Not many people would recognize junior Matt Mulvaney, a member of UM’s track and cross country team, if they saw him on campus. Yet this normal-looking guy of small statue has shown a lot of talent and an outstanding surplus of energy.
Mulvaney grew up in a small town in Massachusetts, and has his sights set on playing baseball or running track. Early on in his high school career though, it became clear that he was a talented runner and destined to star in the sport of track and field. Mulvaney became a Daily Hampshire Gazette All Star for cross-country and track while taking part in initiating the school’s All-Western Massachusetts Cross Country Team.
Mulvaney said running wasn’t the only thing that led him to the University of Miami.
“I love playing music,” Mulvaney said. “Coming to UM would give me the opportunity to do both.”
Mulvaney, who majors in Music Business and Business Law, plays the saxophone in the school’s “Wind Ensemble” and for several saxophone quartets. However, Mulvaney’s focus has been primarily on track, where he runs the five and 10-kilometer events, while also competing in the eight and 10-kilometer events in cross-country. That may seem like a lot work, but Mulvaney looks at it differently.
“It is very rewarding to work out every day,” Mulvaney said. “The more you put in, the more you get out of it.”
Mulvaney’s latest accomplishments as a Hurricane came in the recent Big East Championships. Mulvaney qualified for the 5000 meters with a time of 14:54.20 and ended up finishing 11th in the event
When the outdoor season starts in March, Mulvaney doesn’t plan on running for the Hurricanes. Instead, Mulavaney looks to set his sights on preparing and applying to law school. However, he still plans on competing individually during the spring.
“School has to be my first priority,” Mulvaney said. “I’d like to continue running in law school, but only if I have the time.”
Mulvaney seems to always be busy, engaging in some kind of activity. Yet even he gets worn out sometimes, but knows his hard work will pay off down the road.
“When I leave Miami I will have a lot of options open,” Mulvaney said.

Katharina Guderian can be reached at KathaGuderian@gmx.net

The Miami Hurricanes have been fortunate to have one FIU transfer on their side of the court for the last two seasons.
Junior Mari Toro, who enters this weekend as the nation’s No. 94 ranked player in singles, brings Miami more than just sheer talent. Toro relies on an admirable work ethic and an intense desire to win.
“I think I have a very strong work ethic,” Toro said. “I think I lead the team to work harder because I’m always giving 100 percent no matter what. At times you’re tired. You’ve got to give it that extra push.”
The Hurricanes play has improved as well this season, as the squad carries a No. 21 ranking. That number, however, isn’t good enough for Toro.
“I want to make it to the NCAA tournament,” Toro said. “I want to be top 15 or even a top 10 in the nation.”
Much of the team’s success can be attributed to Toro’s ability to win with younger double’s partners. Toro has been victorious with sophomores Staci Stevens and Megan Bradley. Toro experienced real success teaming up with Stevens, as the pair recorded victories against Illinois, Texas, and Harvard.
“I can motivate (Stevens) more so than anyone else on the team,” Toro said. “I can push her to work harder, to be out there a little longer. It just worked.”
When teamed up with Bradley, Toro has won both of her doubles matches. The junior feels that there is less of an adjustment to be made while playing with Bradley.
“It wasn’t difficult to adjust,” Toro said. “With Megan, we both do our own thing, we’re both very focused and we have a lot of discipline. You have to just adjust to the personalities.”
Perhaps the biggest improvement Toro has been forced to make is in leading the team on and off the courts. Since the ‘Canes only feature one senior on their roster, Toro has accepted the role of the veteran and has helped guide the less experienced players. With Toro’s help, freshman Melissa Applebaum soared up to No. 77 in the national rankings.
“I’ve taken a good role with Melissa,” Toro said. “I’ve kind of helped her a little bit. It’s nice having that chance to actually give back because when I was a freshman, when I was at FIU, I kind of had it rough.
“There was no one looking out for me and that’s the type of role I try to play.”
As the season progresses, the goal is clear for Toro, and she remains confident that the team can meet the high standards she expects.
“I’m not even worried about the rankings, just to do well, just to play within myself and take one match at a time. If I do that, things will happen.
“Everyone’s confidence is pretty high right now. We want to maintain that. We have some good opportunities. We feel good right now, and we want to continue to feel good.”

