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Van Belle Pitches Hurricanes To Victory

From www.hurricanesports.com...

Brian Van Belle turned in another outstanding performance on the mound, posting a career-high in strikeouts to help the Canes beat Towson, 2-1.
 
The senior kept the Tigers off balance for seven impressive innings on Friday night, leading the Canes (6-3) to another series-opening victory before the 2,431 fans inside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
 
"It feels good," Van Belle said of his success as the Friday night starter. "Obviously its a big role. You have to set the tone for the entire weekend, but I just want to go out there a treat it like any game. I tell myself that you have to treat every game like it's your last game." 
 

The Miami ace continued his dominance on the mound Friday night, setting a new career-high with 14 strikeouts. The redshirt senior posted the most strikeouts by a Hurricane since Bryan Radziewski fanned 16 batters against Virginia Tech on March 23, 2013.
 
"Right off the bat, I just wanted to establish command on my fastball and stick to my same approach as I have every game," Van Belle said. "Obviously in the first inning that first batter probably, I don't even know how many pitches it was, but it was probably like 10 pitches, I wanted to remain efficient throughout my start and thankfully I put the team in the best position to win." 
 
The Canes got Van Belle some run support in the bottom of the fifth, as Tony Jenkins reached on a base hit and advanced to second on a throwing error by Towson third baseman Brandon Austin. Luis Tuero doubled Jenkins home with a two-base hit to left and Jordan Lala followed with an RBI single up the middle that gave the Canes a 2-0 lead.
 
"It feels good to spark up the lineup," Tuero said. "Just trying to do the best I can in every opportunity I can to score some runs for our team and put us in the best position to win games."
 
Van Belle held Towson (2-5) to just three hits over seven shutout innings, throwing a season-high 105 pitches to earn his second win of the season. The right-hander has not allowed an earned run in any of his three starts this season. Opponents have scored just one run against Van Belle, while he has racked up 33 strikeouts and just two walks over 20 innings pitched.
 
"He is just the same guy," head coach Gino DiMare said. "He throws a lot of strikes. It's interesting his pitch count got up there, in the fifth inning he had 80 pitches. He has been outstanding." 

Do U Believe In Love At First Sight?

The University of Miami women's tennis team garnered its highest ranking of the season Tuesday, checking in at No. 18 in the country, as announced by the ITA.

The No. 18 spot is the top mark for the Hurricanes since holding the same spot in the rankings release on Feb. 20, 2019.

Miami (5-4, 2-2 ACC) went 2-1 last week, earning a 7-0 victory over then-No. 35 Virginia Tech and a 6-1 triumph over Florida Atlantic. In between, the Hurricanes dropped a 6-1 decision to top-ranked North Carolina.

The Hurricanes are one of nine schools from the ACC in the top 20. The league has five schools in the top 10 and holds each of the top three positions in the Oracle/ITA rankings. Joining Miami on the list are top-ranked North Carolina, second-ranked Florida State, third-ranked NC State, seventh-ranked Duke, No. 10 Georgia Tech, No. 12 Wake Forest, No. 13 Virginia and No. 15 Notre Dame.

Three other ACC programs are featured in the rankings, with Virginia Tech at No. 40, Clemson at No. 42 and Syracuse at No. 44.

Miami will be back in action Friday in Louisville, Ky., where it is scheduled to play at 1 p.m. against Louisville.

Gloom, Despair And Agony On Me

Back in the good old days of television there was a country comedy show known as Hee Haw. There was always a skit that involved a song with the words in the title of this blog. It went something like this:

"Gloom, despair and agony me,

Deep dark depression excessive misery,

If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all.

Gloom, despair and agony on me."

The University of Miami baseball team's #1 ranking all seemed so very promising. The season opening series sweep against Rutgers had the players, coaches and fans feeling good. Things were looking good, really good.

That was until the Florida Gators came into Coral Gables and ate the Miami Hurricanes alive like a cow that got too close to the swamp, dropped their head to take a cool drink of water and got taken away by a twelve footer.

In front of sold out home crowds all weekend at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field the Florida Gators chewed, mauled and ground up the top ranked Hurricanes like a Mark Light shake in a blender. It was that ugly.

The lack of offense (sound familiar?) was strikingly reminiscent of the UM football team playing and going three and out. The UM diamond dogs went three and out way too often during the series and rarely put together an strong inning of batting and running the bases. Can't score, can't win.

Oh well, we are getting kind of used to that anyway.

So now we sit here as fans with the baseball team dropping like a rock after being swept by their arch rival in our home stadium, the basketball team getting trounced by Notre Dame on the same day and the football team trying to recover from another dismal season with some new coaches and players who may have some sense of urgency to actually win more games than we lose.

To say the least these are trying times to be a Miami Hurricanes fan. We always will be fans, but winning something that matters would be nice too.

Feeling gloom, despair and agony every day are no way to go through life.

Canes Get Nipped By Gators In Game 1

It only seems fitting that it took extra innings to decide the winner of a game between the top two teams in the country.

