No. 15 Miami Concludes Regular Season with Duke
May 18, 2011
Miami vs. Duke Series Notes in PDF Format 
Coral Gables, Fla. – No. 15 Miami baseball concludes the 2011 regular season this week, hosting Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Duke for a three-game series, May 19-21, at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, Fla. Times for the series will be 7 p.m. (Thursday), 7 p.m. (Friday) and 1 p.m. (Saturday).
Miami (32-19, 17-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) will celebrate Senior Appreciation Night on Friday, honoring pitcher Michael Rudman and outfielder Chris Pelaez (recently earning his degree on Thursday, May 12). The senior celebration will take place prior to Friday night’s contest.
The Hurricanes will be looking to snap a two-game home skid, as well as looking for a chance to finish the ACC regular season third in the Coastal Division – and fourth overall heading into next week’s ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C.
The Hurricanes have dropped three consecutive games – including four of the last five – as they welcome Duke (25-28, 6-21 ACC) who enters 11th in the ACC standings and last in the Coastal Division. As it relates to the upcoming ACC Tournament, the Blue Devils have been eliminated from postseason play, while the Canes look to solidify a spot as high as fourth. The series will be key for the Hurricanes as they still look to host a possible NCAA Regional in early June, now owning an RPI of 21 (0.584) as of Wednesday morning. UMiami will need to sweep this weekend’s series and have a good showing in next week’s ACC Tournament to increase the chances of a Coral Gables Regional in back-to-back years.
Miami is led offensively by junior outfielders Nathan Melendres and Rony Rodriguez each hitting above a .300 clip, while Melendres leads the team with a .327 average. He is tied for the team lead in doubles (12) and second in steals (20). As for Rodriguez, the Hurricanes’ best hitter from the fall season has continued that trend throughout the spring season, leading the Canes in home runs (9) and slugging percentage (.558) – all while batting .307 overall on the year. Freshman third baseman Brad Fieger is batting .291, and owns just 19 strikeouts in 189 official at-bats on the year – giving him a ratio of 0.11:1 for AB-to-K.
The Blue Devils of Duke are led at the dish by Jeff Kremer with a .354 average, and leading the team in hits (67) and walks (38). Anthony D’Alessandro bats .307 for the Blue Devils and sits fourth on the squad in RBI (26), using eight steals in nine attempts. Chris Marconcini leads the team in homers (4) and slugging percentage (.503).
Duke has won four of its last six contests with wins coming against Wake Forest, The Citadel and Mount St. Mary’s, respectively. The Blue Devils have won just one conference series all year – that being a 2-1 series victory over in-state rival NC State (March 11-13) in Durham. Another notable win for Duke was a 4-3 decision over sixth-ranked Georgia Tech (April 2), also in Durham.
Miami will send freshman left-hander Bryan Radziewski (8-2, 3.10 ERA) to the mound in the opener, as Duke will counter with freshman right-hander Robert Huber (4-0, 4.18 ERA). Radziewski earned his biggest win of the year last weekend in Charlottesville, Va., helping the Hurricanes defeat top-ranked Virginia in the series-opener – and defeating the ACC’s top pitcher, Danny Hultzen.
The Friday contest will feature a pair of right-handers with Eric Whaley (7-4, 2.76 ERA) of Miami going against Duke’s Dennis O’Grady (5-3, 4.00 ERA). Saturday’s series finale will feature Miami sophomore right-hander E.J. Encinosa (4-5, 3.16 ERA) against Duke right-hander Marcus Stroman (3-4, 2.86 ERA).
The Hurricanes have won four in a row in the series against the Blue Devils, while owning a 21-3 advantage all-time in the series between the two schools. Duke took the first two meetings back in 1966 before Miami rolled off 17 consecutive wins from March 29, 1967 through March 13, 2009. Duke took one-of-three in the 2009 season series, but UMiami has not lost since. The Canes are 8-0 lifetime in Durham, sweeping the series last year at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Radio coverage for the entire series will be carried by WVUM 90.5 FM (WVUM.org), WQAM 560 AM (WQAM.com), as well as 1450 AM ESPN Deportes (1450ESPNDeportes.com) broadcasting in Spanish.
Some promotions for the weekend that fans may enjoy will be the always popular Flingin’ Friday event following the game, as well as Fan Appreciation Day happening on Saturday. Immediately following Saturday’s contest, fans are encouraged to come down to the field of Alex Rodriguez Park and play catch with their favorite Hurricanes student-athletes in right field for 30 minutes. There will also be a Flingin’ Friday Throw Off for the championship prize from winners of the contest each Friday night throughout the season.
Live stats for the entire series 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.
After facing Duke, Miami will prepare for the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C., taking place at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The dates of the tournament are set for May 25-29. For more information, please visit TheACC.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 Canes on Facebook at Facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes.
MIAMI VS. DUKE SERIES SCHEDULE
GAME 1: THURSDAY, MAY 19, 7 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – LHP Bryan Radziewski (8-2, 3.10) vs. DU – RHP Robert Huber (4-0, 4.18)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM | 560 WQAM | 1450 ESPN Deportes
VIDEO STREAM: Canes All-Access
TWITTER: HurricaneSports | CanesBaseball
GAME 2: FRIDAY, MAY 20, 7 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – RHP Eric Whaley (7-4, 2.76) vs. DU – RHP Dennis O’Grady (5-3, 4.00)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM | 560 WQAM | 1450 ESPN Deportes
VIDEO STREAM: Canes All-Access
TWITTER: HurricaneSports | CanesBaseball
GAME 3: SATURDAY, MAY 21, 1 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – RHP E.J. Encinosa (4-5, 3.16) vs. DU – RHP Marcus Stroman (3-4, 2.86)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM | 560 WQAM | 1450 ESPN Deportes
VIDEO STREAM: Canes All-Access
TWITTER: HurricaneSports | CanesBaseball
