Hurricanes announce opening weekend pitching rotation

Redshirt Junior LHP Eric Erickson will pitch Friday night. He will throw in a real game for the first time since June 2008.
Redshirt Junior LHP Eric Erickson will pitch Friday night. He will throw in a real game for the first time since June 2008. Steven Stuts // Asst. Photo Editor

On Tuesday afternoon head coach Jim Morris unveiled the opening weekend rotation in an exclusive interview with The Miami Hurricane.

Firday night red shirt junior left-hander Eric Erickson will pitch for the first time since June of 2008. He missed all of last year due to Tommy John surgery. Erickson is 19-5 all time in his Hurricanes career.

Saturday night junior left-hander Chris Hernandez will be on the bump. Hernandez had a stellar freshman campaign but struggled at times during the 2009 season. He finished last year 7-5 with a 4.76 ERA. Hernandez’s best pitch is his cutter but he has been working a lot on his changeup this offseason.

Sunday afternoon is a bit of a surprise. Sixth year senior Jason Santana will get the nod. Santana has been plagued with injuries throughout his Hurricane tenure but has proven he can be a winner when healthy. He has a career record of 14-2. Other candidates who were in line for that spot were freshman Eric Whaley, Steven Ewing and Jerad Grundy.

Opening night is Friday at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on 90.5 FM or wvum.org

Justin Antweil may be contacted at jantweil@themiamihurricane.com