Adam Aizer can be reached at Aizersgotflava@hotmail.com

Intramural Reminders

Intramural Softball, Indoor Soccer, and Team Billiards deadline will be the Wednesday after Spring Break! Be sure to stop by the Wellness Center with your $20 to sign up a team. Also, if you don’t have enough people to form a team, be sure to sign up as a free agent.

Basketball Playoffs are well underway and the brackets are filling up! Here are the final teams still alive in each of their respective brackets:
Co-Rec: The Team vs. And 1 Ballers for the Championship
Women: Wahine vs. UBS Girls for the Independent Championship
Panhellenic: Delta Phi Epsilon vs. Kappa Kappa Gamma for the Championship
Greek: The Elite 8 are Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Mu, Alpha Sigma Phi, Zeta Beta Tau, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, and Sigma Phi Epsilon
Men: The Elite 8 are Team Cubano, Relentless, Surs Flow, Walsh 7, Diaper Dandies, Complete, Get Money, Midwest Connex

Basketball Playoffs
Below the Rim – 38
We Suck – 33

The Team – 46
Below the Rim – 38

And 1 Ballers – 47
Monster Balls – 21

Wahine – 38
Women Gunners – 7

UBS Girls – 33
Big Daddy Abraham – 31

Kappa Kappa Gamma – 53
Zeta Tau Alpha – 29

Sigma Alpha Mu – 50
Sigma Alpha Epsilon – 25

Lambda Chi Alpha – 49
Kappa Sigma – 39

Phi Delta Theta – 38
Sigma Chi – 24

Team Cubano – 63
12 Angry Men – 45

Relentless – 39
OJU Top Shottas – 30

Surs Flow – 61
Shooting Stars – 43

Walsh 7 – 48
Got It Locked – 44

Diaper Dandies – 55
Benevento All-Stars – 41

Complete – 59
Chokers – 49

Get Money – 67
Above the Rim – 54

Midwest Connex – 76
2L Scrubs – 41

Volleyball

The Dirty Kneepads – 2
Biohazards – 0

Cremasteria – 2
Penetrators – 1

Commandos – 2
Free Agentz – 0

Law – 2
Micro-orchidism – 0

Latin Kids – 2
Wahine – 1

Kane – 2
GBSA – 0

Horse Pen 15 – 2
Liquid Courage – 0

Bump Set Spike – 2
Invincible – 0

Free Ballin’ – 2
Da Kine – 1

Delta Phi Epsilon – 2
Kappa Kappa Gamma – 1

Phi Delta Theta – 2
Lambda Chi Alpha – 0

Kappa Sigma – 2
Sigma Alpha Epsilon – 0

Pi Kappa Alpha – 2
Sigma Alpha Mu – 0

The Miami Hurricanes baseball squad lost more than just a baseball game this weekend.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) placed the program on two years probation, after investigating some of the team’s recruiting process.
According to NCAA rules, the team committed infractions through a sports club and conditioning program that was co-owned by Hurricanes pitching Coach Lazaro Collazo. It was determined that the club had allowed prospective student-athletes to train and show off their abilities to Miami baseball.
In addition to the two years of probation, the team will lose 4.66 scholarships over the next three years at a rate of 1.55 scholarships per season.
The reported violations have been under investigation since 1999 and have also reported findings of further infractions by the staff.
The NCAA found that financial aid limits imposed upon the Hurricanes by the organization in 1995 were exceeded. Other luxuries, which included boat rides on Biscayne Bay for student athletes and families, were provided and accompanied by department staff in breach of NCAA regulations.
These developments come in light of other recent sports infringements to the University of Miami athletic program. Miami Athletic Director Paul Dee commented on the department’s recent actions.
“The athletic department takes full responsibility for the actions of its staff members,” Dee said. “We accept the penalties and are committed to the enforcement of NCAA rules.”
In addition to the sanctions, Miami also lost Collazo due to the infringements. The former Hurricanes’ reliever, who entered his 18th season as UM’s pitching coach, resigned effective last Friday.
Before the season, head coach Jim Morris made a statement about the importance of having Collazo as a part of the team.
“University of Miami baseball has been built around pitching for many years,” Morris said. “Lazer brings a philosophy of sound mechanics and a focus on the mental side of pitching to our staff. He has proven over the years that pitching equals wins and thus our program is built on this philosophy.”
