FOR SHOWDOWN IN TAR HEEL STATE
For the second time in as many weeks, the University of Miami will have a short turnaround after a Wednesday contest. The Hurricanes will hop aboard a flight Thursday morning for a much-anticipated showdown with the University of North Carolina Tar Heels at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill. The Hurricanes took all three games from the Tar Heels last season in Coral Gables in what has become a storied rivalry since entering the league in 2004-05. All three-games will be televised on CSS, with Friday’s series-opener set to start at 7 p.m.