No. 2 Florida outlasted top-ranked Miami before a sold-out crowd of 4,046 inside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The Gators (6-0) defeated the Hurricanes (4-1), 2-1, in 11 innings.

"At the end of the day it's one game. We have to turn the page and be ready to go," Miami head coach Gino DiMare said. "We still have a chance to win the series. Tomorrow is the most important game of the year."

Both sides turned in impressive pitching performances, but Florida caught a break in the top of the 11th inning against Miami closer Daniel Federman.

With the game tied at 1, Austin Langworthy and pinch hitter Jordan Butler connected on consecutive one-out singles to put runners at the corner for second baseman Cory Acton. Federman struck out the Gators' cleanup hitter, but right fielder Jacob Young doubled down the third base line to snap the tie and put Florida ahead, 2-1.

Anthony Vilar led off the bottom of the inning with a four-pitch walk, but reliever Nick Pogue took over for right-hander Ben Specht and retired the heart of Miami's lineup to save the game for Florida. 

Miami starter Brian Van Belle was brilliant to open the game, retiring the first seven batters of the game and allowing just one base runner while tallying seven strikeouts over the first four innings.

"My command was pretty on tonight. I felt good overall. We're all ready to get after it tomorrow," Van Belle said.

The Hurricanes face the Gators in game two tonight at 7 PM.

GO CANES!

'Canes Blank Kent State

A career day by Tony Jenkins and an outstanding showing by Miami's pitchers helped the Hurricanes defeat Kent State, 12-0, on Wednesday night.

Fresh off of a climb to the top of the D1 Baseball rankings, the Canes entered their first midweek contest of the 2020 season with a big rivalry series looming against the No. 2 Florida Gators. But Miami (4-0) kept its focus in the present and demolished the Golden Flashes (2-2) before 2,213 fans inside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

"I just told the guys I thought that was about as complete game as I can recall," Miami head coach Gino DiMare said. "Last year, we were 9-3 in midweek games but we blew some leads. We got ahead early and we let teams get back in the game, and it was good to see us get up and kind of close it out and finish the game. I thought it was just a complete game. We pitched well. We played good defense, no errors again, which I think that's happened a few times so far in the four games, which is good. And we swung the bat well. So, all in all, very happy. Good to get that game behind us now and focus on this weekend."

Miami's bats got hot from the start, with reigning ACC Player of the Week Adrian Del Castillo sparking a rally with a two-out single in the first. Raymond Gil hit a hot shot to third that Mack Timbrook could not handle and the error brought defending ACC home run champ Alex Toral to the plate. The herculean first baseman destroyed an 0-2 pitch from Kent State starter Zach Schultz, and deposited it over the outfield wall for a three-run homer – his first of the season.

"That was great to finally get that one off my chest," said Toral, who blasted 24 home runs a year ago. "It's always good when you hit one out, but that first one us means a little more."

Alex McFarlane was electric in his first career start, allowing just one hit and striking out three batters over two scoreless innings. The freshman right-hander, who threw a pair of shutout innings in his UM debut over the weekend, threw 33 pitches on the night after entering the game on a pitch limit.

"Man, I like watching him pitch," DiMare said. "He is really talented. I'm sitting there just thinking, 'I can't wait to see this guy's second and third year—how good this guy can be—he really could be a top, top, top pick.' He's got an electric arm. He's just tapping into what he's doing. I mean he weighs 185 pounds, if I had to guess. He's going to get bigger. He's going to get stronger. … He's a freshman, but he's got a very, very good arm. He's 90 to 95 miles-per-hour. We were just going over the velocities and the slider was mid 80s. And he's got a great change-up, excellent change-up. So you're excited as a coach when you get guys like that, you're like, this could be really special for three years."

McFarlane's battery mate, fellow rookie Jared Thomas' first career hit was a big one. The bases-loaded, two-run double off the top of the wall in right-center got the offense going with one out in the bottom of the third. Jenkins followed with a three-run blast that hit off the scoreboard in left field and gave the Hurricanes an 8-0 advantage. His homer was the outfielders' first since a two-homer game at Virginia Tech on May 12, 2018.

"It's definitely a great feeling to hit a home run," Jenkins said. "We've been working really hard and in practice and in the offseason, so it's finally good to see everything starting to pay off."

Get Out Your Brooms!

On a very pleasant but slight damp weekend in Coral Gables your highly ranked (#3/#5) University of Miami hardballers easily and efficiently swept their season opening series with Rutgers by a collective score of 23-9.

The Hurricanes saw significant improvement in the play of the offensive line under new OL Coach Garin Justice and new starting QB D'Eriq King was consistent and solid if not spectacular in his debut. Newly minted UM kicker Jose Borregales knocked in three field goals, the longest from 48 yards, in an encouraging performance in his first time wearing Orange and Green. 

Oops, wrong sport, sorry about that little slip up. Now back to baseball...

Miami won 2020 home opener at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field on Friday night by a close score of 2-1 thanks to solid pitching.