Throughout his time as coach, Collazo has produced and developed many major league prospects. In 2001, his entire rotation was drafted when Brian Walker (NY Mets), Tom Farmer (Detroit Tigers) and Kiki Bengochea (Texas Rangers) left the team as national champions to begin their respective pro careers.
A new pitching coach has not yet been appointed for the ‘Canes. Until somebody takes the job, Morris and assistant coach Greg Lovelady will share the duties.
The players hanged Callazo’s jersey on the back wall of the Hurricane’s dugout this weekend.
“It isn’t really my decision whether the jersey stays up all season long right now,” Morris said. “As long as the guys want to play with it there, it will stay there. Obviously emotions are high right now. Lazer will be missed.”

-Ryan Ellis can be reached at msgnyc@yahoo.com

The Miami Hurricanes women’s basketball team has not been able to figure out a way to close out games, and it hurt them again Saturday.
Six turnovers in the final three minutes allowed the host Boston College Eagles to close out the game on a 13-0 run en route to an 84-77 victory. The ‘Canes led by six points after a Tamara James jumper with three minutes left on the clock, but had trouble against the Eagles full court press — throwing the ball away on inbound passes several times.
“On inbound plays, the girls knew where they were supposed to be,” head coach Ferne Labati said. “They just were not coming to the ball. Those turnovers really hurt us.”
Saturday’s contest continued a troubling trend for the ‘Canes. In its last two games, Miami blew an eight-point halftime lead against Seton Hall, eventually losing in overtime. Again Saturday, the ‘Canes lead for much of the contest, but could not close the deal.
“I don’t really know why we struggle when we have the lead late in games,” senior guard Meghan Saake said. “It could be a combination of overexcitement and miscommunication down the stretch. We get comfortable with a lead and allow teams to come back on us, rather than putting them away.”
In her last regular season road game, Saake recorded a team high 23 points on 10-17 shooting while collecting four rebounds and five assists. Saake, the 2001 Big East Defensive Player of the Year, showed why she won that award by also recording a block shot and five steals.
“Meghan Saake would be a great asset to any championship team,” Labati said. “She is fully dedicated to the game and it is great to coach a player like her. She gave us four years of dedication and hard work.”
Freshman guard Tamara James, who leads the Big East in scoring, contributed with 22 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Yolanda McCormick had 13 points and eight assists, but that was not enough to overcome the Eagles attack.
Boston College, second in the Big East conference in shooting percentage, kept hitting shots all day, shooting 65.4 percent in the first half and 56.9 percent for the game.
“Boston College is a very balanced team,” Labati said. “They are a good shooting team both inside and from the perimeter. (Becky) Gottstein and (Amber) Jacobs really hurt us today.”
Jacobs, a guard, scored a game high 28 points for the Eagles. She was 12-18 from the field and 4-6 from three-point range on the day. Gottstein, a power forward, took care of the work in the paint, scoring 24 points while pulling down a game high, nine rebounds.
“We needed to get a hand in Jacobs face because she wouldn’t miss,” Saake said. “Gottstein is just really strong inside and we needed to put a body on her.”
The loss dropped the ‘Canes to 15-11 on the season and put their NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy. However, they do have one regular season game left against Georgetown at the Convocation Center and the Big East Tournament in New Jersey to show the selection committee what they can do. The winner of the Big East Tournament gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
“The season is not over yet,” Labati said. “If we have to win the Big East Tournament to make the NCAA’s, then that is what we will try to do,” Labati said.

