Miami Baseball Set to Open ACC Tournament Play
May 25, 2011
Miami ACC Tournament Notes in PDF Format 
DURHAM, N.C. – The fifth seed University of Miami, ranked No. 16 in the national polls, begins its Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament run on Thursday, May 26, facing the University of North Carolina at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C., at 11 a.m.
Miami (34-20) is the fifth seed after going 2-1 last weekend against Duke, and the University of North Carolina (44-12) earned the fourth seed by sweeping the top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (45-9). The Hurricanes will open with North Carolina at 11 a.m., before taking on Virginia (May 27 – 11 a.m.) and closing pool play with No. 8 seed Wake Forest (May 28 – 3 p.m.). The Demon Deacons of Wake Forest (25-28) got into the tournament after getting hot towards the latter stages of the season.
Junior outfielder Nathan Melendres leads the Hurricanes at the plate, now hitting .321 on 53 hits (12 doubles, two triples, two home runs). The Miami native earned his first all-conference honors on Monday, named to the All-ACC Second Team as an outfielder, finishing the year in the top five for stolen bases in the league. Melendres is second on the team with 22 steals in 25 attempts. Sophomore second baseman Zeke DeVoss leads the team and ACC with 29 steals.
Fellow junior outfielder Rony Rodriguez is hitting at a team second-best .314 clip, leading the Canes in home runs (10) – tied for fourth in the ACC – and slugging at a .587 average. The left fielder, who also sees time as a designated hitter, also leads UMiami in doubles (15) and is second in RBI (36).
Junior first baseman Harold Martinez leads the team in RBI (38) as he bats just below .300, taking a .299 average into the ACC Tournament and third on the team in hits (36). DeVoss is the third of three players to hit above the .300 line for average, now staking a .311 batting average – leading the Hurricanes in hits (59), stolen bases (29), runs (53), walks (50) and ties for second in doubles (12). The speedster from Mims, Fla., has led the league for the last half of the season in stolen bases.
Miami will use the “Usual Suspects” on the mound as the rotation for this weekend, beginning its pool play against UNC with freshman left-hander Bryan Radziewski (9-2, 2.94 ERA). Radziewski has served as the ace for the Hurricanes all season, and leads the team in appearances (14) and wins (9). His 80 strikeouts on the campaign is also a team-high in 79 2/3 innings tossed. Radziewski failed to factor into the decision against the Tar Heels in the series-opener earlier this year, while UM took an extra-inning win in the first game of a double-header affair.
The second game against Virginia will see sophomore right-hander Eric Whaley start for the Hurricanes. Whaley is the team leader in ERA (2.61) as he carries a 7-5 record into the tournament. He is tied for the team lead in starts (14) and leads the team in innings pitched (86 1/3), while sitting second in strikeouts (79). Against Virginia this season, Whaley took the loss in the second game of the series with six frames pitched, allowing two unearned runs on four hits and striking out five.
In the final game of pool play, the Hurricanes will use sophomore righty E.J. Encinosa, one of the hardest-throwing pitchers on the staff. The tall Miami native has a record of 4-5 on the campaign with an earned run average of 3.00. He has started 13 games – playing in 14 altogether – and tossed an even 78 innings. He has an average against of just .192, allowing just 52 hits and striking out 64 batters on the campaign.
The counterparts for the Hurricanes – North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest – will use a slew of right-handers and a final game day lefty against UMiami. The Tar Heels will use RHP Greg Holt (7-1, 2.90 ERA), while Virginia will throw right-hander Will Roberts (10-1, 1.67 ERA), with Wake Forest using lefty Austin Stadler (2-8, 8.56 ERA) in the final game. The only pitcher Miami has seen from the opposition is Will Roberts, earning a win against Whaley in Charlottesville in a true pitchers’ duel. Greg Holt came on in relief action against UM in the second game of the Saturday doubleheader.
Fans can still purchase tickets to this week’s competition. Complete books to all 13 games are available, as well as individual game tickets. Online ticket information can be found at /ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=28700&ATCLID=205534841championships/11-baseball-tix.html.
All 13 games of this year’s ACC Baseball Championship will be televised for the fifth straight year via RSN, a regional network that covers the entire conference footprint. Please check TheACC.com for local affiliates and stations.
For more information on the ACC Baseball Tournament, please visit TheACC.com, or click here to be directed to the ACC Baseball Tournament website.
To become a fan of the event on Facebook, please click here, or access the official ACC Championships twitter feed by clicking here.
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’S ACC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
GAME 1: THURSDAY, MAY 25, 11 a.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – LHP Bryan Radziewski (9-2, 2.94) vs. UNC – RHP Greg Holt (7-1, 2.90)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM | 560 WQAM | 1450 ESPN Deportes
TELEVISION: Raycom | Fox Sports
VIDEO STREAM: TheACC.com
TWITTER: HurricaneSports | CanesBaseball
GAME 2: FRIDAY, MAY 26, 11 a.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – RHP Eric Whaley (7-5, 2.61) vs. UVa – RHP Will Roberts (10-1, 1.67)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM | 560 WQAM | 1450 ESPN Deportes
TELEVISION: Raycom | Fox Sports
VIDEO STREAM: TheACC.com
TWITTER: HurricaneSports | CanesBaseball
GAME 3: SATURDAY, MAY 27, 3 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI – RHP E.J. Encinosa (4-5, 3.00) vs. WFU – LHP Austin Stadler (2-8, 8.56)
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM | 560 WQAM | 1450 ESPN Deportes
TELEVISION: Raycom | Fox Sports
VIDEO STREAM: TheACC.com
TWITTER: HurricaneSports | CanesBaseball
