Deacons Slide Past Duke 7-4
Wake Forest captures sole possession of first place in the ACC

March 29, 2003

Box Score

Winston-Salem, N.C. -- The 19th-ranked Wake Forest baseball team won its fourth straight game with a 7-4 victory of visiting Duke on Saturday night at Ernie Shore Field. The Deacons improved their conference record to 6-2 and with a little help around the league, Wake Forest captured sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Deacons (19-7) fell behind early as Duke scored three runs in the first inning against Wake Forest starter Tim Morley. But a brief 25-minute rain delay after the second inning cooled off the Blue Devil bats as Morley settled in and didn't allow an earned run the rest of the night.

Morley went six innings, allowed three earned runs on seven hits with a strikeout and two walks. Junior Adam Hanson (4-1) came out of the bullpen for the victory and finished the game with three scoreless innings of relief, allowing just a pair of hits with three strikeouts and no walks.

Wake Forest began clawing back into the contest in the third inning with back-to-back doubles by Steven Malinowski and Adam Bourassa. Bourassa later scored on a Jamie D'Antona sacrfice fly to make it 3-2.

Duke (13-15, 0-5 ACC) extended its lead by a run when Michael Golom reached on a two-base error to start the fourth. He scored on a Brian Patrick sacrifice fly.

But Wake Forest would draw even in the fifth inning. After a bases loaded walk by Jeff Ruziecki, Ryan Johnson scored from third on a wild pitch by Duke reliever Zach Schreiber.

The Deacons took its first and only lead in the seventh inning. Johnson led off with a walk and scored on D'Antona double into the left-center gap to give Wake Forest a 5-4 edge. Ruziecki added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly.

D'Antona finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Bourassa was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Ruziecki was 0-for-3 but had an RBI walk and a sac fly. Johnson's 13-game hitting streak, a team best this season, was snapped.

Combined with North Carolina's win over Florida State and Georgia Tech playing out of conference at Miami this weekend, the Decaons claim first place over the Yellow Jackets by a half-game and over the Seminoles by a full game.

Wake Forest and Duke will wrap up their weekend series on Sunday afternoon with a 1:30 p.m. start at Hooks Stadium.