No. 16 @CanesBaseball Opens Homestand Tuesday
GAME INFORMATION – GAMES 11-12
#16 MIAMI HURRICANES (5-5, 0-0 ACC) vs. VILLANOVA WILDCATS (2-7, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Tues., March 4, 2014 (6 p.m. ET) • Wed., March 5, 2014 (6 p.m. ET)
Canes All-Access • WVUM 90.5 FM • Coral Gables, Fla. • Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field (4,999)
SERIES HISTORY
Miami leads the all-time series 4-0-0 and 2-0-0 at Mark Light Field… Miami won the last match-up between the two teams, a 2000 battle at Mark Light Field, by a final score 13-8.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
WVUM 90.5 FM • WVUM.org
Tuesday: Alex Somer, Jorge Salas, Will Gretsky
Wednesday: Dan Kane, Oliver Redsten, Matt Ciabattari
PROJECTED STARTERS
Tuesday: MIAMI RHP Javi Salas (0-1, 3.38 ERA) vs. VILLANOVA LHP Hunter Schryver (0-1, 3.86 ERA)
Wednesday: MIAMI LHP Danny Garcia (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. VILLANOVA LHP Jeff Courter (0-0, 11.05 ERA)
NEWS AND NOTES
STARTING OUT STRONG…
• The No. 16 Miami Hurricanes continue their challenging start to the 2014 season with a midweek series against visiting Villanova.
• Miami has three wins against teams ranked in the top 25 through its first 10 games, including two in a series victory over then-No. 16 Florida (Feb. 21-23). The Hurricanes also captured the series opener against No. 2 FSU 3-1 on the road on Feb. 28.
• Miami’s other nonconference competition has included a series victory over 2013 America East regular season champions Maine and a 5-2 midweek loss to FAU, who qualified for the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
• The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Hurricanes, who open ACC play this weekend against Boston College (March 7-9) before traveling to Stetson (March 12) and Georgia Tech (March 14-16).
POWER SURGE…
• Miami ranks first in the ACC with eight home runs through the first three weekends of the regular season. Dale Carey, Zack Collins and Garrett Kennedy lead Miami with two homers each.
• The Hurricane offense exploded for six home runs in its series with Florida (Feb. 21-23), the most for a Miami team in a single series since an April 2010 weekend set at Virginia Tech.
• Collins became the first Hurricane since current San Diego Padres slugger Yonder Alonso (2006) to record a home run as his first collegiate hit – a three-run blast against Florida (Feb. 22). He also recorded home runs in an exhibition with the Marlins (solo HR, Feb. 26) and on the road at Florida State (two-run HR, March 2).
• Miami did not record its eight home run of the 2013 season until a 5-3 win over Maryland on April 13 – the team’s 38th game of the spring.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS…
• Three freshmen were in head coach Jim Morris’ Opening Day lineup: Zack Collins (first base), Willie Abreu (designated hitter) and Johnny Ruiz (second base). Laz Rivera, Jacob Heyward and Brad Zunica have also earned starts through the first three weekends of the season.
• Freshman closer Bryan Garcia recorded the first two saves of his career in back-to-back wins over Florida (Feb. 21-22). He recorded his third save of the season against Florida State (March 1), and ranks second in the ACC with three saves this season.
• Abreu, Collins and Zunica found themselves on the same lineup card for the first time in the series finale against FSU (March 2), and combined for seven hits, two doubles, one home run, four RBI and
four runs scored.
• Freshmen who have seen early playing time out of the bullpen are righthanded reliever Cooper Hammond and lefthanded pitcher Danny Garcia.
• Four players from the recruiting class were selected in the 2013 MLB Draft but opted to play collegiately: Abreu, Collins, Heyward and righthanded pitcher Derik Beauprez.
• The freshman class was rated No. 4 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 6 by Baseball America – its highest ranking from the publication since 2006.
