Baseball Continues ACC Play at Georgia Tech
Miami (12-12, 6-3 ACC) at Georgia Tech (14-11, 3-6 ACC)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule | Game Notes
March 30 – April 1, 2018 | 6 p.m. | 4 p.m. | 1 p.m.
Russ Chandler Stadium | Atlanta, GA.
ATLANTA — Miami will be looking to continue its momentum in a weekend series at Russ Chandler Stadium, as the Hurricanes battle host Georgia Tech from March 30 – April 1.
The Hurricanes are coming off their first sweep of Virginia since 2008 and their first series win over the Cavaliers since 2009.
For the third straight weekend, Miami will use the same projected starting rotation: senior LHP Jeb Bargfeldt (2-2, 2.95 ERA), sophomore RHP Evan McKendry (4-2, 2.04 ERA) and junior RHP Andrew Cabezas (2-2, 3.24 ERA).
Though the Hurricanes (12-12, 6-3) dropped two of three at a top-25 Duke team in their first weekend of that three-man rotation, Miami’s pitching staff has been sensational recently. Cabezas is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in two starts, McKendry has won three ACC Pitcher of the Week awards, and Bargfeldt has continued with the same impressive repertoire that earned him second-team All-ACC honors a season ago.
While McKendry has starred in the rotation with an ACC-leading strikeouts-per-nine mark of more than 14, it appears the Hurricanes are well-positioned heading into the middle part of a grueling ACC schedule.
Freshman righthander Daniel Federman (1-1, 1.51 ERA) has been dominant against talented midweek competition, and is coming off a hard-luck loss in a complete game effort Wednesday night. Federman tossed a career-long eight innings and struck out a career-high seven, but an unearned run proved the difference in a 1-0 loss in Fort Myers.
Freshman righthander Chris McMahon made his Miami debut during the Hurricanes’ exhibition at the Marlins, and Miami’s bullpen – including senior righthander Cooper Hammond, junior righthander Frankie Bartow and freshman lefthander Jeremy Cook – have impressed through Miami’s first 24 games.
Bartow, in particular, has been a shining spot in the bullpen; the Miami native has yet to allow an earned run in 10 appearances spanning 15.0 innings. He has 14 strikeouts compared to just two walks and is holding opponents to a .182 average.
The Hurricanes are one of just two teams in the ACC with a staff ERA of under 3.00 (2.78) and rank first in the category. Miami has been even more impressive in conference play, where the Hurricanes have a 1.98 staff ERA against ACC foes.
Miami will need its staff to perform against a Georgia Tech team that is hitting .310 with 31 home runs in offense-friendly Russ Chandler Stadium through its first 25 games.