Darren Grossman can be reached at drg215@aol.com

Intramural Reminders
Intramural Basketball Playoffs are underway and will finish after Spring Break. For the 8th year, the University of Miami’s Intramural epartment will challenge the Florida International University’s in the Crosstown Challenge Basketball Tournament! This is one women’s, greek, and men’s game and the winner of 2 out of 3 games is the champion. UM is on a 2-year winning streak and the tournament will be held at the Wellness Center this year on Thursday, April 10. With all of this said, our teams will be made up of All-Stars from the Intramural leagues. The Intramural staff will select players for the 3 teams and it will be posted here in the Hurricane 2 weeks from now on March 21. The selections will be made and practices will be held so if you are not selected as one of the players, come out on April 10 to root on UM against FIU!

Basketball Playoffs
Women Gunners – 25
!Robbed! – 20

Team Cubano – 50
Pimps & Gigolos – 47

12 Angry Men – 57
GBSA – 37

Relentless – 50
Up In Smoke – 44

OJU Top Shottas – 43
Casador de Pajaro – 38

Surs Flow – 68
Elbows – 37

Shooting Stars – 49
Primetime – 22

Walsh 7 – 44
Team Highlight – 37

Got It Locked – 41
Rythym Method – 37

Diaper Dandies – 45
Club Med – 29

Benevento All-Stars – 46
Wagon Mound 3 – 38

Complete – 41
The Squad – 23

Chokers – 33 (OT)
Booty Jackers – 27

Get Money – 47
All-Stars – 39

Above the Rim – 64
Fuzzy Furze – 60

Midwest Connex – 63
Cleveland Steam – 41

2L Scrubs – 53
Penthouse All-Stars – 42

Volleyball
Alpha Q – 2
Intimidators – 1

The Dirty Kneepads – 2
Captain Country – 0

Law – 2
Commandos – 0

Wahine – 2
Free Agentz – 0

Horse Pen 15 – 2
GBSA – 0

Killing You Softly – 2
PT Playaz – 0

Free Ballin’ – 2
Wild Sets – 0

Da Kine – 2
So Money – 0

Delta Phi Epsilon – 2
Sigma Delta Tau – 0

Sigma Alpha Epsilon – 2
Phi Delta Theta – 0

Lambda Chi Alpha – 2
Pi Kappa Alpha – 0

Sigma Phi Epsilon – 2
Kappa Sigma – 0

The FIU Golden Panthers turned out to be more of a test than the Hurricanes thought it should have been.
Nevertheless, Miami took care of business Saturday, winning 6-1 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. No. 21 Miami is now 6-2 while the Golden Panthers drop to 3-7 on the year. Still, head coach Page Yaroshuk wasn’t completely satisfied with the result.
“We have to play better than we did today,” Yaroshuk said. “We can’t have close matches with FIU and expect to beat great teams down the road.”
The Hurricanes started off on the right foot, winning each of the three doubles matches on the day. Junior Abby Smith and senior Igna deVilliers defeated Mei Ly and Bruna Discordia 8-2, while sophomore Megan Bradley and junior Mari Toro defeated Desanka Jovanovic and Christine Suard 8-3. In the last doubles match, freshman Melissa Applebaum and junior Sara Robbins made easy work of Courtney Jonson and Davina Duronio 8-0.
“We worked hard out there and we had good energy in each the one, two, and three doubles matches,” Smith said. “Our winning streak is now at two, but even though we played well as partners it is a team effort and it matters how everyone else plays as well.”
Singles play, though, yielded much closer results than expected. Three of the six matches went to a third set of play. Bradley defeated Jovanovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, Applebaum beat Discordia 6-2, 6-0, and sophomore Sihem Bennacer won against Surd 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Yaroshuk was especially pleased with Bennacer’s play.
“I was happy to see Bennacer in her No. 4 match win after coming off of mono,” Yaroshuk said.
The biggest surprise of the day was when Mei Ly defeated Mari Toro 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the No. 2 singles match. In No. 5 singles, sophomore Staci Stevens beat Jonson 6-2, 6-2, while Robbins rounded out singles play with a 6-2, 6-1, victory over Duronio.
Toro, ranked No. 94 in the country, had the most exciting match of the day, as the singles match went to a tiebreaker in the third and final set. Down 5-4, Toro broke Mei Ly’s serve to get even the score at 5-5 and proceeded to win the next game to take the lead 6-5. Mei Ly proved to be too much for the Miami junior as she took the next game and won the tiebreaker
Miami’s No. 1 singles player, Megan Bradley, fought back after losing her first singles set, eventually overpowering her opponent in three sets.
The victory was Miami’s second in a row, following Saturday’s 7-0 victory over South Florida. Next up for the ‘Canes is a home match against Boston College at 6 PM Wednesday.
“Our goal is better tennis and not only to win but to get the girls playing better than they have been,” Yaroshuk said. “I thought the girls played well, but they are going to have to step up their games as we have a big match coming up against University of Virginia at the end of the week.”

