Canes Finish ACC Baseball Championships on High Note

DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 5 seed University of Miami baseball team closed out its run at the 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships with a 4-2 victory over No. 8 seed Wake Forest on Saturday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The Hurricanes (36-21) were able to jump on the Demon Deacons (36-21) early and ride another strong outing from the bullpen to the victory.

Due to their loss last night against top-seeded Virginia, the Canes are mathematically out of contention to reach the ACC title game, and now head home to prepare for their expected NCAA record 39th consecutive regional appearance.

For the second straight game, Miami got an early lead thanks to a two-run single by Chris Pelaez, scoring Zeke DeVoss and Nathan Melendres in the opening frame.

Miami got to Wake Forest Starter Austin Sadler early and often, plating another run in the second when DeVoss singled to drive in Brad Fieger. The Canes increased the lead to 4-0 when Rony Rodriguez hit his second giant home run of the tournament with a shot that went over the famous Bull on top of the left field wall – aka The Blue Monster. The shot was reported as the longest homer of the tournament.

The home run was Rodriguez 12th of the year – second-most in the ACC. DeVoss also finished with a big day, going 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. For the tournament, DeVoss finished 8-for-10 with a batting average of .800, and an on-base percentage of .857.

Stadler lasted just 3 2/3 innings for Wake Forest (25-31) as the Hurricanes were able to get on the board in each of the first three innings. The Demon Deacons’ bullpen was able to fare a little better, not allowing a run in 4 1/3 innings of work.

That allowed Wake to start to close the gap, plating one run in the sixth – enough to send Miami starter E.J. Encinosa to the bench – and another in the seventh inning. However, thanks to solid outings by UMiami relievers Sam Robinson and a perfect ninth from Daniel Miranda, the Deacons never threatened to make it any closer.

Encinosa (5-5, 2.90 ERA) got the win, with Miranda picking up his team-leading 14th save for the Hurricanes who finish at 2-1 in Pool A, and now look towards NCAA Regionals next weekend.

Sunday’s ACC title game will feature Florida State against Virginia, regardless of UVa’s outcome in Saturday’s nightcap with UNC.

The Canes came into the weekend ranked No. 19 in Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and collected a victory over No. 1 RPI North Carolina, but are uncertain if they will be hosting Regionals next weekend. Regional sites are announced on Sunday evening, with seeding and pairings announced on Monday afternoon at 12:30. Stay tuned to HurricaneSports.com for all of the latest updates on the Canes in the postseason.

For more information on the ACC Baseball Tournament, 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.

University of Miami Postgame Notes:

With the win, the Hurricanes are now:

• 36-21 overall
• 3-1 in neutral site games
• 20-10 in night games
• 8-6 when wearing White “U” hats
• 2-1 in Pool A competition

Lead It Off
Sophomore Zeke DeVoss led off the game with a single, allowing him to reach safely to start the game for the Canes in five of the last six games. For the tournament, DeVoss reached base safely in 12-of-14 plate appearances.

Making the Sacrifice
Miami executed two sacrifice bunts in the game, giving them 66 sac bunts on the year [tops in the ACC].  Virginia is second with 45 sacrifices on the year.

Just Score First
Scoring two runs in the opening inning against Wake Forest, Miami moved to 22-5 on the year when scoring first – and improved its record to 17-2 when scoring in the opening frame.

Janson Plays a Little Catch
Freshman Corey Janson started his first game behind the dish catching the hard-throwing E.J. Encinosa.

Rodriguez Goes Yard…Again
For the second consecutive game, junior Rony Rodriguez hit a home run over the infamous Blue Monster in left field. On Saturday, Rodriguez not only collected his team-leading 12th homer, but he took the ball over the bull on top of the Blue Monster – making it officially the longest home run hit (as of now) over the left field wall in the tournament.

For Rodriguez, he is now tied for second place in the ACC for home runs.

Hello, Mr. Robinson
Junior Sam Robinson made his team-leading 34th appearance of the season, pitching 1/3 of an inning.  His 34 appearances are the second most in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Making a Case for MVP
Zeke DeVoss made every case he could for MVP honors in the ACC Tournament. DeVoss hit .800 through three games, reaching base in 12-of-14 appearances; slugging at .900; using an on-base percentage of .857; and stealing three-of-four bases. This came against North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest.

The Deacon Dealer
Junior closer Daniel Miranda has four saves in four games this year against the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest.

Steal My Breath
Sophomore second baseman Zeke DeVoss leads the ACC with 32 stolen bases on the year.