The second game Saturday night was rain delayed until Sunday morning at 11 AM with the Hurricanes leading 8-2. The game ended the same way on Sunday. 

The final game of the series saw UM break out the big bats and power their way to an easy 13-6 win over the Scarlet Knights.

Miami has a mid-week game against Kent State before hosting the Florida Gators next weekend in what should be a raucously good time.

We are very confident in this 2020 UM baseball team that appears to have great potential and a very good chance to reach the CWS this season.

In Honor Of Coach Darrell Roach

You know RoachCane as a member of Canespace.

But his community knows him as something much more than that.

The Lemon Bay High School tennis program grew to new heights and great acclaim under the tutelage of coaches Darrell Roach and Mike Maier.

The school repaid their commitment by dedicating Tuesday its eight new tennis courts as the Darrell Roach and Mike Maier Tennis Complex. One hundred or more former and present high school tennis players, their parents and fellow teachers turned out to honor them.

“Any time you get the chance to recognize two individuals who have been instrumental in not only a tennis program, but a school and a program we have at Lemon Bay, it’s an awesome day,” Principal Bob Bedford said. He highlighted the careers of both coaches.

Roach, who retired after 39 years teaching, started at Lemon Bay in 1988. Among his accomplishments at the school, Roach grew the school’s audio-visual program. Bedford described Roach as “instrumental in everything we did.”

As a tennis coach, Roach’s 30-year coaching career included 305 wins, 114 loses and one tie, 13 district championships, eight straight district and regional championships, and his teams qualified for eight state tournaments. His teams finished in the top four in state competitions in 2015 and 2016. Over the years his teams were ranked fifth, sixth and seventh in the state.

“To finish in the top 10 any year is phenomenal,” Bedford said, adding the school board agreed the two coaches deserved the permanent recognition of their dedication to the students and tennis players.

Both Maier and Roach recognized the support they’ve had over the years from the parents and the community at large.

Coach Roach is an amazing guy and is highly respected among his peers. Simply put he is a great person and a hard core Miami Hurricanes fan.

We are very privileged to have him among our family of friends here on Canespace. He adds to the mix of our rich culture.

Canespace is better and stronger because of people like Darrell Roach.

I am honored to have met him and to call him my friend.

Coach Roach we salute U!

There Is A Lot To Like About Likens

The University of Miami football program has hired Rob Likens as wide receivers coach, head coach Manny Diaz announced Friday.

"We are excited to welcome Rob and his family to Coral Gables," Diaz said. "Rob has extensive experience with fast-paced, high-octane offenses and he can serve as a great teacher and motivator to the young men in our receivers room."   

Over his 28-year coaching career Likens has been an offensive coordinator at four schools, including the past two seasons at Arizona State, where he was also the quarterbacks coach.

In 2019, the Sun Devils started a true freshman quarterback, Jayden Daniels, for the first time in school history. Daniels threw for 2,943 yards with 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions, eclipsing the 300-yard passing mark on five occasions. He threw for a season-high 408 yards in ASU's 31-28 upset over sixth-ranked Oregon. Running back Eno Benjamin rushed for 1,083 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior, finishing his career with 15 100-yard rushing games. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk caught 65 passes for 1,192 yards and eight touchdowns, ranking second nationally in yards after catch (10.9). Aiyuk also ranked sixth nationally in all-purpose yards (155.8 per game). Benjamin and Aiyuk both earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors. The Sun Devils also turned the ball over just 14 times, ranking sixth in the country in turnover margin.

In 2018, ASU was the only Power 5 program to boast a 3,000-yard passer (Manny Wilkins), 1,500-yard rusher (Benjamin) and 1,000-yard receiver (N'Keal Harry). Wilkins accounted for 28 total touchdowns, while Benjamin set a school single-season record with 1,642 rushing yards. He broke ASU's single-game rushing mark with 312 yards in a win over Oregon State. Harry caught 73 passes for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns and was later selected by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Both Benjamin and Harry earned first-team all-conference honors.

Likens spent the 2017 season as the Sun Devils' wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. ASU had the 10th highest-graded passing attack in the nation according to Pro Football Focus after being graded 86th in 2016. The 76-spot swing in the passing game rankings was the third highest in all of FBS. Harry racked up 82 catches for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors. The Sun Devils had five different receivers with 100-plus yard games in 2017, a school record.

Likens arrived in Tempe after two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Kansas. He spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons at California as assistant head coach and outside receivers coach, adding the title of passing game coordinator his second season. 
In 2014, Likens' passing game, led by future NFL top overall draft pick Jared Goff, ranked sixth in the NCAA in passing yards per game (346) and broke the school's single-season passing yardage record with 4,152 yards. Additionally, three of Cal's top four receivers were Biletnikoff Award candidates in Chris Harper, Kenny Lawler and Bryce Treggs.
 

Cal's passing game during Likens' first season with the Golden Bears set single-season school records for passing yardage (3,977), pass completions (368) and pass attempts (622), while also establishing new single-game marks for passing yardage (521 vs. Washington State) and pass attempts (65 vs. Northwestern).