Baseball Opens ACC Championship Tuesday at 11 AM
No. 6 MiamiatNo. 2 North Carolina
| ACC CHAMPIONSHIP INFO | |
|---|---|
| Tuesday: | May 23 | 11:00 a.m. |
| Friday (Wake Forest): | May 26 | 11:00 a.m. |
| Saturday (North Carolina): | May 27 | 4:00 p.m. |
| Site: | Louisville Slugger FIeld |
| Tickets: | TheACC.com |
| Championship Notes | Season Stats | |
| THE BROADCAST | |
|---|---|
| TV: | RSN (FOX Sports Sun): Affiliates |
| Online: | ACC Network Extra: Tuesday | Thursday | Saturday |
| Flagship Radio: | 560 WQAM |
| Student Radio: | WVUM 90.5 FM |
| Live Stats: | HurricaneSports.com |
| PROJECTED STARTERS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game | North Carolina | Miami |
| Saturday: | RHP Luca Dalatri | RHP Jesse Lepore |
CANES OPEN POSTSEASON PLAY IN LOUISVILLE
• After sweeping its final regular season series with Virginia Tech, No. 6 seeded Miami will open its run at the 2017 ACC Championship on Tuesday, May 23 vs. 10th-seeded Georgia Tech at 11 a.m. (RSN).
• The Hurricanes, Yellow Jackets and third-seeded Wake Forest are all members of Pool C; Miami plays the Demon Deacons on Thursday at 3 p.m., while Wake Forest and Tech square off Wednesday at 7 p.m.
• The winner of Pool C advances to Saturday’s semifinal round, with games being played at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday’s ACC Championship Game is set for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
• Miami has not missed the ACC Championship since joining the conference prior to 2005; UM’s lone ACC title came in 2008. UM went 2-1 as the No. 1 seed at the 2016 ACC Championship; its last title game appearance came in 2012, an 8-5 loss to Georgia Tech.
• Freshman righthander Evan McKendry (4-2, 3.24 ERA) will start Tuesday opposite Georgia Tech righthander Jake Lee (4-2, 5.51 ERA).
• Junior lefthander Jeb Bargfeldt (7-3, 2.20 ERA) is expected to start Thursday afternoon; Wake Forest’s starting pitcher is TBA.
WEEK IN REVIEW: PERFECT IN FINAL STRETCH
• Thanks in large part to dominant starting pitching, the Hurricanes won all four games of a season-ending homestand to end with momentum heading into the 2017 ACC Championship.
• Freshman righthander Evan McKendry had the best outing of his young career to lead Miami past FGCU, 5-1, Tuesday, May 16.
• Making the sixth start of his career, McKendry set a career high with 10 strikeouts in a career-long-tying seven innings Tuesday. He allowed just two hits and two walks across 102 pitches.
• Junior lefthander Jeb Bargfeldt allowed one run in 7.0 innings, freshman Greg Veliz allowed one run in 8.0 innings, and junior Jesse Lepore allowed two runs in 5.0 innings.
• Over the four games, UM’s starting rotation compiled for a 1.33 ERA in 27.0 innings with 31 strikeouts compared to just five walks.
HEATING UP: RUIZ, CHESTER IMPRESSING
• Junior Carl Chester has been Miami’s top performer at the plate for the last two weeks and is riding a nine-game hitting streak into Tuesday’s Championship opener. Over that stretch, he is bating .417 (15-for-36) with five doubles, 11 runs and a .488 on-base percentage.
• Senior Johnny Ruiz, has also been one of Miami’s top performers over the last three weekends since returning to the starting lineup with an elbow nag. Ruiz has batted .343 over those 11 games with 12 hits, two doubles, two home runs and a team-best nine RBI.
• Miami lefthander Jeb Bargfeldt has been the most consistent weekend starter for the Canes. In nine ACC starts, Bargfeldt is 6-2 with a 1.63 ERA. He is holding ACC opponents to a .172 average.
UNC SNAPS STREAK OF UM COASTAL CROWNS
• Miami won its third straight ACC Coastal Division title in 2016, posting a 21-7 record in ACC play to earn the division crown.
• North Carolina clinched the 2017 Coastal Division crown in a series against Virginia Tech (May 12-14), snapping the impressive run.
• Since the beginning of the 2014 season, Miami has won 29 of its past 40 ACC series. The Hurricanes went 8-2 in ACC series in 2014, 7-3 in 2015, 9-1 in 2016 and were 5-4-1 in 2017.
