Miami baseball hosts Appalachian State in last ACC tuneup

The Miami baseball team will host Appalachian State Wednesday night in their final game before they begin ACC play this weekend in Coral Gables against Georgia Tech.

The Miami baseball team is coming off of a three-game sweep of Maryland-Baltimore County over the weekend at home. The Hurricanes outscored the Retrievers 31-5 in the three games.

The weekend run differential included a 20-1 outburst in the series clincher on Sunday. Sunday’s run output was Miami’s most since defeating Columbia 21-3 in 2015 to clinch the regional title in the NCAA Tournament.

Miami has started the 2019 season 9-2 under first-year head coach Gino DiMare. The Hurricanes are currently ranked 30th in the NCBWA poll, 17th in the RPI and under others receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Appalachian State travels to Coral Gables with a 4-6 record. They have won their last two games. The Mountaineers defeated Gardner-Webb 24-3 in the second game of a double-header on Saturday. App State won 6-3 on Tuesday night against Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton.

Miami’s bats have been the primary story this season. DiMare has helped turn around an offense that was inconsistent at best in the last two years. First baseman Alex Toral who hit below the Mendoza Line as a Freshman is third in the nation this season in home runs with seven.

Toral is part of an outburst of home runs for the Miami baseball team in 2019. The Hurricanes have 16 home runs through their first 11 games this season. Miami hit only 23 throughout the entire 2018 season. Danny Reyes led Miami with five in 2018.

Slade Cecconi will start the midweek game for Miami for the third consecutive week. Cecconi is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA but struggled in a no-decision in a 10-8 Hurricanes victory a week ago. The Miami Freshman will be opposed by App. State right-hander Cameron Kepley. Kepley is 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA.

Appalachian State has a pair of Cool Hand Lukes. Luke Allison leads Appalachian State players with more than 10 at-bats with a .438 batting average. Luke Drumheller leads the Mountaineers in multiple offensive categories. He is hitting .412 with a team-leading 12 RBIs, 15 hits and four doubles.

Don’t expect a lot of power from Appalachian State. The Mountaineers have hit only four HRs as a team. That is tied for 182nd nationally with dozens of other teams.

"Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2019Game Time (ET): 6:00 p.m.Site: Coral Gables, Fla. | Mark Light Field (4,999)APPALACHIAN STATE MOUNTAINEERS (4-6, 0-0 SUN BELT)Head Coach: Kermit Smith (Pfeiffer University, 2000)Career Record: 514-437-1 (18th season) | Record at App State: 41-78 (third season)MIAMI HURRICANES (9-2, 0-0 ACC)Head Coach: Gino DiMare (Miami, 1992)Career Record: 9-2 (first season) | Record at Miami: 9-2 (first season)TV: ACC Network Extra (all home games)Student Radio: WVUM 90.5 FM | WVUM.org (all games)Twitter Updates: @CanesBaseball / @MiamiHurricanesLive Stats: HurricaneSports.comCourtesy HurricaneSports.Com"

Miami will begin ACC play at home this weekend against Georgia Tech. It continues a nine-game homestand that the Hurricanes will conclude with a two-game midweek series against Jackson State next Tuesday and Wednesday at Mark Light Field.

Georgia Tech has gotten off to an 8-4 start. The Yellow Jackets play the second of a two-game series against in-state rival Kennesaw State on Wednesday night. The Tigers are 5-8 and play New Orleans on Wednesday night. Jackson State began the season by getting swept by Miami’s ACC rival Boston College in three games.