No. 8 Baseball Set for Rivalry Weekend vs. UF

#RivalryWeekend
• Miami continues its first road trip of the 2015 season with a visit to Gainesville for a matchup with No. 6 Florida. First pitch for Friday’s series opener is set for 7 p.m (SEC Network+).
• UM fell 3-5 to FAU on Wednesday to open a four-game road swing.
• The Hurricanes captured the 2014 head-to-head series against Florida at Mark Light Field, winning the first two games (6-4, 5-2) but falling in the finale (4-6).
• Miami carries a 126-110-1 all-time series lead over the Gators in the historic rivalry, but trails 46-68-1 in games played in Gainesville. 
• In its last trip to McKethan Stadium (2013), Miami won the opener 3-2 on a ninth-inning RBI single from then-freshman David Thompson but dropped the final two games (4-6, 3-6).

Bring Out The Brooms

* Miami completed its first four-game sweep since 2003 to open its season, outscoring Rutgers 48-14 in a perfect 4-0 weekend.

* The Hurricanes won Sunday’s finale by a resounding 25-4 score – the first time Miami had plated 20 or more runs since the 2009 season. The team’s 25 runs were the most since a 27-1 win over Pace on May 2, 2003.

* Miami connected for 53 hits over the four games, including 16 doubles, four triples and two home runs. 14 different players recorded hits over the weekend, including a team-high seven by Ricky Eusebio and George Iskenderian.

High Expectations

• After capturing the 2014 ACC Regular Season Championship, the Hurricanes entered 2015 ranked in the top 15 of every major college baseball preseason poll. Miami’s highest ranking is No. 8 by Baseball America.
• Miami is also ranked No. 10 by Perfect Game, No. 13 by D1Baseball.com, No. 14 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
• 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 recruiting class was ranked No. 2 nationwide by Perfect Game, and includes MLB Draft picks: George Iskenderian (34th round), OF Carl Chester (38th) and LHP Michael Mediavilla (40th).

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.