Doug Kroll can be reached at Dstorm13@aol.com

Men’s Tennis
The University of Miami men’s tennis team fell 7-0 to No.1-ranked Illinois Sunday in Champaign, Ill.
Despite the loss, the Hurricanes received extraordinary play from doubles pairing Andrew Golub and Colin Purcell that defeated the No. 2-ranked doubles team Amer Delic and Michael Calkins 9-8 (4).
The loss was the second straight for the No. 32-ranked Hurricanes. With the defeat, UM fell to 5-3 on the season.
In singles play, Colin Purcell (Louisville, Ky.) put up the toughest fight for the Hurricanes, pushing No. 60 Ryler DeHeart to three sets (6-4, 1-6, 6-3).
The loss comes one day after the ‘Canes were dealt a mild upset Saturday when it lost 4-3 to No. 42 Indiana.
Coach Bryan Getz said that while the two teams were evenly matched in terms of talent and skill, the Hoosiers came to the court with more “mental toughness” than the Hurricanes.
Getz also noted that the young UM squad struggled to adjust to playing indoors, but added “that’s no excuse.”
UM took the doubles point as Golub and Purcell defeated Viktor Libal and Petr Novotny 8-6 and Todd Widom and Eric Hechtman defeated John Stone and Jakub Praibis 9-7.
In singles play, however, the Hurricanes were unable to counter Indiana’s resolve.
“We were fortunate to get the doubles point, but then we came out flat in singles,” Getz said.
Miami won two singles matches. At first singles, No. 18-ranked Widom defeated Praibis 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and, in fourth singles, Hechtman beat Ryan Recht 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
The Hurricanes’ next home match will be Thursday, March 6 when they host Georgia Tech at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on the Coral Gables Campus.

Swimming and Diving
University of Miami In addition to finishing among the top teams in the conference at the Big East Championships, two swimmers set new school records.
Last season, Hurricane standout and Big East Swimmer of the Year Manon Van Rooijen set new Big East Championships records in both the 200 and 100-freestyle events.
This season, Van Rooijen defended both of her Big East titles and improved on her time in the 200 free, racing to a 1:46.44 finish, setting a new championship record as well as one for the University of Miami.
Senior swimmer Elaine Schwartz, who produced an outstanding championship performance with two top-five finishes, set a new school record in the 400 IM. She placed third in the event with a time of 4:17.02.
The record in the 400 IM was previously held by Kristal Tellegen, formerly a standout swimmer and also a coach for the Hurricanes.
Van Rooijen holds records in both the 100 and 200-freestyle events at UM.

