Miami Hurricanes Baseball Heads to Gainesville for Three Game Series

Jun 18, 2016; Omaha, NE, USA; Miami Hurricanes pitcher Michael Mediavilla (18) pitches against against the Arizona Wildcats in the first inning in the 2016 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 18, 2016; Omaha, NE, USA; Miami Hurricanes pitcher Michael Mediavilla (18) pitches against against the Arizona Wildcats in the first inning in the 2016 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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After taking two of three from Rutgers in their season opening series last weekend and being rained out Wednesday against Florida International, the Miami Hurricanes head to Gainesville for their annual series against the Florida Gators.

Miami leads the all-time series 128-116-1 but lost last two of three last season at Mark Light stadium. The pitching matchup this weekend will feature aces Jesse Lapore for Miami and Alex Faedo for Florida on Friday.

The Hurricanes defeated Rutgers 3-0 in the season opener last Friday night, and took game two 8-4 on Saturday. Rutgers took advantage of six Miami errors to get a 17-6 win in the series finale Sunday.

Lapore pitched brilliantly in his season debut against the Scarlet Knights. He threw six shutout innings, gave up two hits and no walks while striking out seven.

They will be followed by left handers Jeb Bargfeldt on Saturday and Michael Mediavilla Sunday for the ‘Canes and Right Handers Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar for Florida.

Bargfeldt went 5.2 innings gave up two runs, one earned, five hits, two walks and struck out five to get his first Division I victory.

Mediavilla who is an All-American candidate this season was plagued by his defense. He allowed six runs, three earned on four hits and two walks in 3.1 innings.

The number two Gators swept William and Mary in their season opening series last weekend. They fell 3-2 to Jacksonville on Wednesday.

The Hurricanes appear to have the advantage on Friday night. Faedo gave up four runs, all earned on four hits and three walks while striking out seven in his season debut against the Tribe.

Singer pitched well in his first start of the season. He went five innings, allowing one earned run on three walks and five hits with seven strikeouts. Kowar also got the win in his lone appearance this season. He gave up three hits, three walks, three runs, one earned and stuck out seven in 5.2 innings.

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Catcher Michael Amditis and second baseman Romy Gonzalez were the Hurricanes offensive stars against Rutgers. Amditis has huge shoes to fill behind the plate replacing Zach Collins. He is hitting .429 with three RBIs in the early going of the season.

Gonzalez has been Miami’s offensive star through three games. He is hitting .364 with a .909 slugging percentage, one home run and four RBIs.

Infielder Dalton Guthrie and Outfielder Austin Langworthy lead the Gator offense. Guthrie is hitting .438 with six runs scored and two stolen bases and Langworthy has a .417 batting average with one home run, two rbis and a .750 slugging percentage.

Freshman first baseman-outfielder Keenan Ball is three for five with one home run and three RBIs.

Series Information:

#17 MIAMI HURRICANES (2-1, 0-0 ACC)

Head Coach: Jim Morris (Elon, 1973) Career Division I Record: 1,537-664-4 (36th season) | Record at Miami: 1,033-420-3 (24th season)

#2 FLORIDA GATORS (3-1, 0-0 SEC)

Head Coach: Kevin O’Sullivan (Virginia, 1991) Career Division I Record: 399-190 (10th season) | Record at Florida: 399-190 (10th season)

Dates: Friday, Feb. 24, 2017 – Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017 Game Times: 6:30 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 1 p.m.

Site: Gainesville, Fla. / Alfred McKethan Stadium (5,500)

Broadcast Information: TV: SEC Network + (all three games)

Announcers: Larry Vettel (play-by-play), Nick Belmonte (color) Student Radio: WVUM 90.5 FM | WVUM.org (all games)

Postgame Recap: HurricaneSports.com Series

Series History: Miami leads, 128-116-1 Coral Gables: Miami leads, 80-44 Gainesville: Florida leads, 70-47-1 Neutral Site: Florida leads, 2-1 First Meeting: April 9, 1940 – Florida won, 18-13 Last Meeting: Feb. 28, 2016 – Florida won, 7-3 Streak: Florida, one win.

Next: Duke at Miami Hurricanes: Live Streaming and Game Info

Next Up: Miami travels up the 50 miles up I-95 to take on Florida Atlantic. The Owls are 3-0. They swept their season opening series over Monmouth, host Indiana this weekend and play at Florida Gulf Coast Tuesday before hosting the Hurricanes.