No. 9 Baseball Opens 2015 Season Friday Night
Miami Hurricanes vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Feb. 13- Feb. 15, 2015
Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field | Coral Gables, Fla.
Radio: WQAM 560 (Saturday night only) | WVUM 90.5 FM (all games)
TV: Canes All-Access (HurricaneSports.com) ($)
Twitter: @CanesBaseball
Facebook: /TheUBaseball
Instagram: @TheUBaseball
Miami against Rutgers: 52-12 all-time series advantage
Miami Hurricanes 0-0 (0-0 ACC)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule & Results | Game Notes
Projected Starters:
FRIDAY: Miami LHP Andrew Suarez vs. Rutgers LHP Howie Brey
SATURDAY (G1): Miami LHP Thomas Woodrey vs. Rutgers LHP Mark McCoy
SATURDAY (G2): Miami RHP Enrique Sosa vs. Rutgers RHP Kyle Driscoll
SUNDAY: Miami LHP Danny Garcia vs. Rutgers RHP Gaby Rosa
PLAY BALL!
• No. 9 Miami opens the 2015 regular season with a weekend series against Rutgers at Mark Light Field beginning February 13. The Hurricanes will take on the Scarlet Knights four times over the
weekend: Friday (7 p.m.), a doubleheader Saturday (2 p.m., 7 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
• Miami has welcomed Rutgers to open its season five of the last six years dating back to 2009 – the Hurricanes played Maine to open 2014. Miami has a 13-2 advantage across those five weekend series against the Scarlet Knights.
• Miami has not lost an Opening Day contest since falling 6-5 to Mercer in 2007. Jim Morris has an 18-3 record on Opening Day in his 21 seasons as head coach at Miami.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
• After capturing the 2014 ACC Regular Season Championship, the Hurricanes enter 2015 ranked in the top 15 of every major college baseball preseason poll. Miami’s highest ranking is No. 9 by Baseball America.
• Miami is also ranked No. 10 by Perfect Game, No. 14 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 15 by D1Baseball.com.
• The Hurricanes will feature a number of Preseason All-Americans on Opening Weekend, including reigning 2014 ACC Freshman of the Year Zack Collins (consensus), All-ACC closer Bryan Garcia and Washington Nationals’ second-rounder & staff ace Andrew Suarez.
• Miami’s 2014 recruiting class was ranked No. 2 nationwide by Perfect Game, and includes three MLB Draft picks: junior college transfer George Iskenderian (34th round, St. Louis), freshman OF Carl Chester (38th round, Milwaukee) and freshman LHP Michael Mediavilla (40th round, Cincinnati).
FRESHMAN SENSATION
• Zack Collins delivered one of the best offensive seasons by a freshman in program history in 2014 en route to ACC Freshman of the Year and Baseball America National Freshman of the Year honors.
• Collins, who batted .298 with 11 home runs and 54 RBI, became the sixth player in program history to earn National Freshman of the Year honors from Baseball America, joining Alex Fernandez (1989), Pat Burrell (1996), Kevin Howard (2000), Ryan Braun (2003) and
Chris Hernandez (2008).
• The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native was a consensus 2015 Preseason All-America first-team selection, earning the recognition from: Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA, Perfect Game and D1Baseball.com, among others.
SHUT THE DOOR
• Then-freshman Bryan Garcia was named the team’s closer just prior to the 2014 season opener and rewarded the coaching staff with an All-American campaign (NCBWA, third team).
• An All-ACC Second Team selection as a reliever, Garcia set the Miami freshman saves record and tied for 11th-most saves nationally with 15 in 2014. He was a consensus Freshman All American first-team selection at reliever.
• Garcia finished with a 7-4 record and a 1.75 ERA, allowing just 10 earned runs in 51.1 innings of work. He struck out 56 batters compared to 19 walks.
• Garcia, whose 15 saves were tied for the seventh-most in a single season in UM history, was named a 2015 Preseason All American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game. He was also named to the watch list for the NCBWA 2015 Stopper of the Year Award, honoring the nation’s top closer.
