March 14, 2003
College Park, Md. -- The 14th-ranked Wake Forest baseball team pulled a rabbit out of its hat on a frigid Friday night in College Park, Md., rallying with two runs in the top of the ninth for a 5-4 win in the ACC opener at Maryland. Wake Forest (11-5, 1-0 ACC) went into the ninth inning down 4-3. The Deacons had the top of the order coming up against Terrapin reliever Sean Kane who had been penciled in as Saturday's starter. It was a roller coaster of a ninth inning that featured several momentum changes. Adam Bourassa led off with a pop fly that was dropped by the Maryland left fielder. Bourassa ended up at second base and advanced to third on Ryan Hubbard's single. Things looked very promising for the Deacons with excellent speed on the corners and nobody out for senior All-American Ryan Johnson. Then, Johnson ripped a line drive that appeared destined for the right field line. Instead, Maryland first baseman Anthony Buffone, who had given the Terps the lead in the eighth, snagged the line drive and stepped on the bag to double up Hubbard. Instead, with two outs and the tying run at third, Jamie D'Antona stepped in. D'Antona, who tied up the game at three back in the seventh inning, was the hero again, lacing a single into left center field to score Bourassa, tying the game again at five. The Deacons, though, weren't finished in the ninth. After Jeff Ruziecki singled, Doug Riepe was hit in the helmet by a fastball. He was fine and it loaded the bases for Chris Getz.
The freshman showed great patience at the plate, drawing a walk to push across D'Antona, the go-ahead run.
Adam Hanson (1-1), who entered the game in the seventh inning, struck out the first two batters in the ninth and got a groundout to end the game. Hanson got credit for the win, pitching the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits with five strikeouts and a walk. He came into the game in the seventh inning with two out, runners at second and third base and a 3-1 count but got came back to strike out Maryland leadoff hitter Daryl Whitmer looking to escape the jam. Kyle Sleeth got the start for the Deacons but did not factor in the decision. He threw five innings, yielding three runs - all in the fifth inning -- on three hits with six strikeouts and a pair of walks. Sleeth totaled 80 pitches on a frigid night where temperatures dipped into the mid-30's. Sleeth had won each of his last 14 starts since last March against Georgia Tech. He did not factor in the decision tonight, keeping his consecutive winning decision streak alive at 24. Sleeth has not suffered a loss in any of his last 37 appearances, including 26 starts. Daniel Davidson threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts to bridge the gap to Hanson. D'Antona finished the day 2-for-5 with three of Wake Forest's four RBI. Johnson also had two hits and Bourassa scored twice. Wake Forest has won each of its last five ACC openers. The Demon Deacons and Terrapins will tee it up again on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Sophomore Tim Morley will get the ball for Wake Forest. |
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