The University of Miami has a new star on the rise, and she is already making a possible case to join the LPGA.
Sophomore golfer Tina Miller won the UCF Invitational in Orlando last weekend after shooting a tournament record 69 in the second round, following an opening day 76. The victory marked the first collegiate win for Miller.
“I was pretty confident going into the final round,” Miller said. “The putts dropped when they needed to and when they didn’t; it didn’t get under my skin.”
Success is something that is definitely not new to Miller. While attending Archbishop Curley Notre Dame High School in Miami, she played for the men’s team, and was ranked fifth in Miami-Dade County Boys Golf in 2000-01. In 2001, Miller battled from nine strokes down on the final day to become the Florida State Girls Champion.
The Graphic Design major and four time All-Dade selection was heavily recruited by the Universities of Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia. Even though she visited many schools, the Florida native knew that UM was the right place for her.
“I knew right there on my visit, that this is where I wanted to be,” Miller said.
Miller’s success can be attributed to whom the sophomore looks to as role models. Among her favorite golfers are Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam.
“I hope that one day I can give Annika a challenge and get all this hard work and dedication to pay off,” Miller said.
A typical workout for the UCF Invitational Champion and her teammates is warming-up for a half hour and then either playing a round of nine or 18 holes and then working on her short game. On the weekends when they don’t have a tournament, the ‘Canes play at Don Shula’s Golf course in Miami Lakes.
Like many other athletes, Miller has a few superstitions. Among them has been Miller’s tendency to play exclusively with orange ball markers.
“I just started using orange when I got here and I putted well, so I kept doing it,” Miller said.
The ‘Canes play next at the Lady Gator Invitational in Gainesville, beginning Sunday. With the way that she is playing, it doesn’t seem like Tina Miller will be changing her beloved orange ball markers in the near future.
“People are going to underestimate us, but hopefully after that last day, we’ll be the ones with the smiles on our faces,” Miller said.

Ben Wolf can be reached at b.wolf@umiami.com

Loss drops men’s hoops to cellar of Big East
Once again, the Miami Hurricanes’ struggling men’s basketball team displayed their inability to pull out a close game.
The Hurricanes were outscored late in the contest, falling Saturday 72-68 to Boston College at the Convocation Center. Eagles guard Troy Bell continued to make his case for Big East Player of the Year with 32 points in 38 minutes of play. Sophomore Jermaine Watson had a career night with 17 points in 26 minutes, including several clutch shots and free throws down the stretch.
James Jones and Armondo Surratt had career highs in points for the ‘Canes with 27 and 14, respectively.
The Hurricanes were forced to play without Darius Rice, who sprained his wrist against Villanova. Head coach Perry Clark is confident that his leading scorer will be back for Wednesday’s game against Virginia Tech.
“The doctor has said that it is a sprain and he is in a soft cast,” Clark said. “The timetable that they set for Darius has him coming back on Wednesday.”
The game was especially meaningful for Hurricane fans in attendance as they were treated to a reunion of many former basketball stars, like Tim James and Rick Barry, who received a stirring ovation as he was introduced to the crowd.
Barry addressed the crowd after he was introduced, thanking them for supporting all of the basketball alumni over the years. He also lobbied for more seats to be built in the Convocation Center and made a joke about how none of his sons were recruited by the Hurricanes in the past.
As for the game itself, both teams opened up the first half turning the ball over several times. The ‘Canes were only able to attempt three shots in the first seven minutes. According to Clark, the slow start is what ultimately cost the team the game.
“Obviously the turnovers early in the game really hurt us,” Clark said. “We were without Darius so I think the other players felt some pressure and were careless with the ball.”
The Eagles dominated the first half, going into the locker room with a 37-23 lead. Bell scored 19 of his 32 points in the first 20 minutes.
Seemingly energized by the halftime ceremony, the ‘Canes came out of the locker room with more intensity and went on an eight point run to cut their deficit to six (37-31). The ‘Canes hung tough for the rest of the game but were never able to take the lead because of Bell’s hot shooting and Watson’s tough play.
Boston College head coach Al Skinner was impressed with how the Hurricanes kept the game close in the second half.
“Miami just never seemed to go away,” Skinner said. “We were fortunate to win because they played a good game. They were probably the toughest team we’ve faced during out win streak.”
The loss combined with a Virginia Tech win over Villanova dropped the Hurricanes to last place in the Eastern division of the Big East with an overall record of 10-15 (3-11 in the conference). Despite the loss, Clark is impressed with how his team fought back in the second half.
“Our team has heart and character,” Clark said. “I am truly proud of how we gathered our composure and battled back in the second half. We just need some good things to happen for us this week.”
Clark also was impressed with Bell’s performance and how the guard was able to get off shots against the ‘Canes triangle defense.
“Bell made all of the difference for them,” Clark said. “He is definitely the best player that I’ve seen this year, and if he’s not Player of the Year in the Big East I’ll be shocked.”
Now the ‘Canes plan to focus on getting into the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York by beating the Hokies on Wednesday.
“Our future is in our hands,” Clark said. “We will continue to work hard and hope for a couple of breaks this week.”

