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 Baseball may save at least one university's program from a dismal athletic season.
For fans of the Miami Hurricanes, the 2007-2008 athletic year began looking like it would be one to forget. After watching the football team fall to an unfathomable 5-6 record at a school where losing is hardly the norm, there didn’t seem to be much for fans of the “U” to cheer about. The Hurricanes couldn’t even raise enough adrenaline to send the Orange Bowl out in fashion, falling 48-0 to a Virginia squad that finished the season unranked.
Making the outlook even bleaker was the fact that the traditionally dismal basketball team was coming off a season where they finished 4-12 in the ACC. Meanwhile, the powerhouse baseball program was just 37-24 in 2007, a disappointing season by their standards. Even the professional teams seemed to be plagued, as the Dolphins stumbled to 1-15 record, the Marlins finished with a 71-91 season and the Heat began their campaign with a 12-game losing streak.
Optimism returned to the Miami campus, however, when the Hurricanes hoops team started the season with 13 wins in a row and finished it with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Now it looks like the baseball team is the latest Miami squad en route to an overachieving season, as the Hurricanes, ranked No. 14 in the preseason polls, have elevated to the top spot in the nation.
With a stellar 27-2 record, Miami has emerged from dark horse to leading contender in the race for a College World Series title. Coming off a three-game sweep of a floundering Clemson Tigers team in Coral Gables this past weekend, the Hurricanes now stand at 12-1 in the ACC. Leading the team with seven home runs, 35 RBIs and a .386 average is second baseman Jemile Weeks. Center fielder Blake Tekotte, first baseman Yonder Alonso and shortstop Ryan Jackson are also all batting above .360.
Pitchers Chris Hernandez and Eric Erickson have carried the starting staff with a combined 9-0 record while Kyle Bellamy and Carlos Gutierrez lead the team’s outstanding bullpen with 16 relief appearances a piece. After registering a 8.68 ERA as a freshman, Bellamy has bounced back with a 5-0 record and a sparkling 0.38 ERA while Gutierrez has thrived as the team’s closer, picking up eight saves thus far.
As if winning a national championship wasn’t hard enough, Miami could very well have trouble ruling supreme in just their own state. With a 28-3 record and coming off an impressive ACC sweep of their own over No. 24 Virginia, the Florida State Seminoles are much more than a local rivalry for the Hurricanes. If Buster Posey, who serves as FSU’s starting catcher and closer, continues his monster season both at the plate (.458 AVG, 9 HR, 37 RBI) and on the mound (four saves and no runs allowed), the Seminoles will be a tough team to beat.
Although Miami is the current No. 1 team in the nation, Arizona State was on top of the preseason ranking and is still near top of the polls with a 28-3 mark. First baseman Ike Davis and third baseman Brett Wallace headline a potent Sun Devils offense, as both have batting averages hovering around .400 and have also shown considerable power with 11 and 9 home runs, respectively. Ace Tommy Rafferty’s 6-0 record and 1.97 ERA shows that the team is also in capable hands when it comes to the must-win games they will be facing come June.
Despite suffering two straight losses this week, the 25-7 North Carolina Tar Heels are very much in the race for a national title as well. Upcoming series against Miami and Florida State should give UNC a chance to prove themselves, but they will need major production from sluggers Tim Fedroff (.409 AVG, 7 HR, 30 RBI) and Kyle Seager (.395 AVG, 3 HR, 40 RBI) if they expect to get the better of their conference rivals.
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