Indiana University Athletics
Inside the Miami (Fla.) Series
2/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 28, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Step two on the Indiana baseball team's daunting non-conference schedule is a three-game series in Coral Gables, Fla., against perennial powerhouse Miami (Fla.) at Mark Light Field. The Hoosiers and Hurricanes open the set under the lights at 7 p.m. EST on Friday, March 3, followed by a 7 p.m. showdown on March 4. First pitch for the series finale is scheduled at 1 p.m. on March 5.
Fans can follow all three games live on Gametracker at IUHOOSIERS.com.
Miami enters the weekend with a 9-6 record after putting the finishing touches on a sweep of Bethune-Cookman last weekend in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes took the opener, 4-3, and dominated the final two games of the set by a 9-1 margin in each game.
After its performance, Miami sits 16th in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Coaches Poll, 24th in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 College Coaches Poll and 27th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Media Poll.
Freshman third baseman Yonder Alonso paces the Hurricane offensive attack. The Miami native leads the club with a .407 batting average, 21 RBI and six doubles to go along with a pair of home runs and 14 runs. Overall, the Hurricanes are hitting at a .306 clip and are averaging just under seven runs per contest.
Miami will send sophomore right-hander Carlos Gutierrez (4-1, 1.86 ERA) to the bump in game one followed by sophomore southpaw Manny Miguelez (2-1, 1.97) in game two. Sophomore left-hander Scott Maine (1-0, 5.68) will start the series finale. The trio holds a 7-2 record and a 2.27 ERA (17 runs in 67 1/3 innings), while the entire Hurricane staff owns a 3.22 ERA.
IU will counter with senior right-hander Josh Lewis (0-1, 7.36) in Friday's opener, and freshman Tyler Tufts (0-1, 11.25) in game two. The starter in Sunday's series finale is undecided.
The Hoosiers and Hurricanes are meeting for the fourth time as Miami hosted Indiana and completed a three-game sweep in 1974. Miami took the opener 7-2 on March 11 and knocked off Indiana in two seven-inning contests (4-2, 7-6) on March 12.
