# 14 Miami Hurricanes (22-7, 10-2) visit # 25 Virginia Tech (21-10,
6-6) for a three-game series in Blacksburg, Virginia this weekend.
The Hokies are coming off a historic week which saw them win
their first ever series against #4 Florida State. Behind the
experienced arm of junior starter Justin Wright, the Hokies won the
Friday opener 10-5, marking only their second win in the last 27
meetings against the perennial power Seminoles.
The Florida State series, coupled with wins earlier in the
week over VMI and East Tennessee State earned Virginia Tech a place
in Baseball America’s top 25 for the first time since 1992.
Miami enter the series playing arguably the best baseball in
the ACC. The Hurricanes have won seven in a row and have been
red-hot with the bats recently, but the strength of the team lies
in the bullpen.
Explosive freshman E.J. Ecinosa leads the Hurricanes with 15
appearances out of the bullpen and has conceded just six runs in
over 30 innings of work. Fellow freshman Eric Whaley is 3-0 out of
the ‘pen and sophomore Daniel Miranda is holding opponents to
a .186 batting average in his 14 bullpen appearances. All three
were drafted by major league teams in the 2008 and 2009 drafts but
remain committed to winning a College World Series title at Miami
this season.
Virginia Tech relies heavily on junior Austin Wates and
senior Steve Domecus to lead their lineup. Wates, out of Richmond,
Virginia, is batting for an impressive .436 average and leads the
Hokies with ten stolen bases.
Domecus splits time between catcher and the outfield but has
been very consistent at the plate in 2010 with a .341 average, 8
home runs and 27 RBIs.
Saturday’s pitching matchup features Miami lefthander
Eric Erickson (2-1, 3.12) going against Virginia Tech’s
Mathew Price (4-1, 4.26). Erickson is 19-5 with a 3.27 ERA in his
Hurricane career but missed all of 2009 while recovering from Tommy
John surgery. Erickson was solid in his start against Wake Forest
last weekend giving up one run in five innings of work, and will
try to achieve similar results in Blacksburg on Saturday.
The Hokies’ Matthew Price will be making the sixth
start of his sophomore season, and the former high school
quarterback will hope to continue the Hokies’ recent hot
streak.
Catch all of Saturday’s action LIVE on FCS Atlantic starting at 1pm EST.
