The Canes' play host to Arizona this weekend, and the key - as always - will be pitching.

 

In Friday's opener, the Canes have the edge with 11-0 Chris Hernandez against Preston Guilmet (6-4, 4.29), who has struggled lately. Hernandez, though, was hit with a batted ball on his thigh in last weekend's start and, it affected the way he pushes off the mound. Hopefully, he will be OK - and he should be, according to Morris.  

 

On Saturday, the Canes start Eric Erickson vs. David Coulon (8-3, 3.54). Erickson was brilliant last weekend, allowing just 2 runs in 7 innings. That bodes well for this weekend.

 

But if a third game is needed on Sunday, the Canes will likely start Kiki Garcia vs. Eric Berger (8-3, 4.43).

 

But I am thinking the Canes end this in two straight. And the Canes need to play from the front because if they fall behind the great Arizona bullpen will could into play in a more decisive way.

 

Right-handed sophomore closer Jason Stoffel (3-2, 3.25 ERA) set a school record with his 13th save Sunday against Kentucky and was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player. He could be a first-round pick in 2009.

 

Left-handed junior Daniel Schlereth (2-0, 1.81) could be a first-round pick this year.

 

And right-handed junior Ryan Perry (6-3, 3.07) is another projected first-rounder in Thursday's Major League Draft.

 

The Canes have a very good bullpen with dominating set-up man Kyle Bellamy and equally-good closer Carlos Gutierrez. But it is not as deep as Arizona's pen.

 

Overall, I like Miami's offense, Miami's pitching and the Miami home crowd to get the Canes to the College World Series. 

 

By the way, congrats to Florida State for surviving its regional. They were stunned by lowly Bucknell 5-0 in the opener but were able to slug their way out of the losers bracket. They won four straight games, outscoring their opponents 74-35.

 

With catcher Buster Posey leading the way, that is a very scary FSU offense. Posey will likely be the second pick in Thursday's major-league draft.