`Canes Baseball Extends Winning Streak to Nine on Wednesday

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Travis Miller saw action in his second game of the year and recorded his first win of the campaign, helping the University of Miami extend its winning streak to nine games with a 5-2 victory at home over Florida Gulf Coast University at Alex Rodriguez Park on Wednesday night.

At the beginning of the 2011 season, there was a lot of hype surrounding Miami junior Harold Martinez – and rightfully so – after leading the ACC with 21 home runs as a sophomore.  Wednesday night, Martinez continued an eight-game hit streak in which he has lived up to every bit of those expectations, hitting .467 over the ‘Canes recent nine-game surge.

Martinez went 1-for-3 to drive in three runs and propel the Miami Hurricanes (14-8) in a come-from-behind win in five straight games now for UMiami.

The ‘Canes looked to be in trouble early-on for the second straight night, as Florida Gulf Coast (12-10) scored two runs in the top of the third off of Miami’s freshman starter A.J. Salcines. Salcines finished the night without factoring into the decision, leaving the game after four innings tossed – and the Hurricanes trailing in the contest.

In the bottom of the fourth, Miami narrowed the gap as Zeke DeVoss doubled to lead off the inning, then stole third with no outs.  After Nathan Melendres walked, Martinez came to the plate, and hit a hard grounder to third that allowed DeVoss to score.

The bottom of the sixth followed a similar script with DeVoss walking to start the inning; later trotting to second after Melendres took his second walk of the game to bring up Martinez. 

Martinez then ripped a single to right field to knot the game at 2-all as he drove in DeVoss from third.  The Hurricanes then took the lead for good as Rony Rodriguez singled through the right side two batters later to bring Melendres home.

The ‘Canes stretched their lead in the eighth as freshman Dale Carey singled to right and advanced on a balk, and Martinez tallied his third RBI of the game with another hard hit ground ball, this time to second base.  Martinez then scored his first run of the game on Rodriguez’ second RBI of the night for the final margin.

Travis Miller (1-0, 0.00) got his first win of the year in relief, as closer Danny Miranda recorded his sixth save of the year.

FGCU starter Kevin Bryant went 3 2/3 innings, but it was reliever Austin Gaines (2-1, 1.29 ERA) who took the loss.

The Hurricanes now look towards the weekend matchup with Georgia Tech, as the Yellow Jackets visit Coral Gables as the only team besides Miami to boast a perfect conference record so far this year. The Yellow Jackets enter riding a 13-game winning streak – the longest in the league – with Miami’s nine-game streak also on the line.

The entire series will be broadcast on both CSS and Sun Sports, respectively. The opening game will be Friday, March 25, with the first pitch set for 7:06 p.m.  On Friday night, Miami will throw LHP Bryan Radziewski, while Georgia Tech will counter with RHP Mark Pope.

For ticket information for the 2011 baseball season, call 1-800-GO-CANES or visit 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.

You 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.

University of Miami Postgame Notes:

With the win, the Hurricanes are now…

• 14-8 overall
• On a season-long nine game winning streak
• 5-0 vs. Florida Gulf Coast all-time
• 11-3 at Alex Rodriguez Park this season
• 6-4 in games when the opponent starts a left-handed pitcher
• 11-1 when leading after six innings

Tonight’s Starters
Zeke DeVoss started in center field tonight in place of Nathan Melendres – who served as designated hitter – and Chantz Mack suited up in left field with Rony Rodriguez over in right field. Late in the game, head coach Jim Morris made defensive substitutions with Martinez playing shortstop; Rodriguez moving to first base; Dale Carey going to center and Mack moving to right.

Hit and Run
Zeke DeVoss recorded his team-high tying fifth double of the night in the fourth inning, before swiping his team-leading 11th steal of the season – reaching safely at third.

It’s Miller Time
Junior pitcher Travis Miller saw action in his second game this year, picking up his first win since May 2, 2010. Miller toed the rubber in the fifth inning in relief of starter AJ Salcines. Hi only other game this year was against Illinois State (March 8).

Turn Off the Lights
Junior closer Daniel Miranda picked up his team-best sixth save of the year – sitting second-best in the Atlantic Coast Conference in that category. Miranda earned his fifth save in the last six games – and his fifth consecutive when toeing the rubber in relief.

The Pen Is Mightier
For the sixth consecutive game, the UMiami bullpen did not allow a single run, this time using the combination of Travis Miller – who earned the win, Adam Sargent, Sam Robinson and Daniel Miranda for the final five frames in relief of starter AJ Salcines who tossed the first four frames.

Martinez Hits Elite Eight
Junior Harold Martinez recorded a hit in his eighth straight game tonight, using a single to right in the sixth inning. Since making the move to first base in the series-opener against Virginia Tech on March 11, Martinez has a team-high .467 average at the plate – adding a team-leading 14 hits and a slugging percentage of .533 during that span.

Let’s Go Streaking
With the win tonight, Miami has peeled off nine consecutive wins. This is the longest winning streak for the ‘Canes since 2008, when UMiami rolled off 14 straight victories from March 18 through April 8. That same year, the ‘Canes won their first ACC Tournament title and advanced to the College World Series.