-Eric Kalis can be reached at elk777bc@hotmail.com

Baseball team down but not out
Hurricanes rebound to win series against the Citadel
The Miami baseball team faced adversity this weekend and beat it in the face.
After news of NCAA sanctions on Miami recruiting policies and the resignation of UM pitching coach Lazaro Collazo on Friday, the Hurricanes responded with a statement of resiliency. The ‘Canes fought back from an 8-7 loss Friday in which the team committed five errors, to defeat the Citadel 6-1 Saturday and 14-6 on Sunday.
The two victories gave Miami their third consecutive home series, and improved the team’s record to 9-3.
“We had to go out there and just dig in and play,” catcher Erick San Pedro said. “We went out there with Lazer in our heads and we knew how much he wants us to win.”
San Pedro hit his first two career home runs in the game, both of them to right field.
“Going up there against the lefty you try to hit it to right field,” San Pedro said. “The wind was blowing out to right as well and it was an added bonus for all of us.”
San Pedro was not the only Miami player hitting for power this weekend. Freshman Ryan Braun hit his third home run in as many games, as the designated hitter was bumped up to third in the lineup on Sunday.
“I just go out there and try to stay patient,” Braun said. “I haven’t done anything different. I’m just trying to make solid contact with the ball and fortunately the power is coming along with it. The wind helped us out a bit today as well.”
The ‘Canes exploded on Citadel pitching right from the get go as Miami put up an 11-1 lead after three innings including eight runs in the third.
Braun homered to lead off the inning, and after Citadel retired the next two Hurricane batters, things unraveled for the Bulldogs. Walks and errors allowed Miami to bat around in the inning, and Braun capped off the rally with an RBI triple to left. He later scored his second run of the inning on a wild pitch before Jim Burt was retired to end the 3rd frame.
“The offense really stepped it up today,” head coach Jim Morris said. “After everything that happened on Friday, I don’t think that any of us including myself had our heads in the game, but we came back strong and got these two important victories.”
Brandon Camardese recorded his second win of the season for the ‘Canes, going five innings and striking out four.
Miami started the weekend making numerous mental mistakes that the Bulldogs were able to capitalize on in order to steal the victory from the Hurricanes.
“We didn’t really play well at all on Friday for numerous reasons,” Morris said.
In addition to the loss, Miami starter Dan Touchet did not pitch due to a sore arm. Touchet underwent an MRI on Sunday morning and there is no timetable yet for his return.
“It is going to be tough without Dan,” San Pedro said. “He is our guy that goes out there on Friday and sets the tone for the whole series. We are really going to have to step it up against Tennessee next weekend without him in the rotation.”
UM pitcher J.D. Cockroft will continue to take Touchet’s spot in the rotation.
The ‘Canes rebounded Saturday, thanks to the effort from starter Vince Bongiovanni. The sophomore right-hander went 7.1 innings while striking out five batters, improving his record to 3-1 on the year.
Miami closer George Huguet also pitched for the first time this season, throwing a perfect final frame to close out Saturday’s contest.
“With George back, we don’t have a problem putting J.D. in the starting rotation,” Morris said. “He pitched well on Friday, it was the errors that hurt us. Our pitching will be fine and our team will be fine. Everybody knows they have to step it up and play Hurricanes baseball with the tough series coming up next weekend against Tennessee.”

-Ryan Ellis can be reached at msgnyc@yahoo.com