Baseball Ready for Midweek Meeting at FAU
Miami (15-9, 3-6 ACC) vs. FAU (16-8, 5-1 C-USA)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule | Game Notes
March 27, 2018 | 6:30 p.m.
FAU Baseball Stadium | Boca Raton, Fla.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes will open a four-game road trip with a midweek contest at FAU on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.
The Canes (15-9, 3-6 ACC) lead the all-time series, 62-17, and will face the Owls (16-8, 5-1 C-USA) for the second time this season. Miami beat FAU, 11-4, on Feb. 20 and is set to host the Owls inside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field on April 3.
Freshman right-hander Slade Cecconi (3-1, 2.45 ERA) will make his second start against the Owls and is set to oppose FAU redshirt sophomore right-hander Ryan Sandberg (0-1, 2.89 ERA).
Cecconi made his first collegiate start against the Owls, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out five over five innings to earn his first victory on Feb. 20.
After a three-homer series against No. 5 NC State, the Canes have hit 27 home runs over 24 games in 2019. UM, who is third in the ACC with 27 homers, matched its 2018 season total of 23 home runs after just 15 games in 2019.
First baseman Alex Toral is second in the ACC with a team-best 11 home runs, while third baseman Raymond Gil and shortstop Freddy Zamora are tied for second on the team with five homers each. Nine different Hurricanes have hit at least one home run in 2019.
Freshman Adrian Del Castillo opened his career with a 15-game hit streak and has hit safely in 22 of 24 games in 2019. Del Castillo is tied with Freddy Zamora for the team lead with 31 hits and nine doubles, while his 25 RBI are second to Toral’s 27. He has eight multi-hit games and six multi-RBI performances.
Miami’s pitchers have accumulated 226 strikeouts over 213.0 innings in 2019, good for sixth-most in the ACC. Over the weekend, MIami’s starting pitchers combined for 27 strikeouts and just three walks over 18.1 innings against No. 5 NC State. In total, Miami’s pitchers had 36 strikeouts and eight walks over three games against the Wolfpack.
Junior right-hander Evan McKendry is tied for third in the ACC with 44 strikeouts in 37.0 innings (10.70 K/9), while sophomore right-hander Chris McMahon is 10th with 39 Ks in 33.0 IP (10.64 K/9). Junior right-hander Gregory Veliz is averaging 14.9 K/9 and leads ACC relievers with 37 strikeouts in 22.1 innings pitched, ranking 13thoverall in the conference.
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 (36th round, White Sox), Anthony Vilar (37th round, Cubs) and Cecconi (38th round, 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 also includes series with Florida State (April 5-7), Virginia Tech (April 26-28) and Duke (May 16-18), among others.
Miami’s road schedule includes trips to Pittsburgh (March 29-31), Virginia (April 12-14), Louisville (April 18-20) and Wake Forest (May 10-12).
