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As Good As It Gets

For the 27th time in program history, the University of Miami has been selected as one of 16 Regional host sites for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.

Miami (45-11) will be making its NCAA-record 44th consecutive postseason appearance this week when play at the Coral Gables Regional begins Friday, June 3 at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

Miami is one of six ACC schools to host the Regional Round, joining Clemson, FSU, Louisville, NC State and Virginia. To view all sites, click HERE.

The last year Miami hosted a regional was 2015, when second-seeded East Carolina, third-seeded Columbia and fourth-seeded FIU visited Mark Light Field in late May through early June. Miami was awarded the No. 5 national seed last season, and after successfully capturing a Coral Gables Super Regional victory over VCU, made its 24th trip to the College World Series.

The Hurricanes, who won the 2016 ACC Regular Season Championship, have hosted an NCAA Regional for three straight seasons and four of the past five years.

The Coral Gables Regional field, as well as the entire field of 64, will be announced Monday at 12 p.m. on ESPNU’s Division I Baseball Selection Show “The Road to Omaha.”

 

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Canes Swat Yellow Jackets

The Hurricanes used a strong joint effort from three pitchers to blank ninth-seeded Georgia Tech, 4-0, as the first day of ACC Baseball Championship pool play continued at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Starting pitcher Jesse Lepore and relievers Frankie Bartow and Bryan Garcia combined on a five-hitter while handing the nationally ranked Yellow Jackets their first shutout loss since an 8-0 decision at North Carolina on March 25.

Round-robin Pool A action continues for both teams on Thursday with Miami (44-10) meeting fifth-seeded NC State (34-19) in the 7 p.m. contest.

The nationally third-ranked Hurricanes did the bulk of their offensive damage in the first inning, capitalizing on three walks by Tech starter Jake Lee (3-3) for a quick 3-0 lead. Brandon Lopez and Willie Abreu delivered RBI singles, and Randy Batista brought home Miami’s third run with an RBI groundout to first base.

Reliever Ben Parr righted the Yellow Jackets’ pitching ship following the rocky start, retiring 13 consecutive batters during one stretch.

But the damage done in the opening frame proved to be enough for the Hurricanes, and All-ACC catcher Zack Collins provided a bit of insurance in the bottom of the eighth with his 12th home run of the season – a solo shot that pushed the lead to the final 4-0 margin.

The opposite-field homer was the 38th of Collins' remarkable Miami career, moving him into a three-way tie with fellow catchers Charles Johnson (1990-92) and Yasmani Grandal (2008-10) for 10th in Miami history.

Lepore (9-0) worked six full innings, allowing three hits and striking out three batters while walking two. He left the game in the top of the seventh inning due to muscle spasms in his shoulder as a result of fatigue, not believed to be serious. Despite his relatively early departure, Lepore pitched at least six innings for the seventh time in 12 starts this season.

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Time Is On Our Side

The University of Miami football team released the start times for three games this season in conjunction with the Atlantic Coast Conference today.
 

The Hurricanes will open their 2016 campaign with a pair of 6 p.m. games against Florida A&M (Sept. 3) and FAU (Sept. 10). Both contests will be aired on ESPN3.
 
Miami’s nationally-televised matchup at Virginia Tech on Oct. 20 also was announced and is set to kickoff at 7 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPN.
 

The 2016 season marks the first under head coach Mark Richt. The Miami alum was named the program’s 24th head coach on Dec. 4, 2015.
 
The Hurricanes return 17 starters from last year’s squad that finished 8-5. 

Going Coastal

No. 4 Miami finished off its seventh sweep of the season Sunday afternoon, earning an 8-4 win over Pittsburgh in the series finale at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

The Hurricanes (40-9, 19-6 ACC), who clinched their third straight ACC Coastal Division title earlier in the day by virtue of a Virginia loss, improved to 15-0 all-time against the Panthers with the win.

Miami is now assured of a top-two seed at the 2016 ACC Baseball Championship, which begins in Durham, N.C., on May 24.

