No. 9 Hurricanes Set for Midweek Trip to FAU

Miami 16-4 (5-1 ACC)
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FAU (14-7, 3-0 Sun Belt)
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BOCA RATON, Fla. — The ninth-ranked University of Miami Hurricanes return to the diamond on Wednesday for a midweek match-up with in-state foe Florida Atlantic University. First pitch for the match-up is set for 6:30 p.m at FAU Baseball Stadium.

The Hurricanes (16-4, 5-1 ACC) have already faced the Owls once this season, taking the series opener 10-5 at Alex Rodriguez Park. Junior Michael Broad connected on a grand slam in the first inning of the game played on Feb. 29, as the Hurricanes scored eight combined runs on the Owls (14-7, 3-0 Sun Belt) over the game’s first two frames.

Freshman Chris Diaz (0-0, 9.00 ERA) will take the hill for Head Coach Jim Morris’ ballclub on Wednesday night, facing off against redshirt freshman Bo Logan (1-1, 7.53 ERA). It will be the second start of the season for Diaz, who made his starting debut for Miami last Tuesday against Illinois State.

GAME NOTES:

On a Roll
After dropping a three-game set earlier in March, Miami has reeled off an 8-1 record over the past two weeks. The ninth-ranked Hurricanes, who are tied for first place in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference entering Wednesday’s game against FAU, have a 16-4 overall record, including a 5-1 mark inconference play.

O’Brien Takes Weekly Honor
For his incredible accomplishments at the plate last week, senior catcher Peter O’Brien was named
ACC Player of the Week on Monday. The Miami Gardens, Fla. native finished the week batting .529, with three homeruns and nine RBI over the team’s five-game stretch. He also connected for three multi-hit games, including three doubles and 21 total bases. After another stellar week, O’Brien currently leads the conference with seven homeruns and 57 total bases.

Freshman Fever in the Gables
Head Coach Jim Morris has enjoyed the benefi ts of strong play from some of his youngest players so far this season. Though his conference-leading 15-game hitting streak came to an end against UCF, freshman third baseman Esteban Tresgallo’s play has been an integral part of the Canes’ early-season success. Through the first 20 games of the season, Tresgallo has the third-highest batting average, (.319), is tied for the second on the team in doubles (7), boasts the second-highest slugging percentage (.559), and the third-highest hit total (22).

Rising Up the Ranks
After another four-win week, the Hurricanes once again moved up in all of collegiate baseball’s most prominent polls released on March 19. The Hurricanes moved up to No. 9 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll (from No. 10), No. 12 in Baseball America’s weekly poll (from No. 14), No. 9 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s Poll (from No. 11), and No. 13 in Perfect Game’s weekly poll (No. 15).

Scouting the Competition: Florida Atlantic University
After Miami defeated visiting FAU 10-5 on Feb. 29, the Owls, 6-1 at the time, began an inconsistent stretch, losing five of their next nine games. But with a recent threegame sweep of Sun Belt foe Florida International and a midweek win against Boston College, the Owls have regained momentum heading into Wednesday’s match-up.

Starting for FAU will be redshirt freshman Bo Logan, who missed all of 2011 after recovering from Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm. The lefthander is sporting a 7.53 ERA over his three starts, including an impressive 15:3 K:BB ratio.The FAU offense powered its way to 23 runs over the team’s three wins over FIU, but lost a key contributor when arguably the team’s best hitter, Alex Hudak, went down to a fractured ankle on March 4.