The host Canes won their baseball season opener Friday night, 3-1, over Cincinnati. The Canes' bats were fairly silent, especially with star right fielder Dennis Raben out with a back injury. (He should return soon.)

But the Canes' pitching was even better than expected. Ace Eric Erickson, who won 10 games as a Freshman All-American last season, allowed one run in six innings and earned the victory.

But the big surprise was the bullpen. Kyle Bellamy pitched two shutout innings, striking out the side in the 7th with some nasty sidearm stuff. And closer Carlos Gutierrez earned the save with a shutout 9th inning.

In other Canes news:

• Great news! The Canes will have the players' names back on the football jerseys after a one-year hiatus.
• New defensive coordinator Bill Young said that former Dolphins DL Trace Armstrong played a key role in getting him to Miami from the University of Kansas.
• New receivers coach Aubrey Hill, meanwhile, needed no introduction. He is a life-long friend of Head Coach Randy Shannon.
• Shannon said he won't name his starting quarterback until the week before the season opener. That's what he did last year, when he chose Kirby Freeman - only to bench him for Kyle Wright a few games later. Both are now gone, and Shannon will choose between 4 freshmen.
• Three players who missed all of last season due to injuries - WR Jermaine McKenzie, QB Robert Marve and FS Anthony Reddick - are 100 percent ready to go for spring football. DT Antonio Dixon is also healthy after missing numerous games in 2007.
• Six defensive players will miss spring practice - DLs Dwayne Hendricks, Luqman Abdullah and Courtney Harris and LBs Colin McCarthy, Eric Houston and Romeo Davis. In addition, LB Glenn Cook, who missed last year  due to injury, is still  waiting for the NCAA to grant him an extra year of eligibility.
• On offense, only starting LG Orlando Franklin will miss the spring.