“It’s always great to come out on top of your division,” sophomore Carl Chester said. “We knew it ahead of time, so we were just going in like any other game, trying to clinch.”

An effective outing from lefthander Danny Garcia and six runs scored over the middle innings propelled the hosts to their sixth straight win in front of 3,169.

“It’s an honor to be the Coastal Division champion again - which is nice to be able to say that, for three years in a row,” head coach Jim Morris said. “It’s a credit to our players, our team overall as a group, coaches and staff, everybody working hard to win what is a very, very tough division.”

Garcia (9-3) scattered six hits and three runs in a 91-pitch outing. He walked four batters and struck out four before departing after five innings. 

“We feel like we’re a veteran team this year, with a lot of returning players,” first baseman Christopher Barr said. “Even if we’re down however many runs, if there is still some time left in the game, and we haven’t made all of our outs, we feel like we can come back and win.”

Sandefur (3-5) was charged with six runs on four hits in 4.1 innings. He walked four and hit one batter.

Miami’s bullpen was effective yet again Sunday. Though the Panthers scored a run in the sixth to cut Miami’s lead to 6-4, redshirt freshman Devin Meyer, senior Thomas Woodrey and freshman Frankie Bartow combined for four hitless innings to end the game. 

Chester recorded the first three-steal game of his career, and tied a career high with three hits.

Woodrey pitched the seventh and eighth, while Bartow pitched a 1-2-3 ninth and needed just 10 pitches to get through the Panthers order.

“This is just one small, little goal right now,” Barr said about the division title. “It’s not our main goal. Our main goal is to win it all in Omaha.”

Miami wraps up its home schedule Tuesday with its final midweek matchup of the year against Florida Gulf Coast University. The Hurricanes end their regular season in Tallahassee, Fla., with a series against rival Florida State from May 19-21.

Spank U Very Much

No. 4 Miami continued its winning ways Tuesday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, picking up a 14-7 win over Bethune-Cookman in the team’s fourth game in as many days.

The Hurricanes (37-9), who recorded double-digit runs for the sixth time in their last eight contests, built on their recent run of momentum at the plate in front of 2,356.

A night after recording season-high totals in runs and hits on the road at Georgia Tech, Miami had nine different players record at least one hit in a 15-hit barrage.

The Hurricanes have now scored 43 runs in their last three games.

Junior Zack Collins opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning, and Miami chased Bethune-Cookman starter German Hernandez in the next inning with four more runs to take a 5-0 lead.

Sophomore Carl Chester and redshirt junior Christopher Barr recorded back-to-back RBI singles, and after a Wildcat pitching change, Collins drew a bases-loaded walk for the third run of the inning.

Senior Brandon Lopez then connected on an RBI single to left to cap Miami’s scoring. With the basehit, Lopez reached base for the 30th straight game and extended his hitting streak to 10 straight games.

Hernandez (4-5) was charged with the loss after allowing five runs on six hits, one walk and one hit batter.

Sophomore Jesse Lepore improved his perfect personal record to 7-0. He tossed five innings and allowed seven hits and three runs (all unearned) before being relieved after 101 pitches.

Junior Randy Batista pushed Miami’s lead to 7-1 with a two-RBI single in the fourth.

The Wildcats (23-24) recorded 14 hits.

The Hurricanes blew the game open with a five-run seventh that included bases-loaded walks from Batista and junior Jacob Heyward. Freshman Romy Gonzalez, making his second straight start at third base, added a two-RBI single in the frame.

 

Juice, Juice Baby

Junior Willie Abreu hit two home runs, sophomore Michael Mediavilla delivered another strong start, and No. 4 Miami evened its series against host Georgia Tech Sunday afternoon with a 12-2 victory.

Abreu connected on a towering solo shot in the third and added a two-run home run in the seventh for his second multi-homer effort of the season. Juniors Johnny Ruiz and Randy Batista also homered for the Hurricanes, who won for the fifth time in their past six games.

