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Miami of Florida Team Capsule
Posted: Fri June 11, 1999 at 12:37 p.m. EDT
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Coach: Jim Morris (6th year)
Nickname: Hurricanes
Record: 46-13
Conference: Independent
Location: Miami, Florida
Enrollment: 13,842
NCAA Tournament Region and Seed: Coral Gables, 1st
College World Series appearance: 18th
National Championships: 2 (1982, 1985)
Last CWS appearance: 1998
1999 NCAA Tournament Results
Regional: Beat Bethune-Cookman, 15-9
Beat Florida International, 6-4
Beat Florida Atlantic, 3-2
Super Regional: Beat Wake Forest, 10-2
Beat Wake Forest, 8-1
Probable Starting Lineup
C -- Greg Lovelady (.354, 4 HR, 35 RBI)
1B -- Kevin Brown (.320, 20, 59)
2B -- Manny Crespo (.362, 12, 52)
SS -- Bobby Hill (.378, 9, 28)
3B -- Lale Esquivel (.350, 13, 54)
LF -- Mike Rodriguez (.377, 1, 30)
CF -- Brian Seever (.303, 2, 22)
RF -- Marcus Nettles (.356, 2, 20)
DH -- Mark Walker (.295, 9, 43)
SP -- David Gil (11-0, 3.00 ERA)
SP -- Alex Santos (11-3, 3.10)
SP -- Darryl Roque (4-1, 4.29)
RP -- Michael Neu (13 saves, 3.15)
OUTLOOK: No. 1 national seed. Only school to reach the CWS each
of the last six seasons. Oklahoma State holds the record with
seven straight trips. The Hurricanes arrive in Omaha still
looking for their first national title since 1985. They reached
the title game in 1996, but were beaten by Warren Morris' homer
in the bottom of the ninth inning for LSU. Miami must be
considered the favorite, but has been in this position before
only to come up short. Jim Morris is the only coach in history
to take his team to the CWS each of his first six seasons at the
helm. Miami averages nearly nine runs per game and reached
double digits on 21 occasions. The offensive catalyst is SS
Bobby Hill, who gets on base 55 percent of the time and has
swiped 50 stolen bases and scored 72 runs. 2B Manny Crespo, 1B
Kevin Brown and 3B Lale Esquivel help form one of the nation's
best infields. C Greg Lovelady has stepped in for the injured
Russ Jacobson and been impressive. Freshman OF Mike Rodriguez
is third on the team with a .377 average. The Hurricanes have
hit 100 home runs through 58 games, which ranks second on the
school's all-time list. They set the mark last year with 139
homers. RH David Gil is a perfect 11-0 and allowed just two runs
and seven hits over seven innings, striking out seven, in the
Game One Super Regional victory over Wake Forest. He has won 13
consecutive games dating to March 1 and is 6-0 with a 2.67 ERA
over his last six starts. Freshman RH Michael Neu is 2-1 with 13
saves and a 3.15 ERA in a team-high 42 appearances. He has
fanned 99 batters in just 60 innings pitched.
© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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