Canes Baseball Hosts No. 5 NC State
Miami (15-6, 3-3 ACC) vs. #5 NC State (20-1, 5-1 ACC)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule | Game Notes
March 22-24, 2019 | 7 p.m. | 7 p.m. | 1 p.m.
Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field | Coral Gables, Fla. | Buy Tickets | Directions
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami baseball program will face a top-10 team for the second consecutive week, as they will host No. 5 NC State for a three-game series.
The Hurricanes (15-6, 3-3 ACC) will face the fifth-ranked Wolfpack (20-1, 5-1 ACC) in a three-game set inside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
The Canes will wear special pink-themed uniforms on Friday, as the series opener will be the Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Game scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Saturday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the contest will be the first of two Bark in the Park games this year. Sunday’s finale will begin at 1 p.m.
All three games against NC State will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, while Sunday’s game will also be broadcast on 790 The Ticket and in Spanish on 990 AM ESPN Deportes. All baseball games, home and away, can be heard on WVUM 90.5 FM and WVUM.org.
Junior right-hander Evan McKendry (4-0, 3.23 ERA) will go for his fifth win, opposing NC State RHP Jason Parker (3-0 0.68 ERA) in a Friday battle of ACC aces. In his last start, McKendry held No. 8 UNC to four runs (three earned) on six hits over 5.2 innings while striking out three.
Sophomore right-hander Chris McMahon (1-1, 4.00 ERA) will face off against sophomore RHP Reid Johnston (2-0, 2.86 ERA) on Saturday. Sunday’s finale will feature Miami’s Brian Van Belle (3-2, 3.38 ERA), while NC State has not named a starting pitcher.
The Hurricanes lead the all-time series, 34-16, and have a 20-5 advantage in games played in Coral Gables. NC State opened the season winning 19 straight before dropping the series finale at FSU on Sunday. The Wolfpack beat Towson, 11-1, on Tuesday.
Miami will look to bounce back from a 4-2 midweek loss against Columbia on Wednesday. The Hurricanes are 12-2 at home in 2019.
The Hurricanes have one of the most potent offenses in the ACC, entering the weekend with a .292 team batting average that is tied for third in the ACC. Miami is third in the ACC in slugging (.471), fourth in hits (209), and doubles (41) and fifth in runs (149).
Sophomore first baseman Alex Toral is second in the ACC with a team-best 10 home runs. Fellow sophomores Raymond Gil and Freddy Zamora are tied for second on the team with five homers. UM, which ranks third in the ACC with 27 homers, matched its 2018 season total of 23 home runs after just 15 games in 2019.
A pair of freshmen hitters have been especially effective lately, as cleanup hitter Adrian Del Castillo opened his career with a 15-game hitting streak that tied Esteban Tresgallo’s streak of 15 games in 2013 for the longest to begin a Hurricane career. Del Castillo has a hit in 20 of Miami’s 21 games this season.
Jordan Lala is another freshman making an impact, especially since moving into the leadoff spot against FIU on Feb. 27. In 12 games as a leadoff hitter, Lala is 15-for-39 (.385) with a double, a homer, 16 runs scored, 14 walks, 7 stolen bases and 4 RBI.
Miami added a recruiting class ranked eighth by D1Baseball and No. 10 nationwide by Baseball America to a group of 18 returning letterwinners from a 2018 team that finished 28-26 overall and 16-13 in ACC play.
Three members of Miami’s recruiting class were selected in the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft; Del Castillo (36thround, White Sox), Anthony Vilar (37thround, Cubs) and Slade Cecconi (38thround, Orioles) all spurned professional overtures for a career at Miami after being selected in the 2018 MLB Draft.
Cecconi (#2), Del Castillo (#8) and Vilar (#48) were among the Top 50 Impact Freshmen in the ACC according to D1Baseball. Freshman LHP/UT JP Gates was ranked 10th among ACC freshmen. Baseball America rated Cecconi (No. 12), Gates (No. 16) and Del Castillo (No. 31) among the top 50 freshmen nationally.
The Hurricanes’ home schedule includes series with Florida State (April 5-7), Virginia Tech (April 26-28) and Duke (May 16-18), among others.
Miami’s road schedule also includes trips to Pittsburgh (March 29-31), Virginia (April 12-14), Louisville (April 18-20) and Wake Forest (May 10-12).