Mediavilla, who allowed eight hits but just two runs, picked up his team-leading ninth win of the season to set up a rubber match Monday night at 7 p.m.

The lefthander walked one and struck out five, and punctuated his outing with a swinging strikeout of Jackets slugger Kel Johnson on his 100th and final pitch.

He retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced, helping avenge a disappointing 12-1 loss Saturday night.

“They’re a great team from top to bottom, but yesterday left a bitter taste in my mouth,” Mediavilla said. “I take pride in this team. We all do. We kind of got embarrassed, and that can’t happen.”

Freshman Frankie Bartow pitched a scoreless eighth while junior Ryan Guerra closed it out in the ninth in front of 1,519 at Russ Chandler Stadium.

Miami wasted little time in opening the scoring, as a two-RBI single from senior Brandon Lopez put the Hurricanes on top in the first inning.

Yellow Jackets righthander Cole Pitts allowed a leadoff single to Carl Chester and back-to-back walks to Christopher Barr and Zack Collins to load the bases for Lopez, who extended his hitting streak to eight straight games with a hit up the middle.

After the Jackets (31-15, 11-11 ACC) halved the deficit on a solo home run by Matt Gonzalez, the Hurricanes chased Pitts (3-3) with a five-run third inning to take a commanding 7-1 lead.

The visitors connected for four straight hits to open the frame. Barr singled, Collins doubled, and Lopez boosted Miami’s lead with his second two-RBI single of the day to make it 4-1.

Abreu’s homer marked the second time this year Miami has homered twice in the same inning, and his four hits (4-for-5) tied a career high.

“We’re able to stay within ourselves and do what we have to do,” Abreu said. “We have trust in ourselves and our coaching that we’re able to come out victorious. It was great to be able to go about it the way we did. “

Mediavilla (9-1) skirted damage for much of the afternoon, including in the fourth inning when the Jackets loaded the bases on a single, walk and fielder’s choice. Facing Gonzalez, who homered in his first at bat of the afternoon, Mediavilla induced a grounder to third to maintain his team’s 7-2 lead.

 

The Hurricanes return to Russ Chandler Stadium Monday for the rubber match of the weekend series. First pitch for the contest, slated for broadcast on ESPNU, is set for 7 p.m.

Is There A Bear In The Bush?

Miami Hurricanes defensive back Deon Bush was selected with the 124th overall draft pick by the Chicago Bears Saturday afternoon in the fourth round (pick 26) of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Bush is the second Hurricane to be chosen in this year’s NFL Draft, joining Artie Burns, who was selected in the first round by Pittsburgh Thursday night. 

The Hurricanes have had at least one player selected in the NFL Draft for the past 42 years.

Bush made a major impact during his Hurricane career as he played in 45 games and logged 32 starts. He posted 168 total tackles over four years.

As a senior in 2015, the Miami, Fla., native finished fifth on the team in tackles with 50. He also totaled 3.0 tackles for loss and posted five-or-more tackles in six games. In addition, Bush helped anchor the nation’s 29th–best defense against the pass.

Following his senior season, Bush earned All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season, and also received the team’s Hard Hitter Award.

If U Stand Close To The Fire, U Are Sure To Get Burns

Miami Hurricanes super speedy and talented defensive back Artie Burns was selected with the 25th overall draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Burns is the third Hurricane to be selected in the NFL's first round in the past two seasons. Since 2000, Miami has had 29 players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Which alone is very impressive indeed!

Burns received second-team All-ACC honors from both the ACSMA (Atlantic Coast Sport Media Association) and the league’s coaches after he posted a breakout 2015 campaign.

The junior cornerback from Miami, Fla., led the ACC with six interceptions and ranked fifth nationally in the category. His six interceptions this past season were the most by a Hurricane since Sean Taylor’s 10 picks in 2003. In addition, Burns recorded 36 tackles and five pass breakups.

Earlier in 2015, Burns collected interceptions in three consecutive games - becoming the first Hurricane to accomplish the feat since Taylor did so in 2003.

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