April 22, 2006 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest junior reliever Josh Ellis struck out seven over 3.2 hitless innings and sophomore closer Ben Hunter picked up his 12th save of the season as the No. 24 Demon Deacons squeaked past Maryland, 4-3, Saturday afternoon at Hooks Stadium. The Demon Deacons improve to 30-13 overall and 14-6 in the ACC, while the Terrapins drop to 17-25 and 6-17. Ellis (4-3) replaced Wake Forest starter Eric Niesen with one out, the tying run on base and the Deacons clinging to a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth inning. The right-handed hurler punched out the ensuing two Terrapins to end the threat. Ellis would retire the next nine Maryland batters over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to pick up his fourth victory of the season. The overpowering outing comes on the heels of his worst performance of 2006. Ellis was charged with the loss on Tuesday against Davidson when he failed to retire a single batter and allowed five earned runs on four hits. Ellis faced the minimum 11 batters over his 3.2 innings of relief. The seven strikeouts tied his career-high. Ellis fanned seven on three other occasions, most recently on March 25, 2005 against North Carolina. The seven punch outs are the most for a Demon Deacon reliever since Seth Hill fanned nine against North Carolina on April 7, 2002. With the Deacons still holding onto a one-run lead, 4-3, Ellis turned it over to Hunter for the ninth. After Dan Benick reached second base on Matt Antonelli's throwing error, Steve Braun followed with a sacrifice bunt putting the tying run just 90 feet away. Hunter punched out Joe Palumbo then got pinch-hitter Gary Spessard to pop out to end the game. He is a perfect 12-for-12 in save opportunities.
Maryland starting pitcher Ben Pfinsgraff (2-5) was the tough-luck loser. The right-hander tossed his second complete game of the season, but both outings have come in defeat. Pfinsgraff scattered seven hits and allowed four earned runs over 8.0 innings. He struck out six and walked two. He blanked the Deacons on just three hits over the final 6.0 innings. Pfinsgraff retired 15 of the final 19 Wake Forest batters. The freshman trio of Evan Ocheltree, Allan Dykstra and Tyler Smith provided most of the offense for the Demon Deacons. Ocheltree went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Dykstra added a two-run double and Smith picked up a two-run single. Wake Forest jumped on Pfinsgraff early. Smith's two-run single in the first and Dykstra's two-run double in the second gave the Deacs a 4-0 lead. The Terps fought back with the help of the long ball. After Niesen kept the Terrapins hitless over his first 3.0 innings of work, Jordan Wilson led off the fourth with a mammoth solo home run. Dan Melvin then belted a two-run bomb in the top of the fifth inning to bring Maryland within a run, 4-3, but Ellis and Hunter would keep the lead in tact. Niesen did not factor in the decision. The southpaw tossed 4.1 innings and allowed three earned runs on three hits. He fanned three, but was hindered by a career-high six walks. Wake Forest returns tomorrow afternoon with the final game of the weekend series. Redshirt senior Justin Keadle will get the start for the Demon Deacons. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. -- WakeForestSports.com -- |
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