Feb. 22, 2007 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -
IN THE BATTERS BOX -- Wake Forest and No. 18 San Diego meet for the first time in the programs' histories for a weekend series at Cunningham Baseball Stadium at the University of San Diego. The three-game set will run from Feb. 23-25. The Deacs (3-1) enter the game against the Toreros (9-4) looking to rebound after falling to Applachian State, 10-9, in a mid-week match on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The Deacs let an early 7-0 lead slip due in large part to a seven-run fourth inning from the Mountaineers. SAN DIEGO INSIDER -- San Diego comes into the series with Wake after posting a 3-1 record against Virginia Commonwealth this past week. The first two games of the series went into extra innings, marking the third consecutive game USD had gone into extra frames. In Saturday's game, the Toreros were involved in a slugfest and pounded out a season-high 23 hits, while outscoring the Rams 20-13. Justin Snyder was a perfect 5-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored in leading the offense. On Sunday, the Toreros cruised to an 8-2 win as all but one USD batter recorded a hit in the game. ON DECK -- After the Demon Deacons' weekend series with the Toreros, they will return home for a mid-week game against Charlotte on Tuesday, Feb. 27. UNC-Wilmington will then come to Hooks Stadium for a three-game series the following weekend. RANKINGS -- Wake Forest is unranked while San Diego comes into the series ranked 18th by Baseball America and 21st by Collegiate Baseball. APP STATE LEFTOVERS -- POWER ALLEY -- After finishing third on the team with six home runs in 2006, sophomore Evan Ocheltree is already well on his way to surpassing that total. The Richmond, Va., native had solo blasts against Kent State on Feb. 17 and 18 to give him two homers through the first four games. Sophomore Allan Dykstra, the ACC's second-leading home run hitter in 2006, hit his first of the year in the sixth inning against Appalachian State. Junior Brett Linnenkohl also hit a homer against the Mountaineers, his second of the year. HOT START -- Even though they fell to Appalachian State, Wake is still off to one of its best starts in recent memory. The Deacs started 2007 with a 3-0 record for the first time since the 1998 and 2001 seasons, also the years of two of Wake's last three ACC Championships. STRONG OUT OF THE GATES... -- Of the 33 total runs Wake has scored through its first four games, a whopping 15 of them have come in the first inning (45%). In fact, the Deacs scored five runs in the first inning in their second game of the season against Kent State, batting around in the inning. ...A LITTLE SLOWER DOWN THE STRETCH -- Only five of the Deacs' 33 runs have come in the game's final three innings. Three of those runs came in Wake's ninth-inning, game-winning rally against Kent State in the season opener. This frustrating trend has seen Wake build early leads only to allow opponents to crawl back into contention over the course of the rest of the game. HITTING STREAKS -- Through the first four games of the season, three Deacs have hitting streaks of at least three games. Junior Ben Terry has a three-game streak, while sophomores Evan Ocheltree and Allan Dykstra have reached safely in all four games. SQUEEZING IT OUT -- The Deacs had a thrilling, three-run rally in the ninth inning in their first game of the season on Friday, Feb. 16, against Kent State. Down 7-5 going into the last inning, the Deacs managed to score three runs without the ball leaving the infield. Wake loaded the bases with three-straight walks to open the frame. One out later, junior Willy Fox singled home pinch runner Tyler Smith to cut the deficit to one. Sophomore Dustin Hood followed by reaching on a fielding error, which scored junior Brett Linnenkohl with the tying run. Sophomore Weldon Woodall then grounded a ball into the hole between third base and shortstop. Kent State shortstop Chris Tremblay made an attempt at the 6-4-3 double play but both runners were safe, allowing junior Ben Terry to score the game-winning run. DEACON DEBUT -- Junior Willy Fox led the team with a .556 average and five RBIs in Wake's three wins over the Golden Flashes. Playing in his first game in a Deacon uniform, the transfer from Arizona State also fell just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle on Friday, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs in the game. PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF -- Junior closer Ben Hunter continued his strong play from 2006, coming in to earn two saves in the second and third games of the Kent State series. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native came on in the ninth on Saturday with two outs and the bases loaded and got a fly-out to left to end the game on the first batter he saw. On Sunday, Hunter worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out the final two batters to preserve the victory. He did not allow a single baserunner on the weekend. The right hander led the Deacs with 14 saves in 2006. OPENING IT UP -- Wake Forest opened the 2007 season with a series sweep against Kent State... the three-game series ran Feb. 16-18 at Hooks Stadium on the Wake Forest campus... the Demon Deacons and Golden Flashes met for the first time since the 1997 season. OPENING WEEKENDS -- Wake Forest's 8-7 victory over Kent State in the opener was the first victory in its season opener since 2003... the Deacons lost to Rice to open 2004, Winthrop in 2005 and Charlotte last season... the 2006 opener against the 49ers was the first time the Deacs opened a season with a series (not tournament or individual game) since 1999 when they took two of three from Evansville... dating back to the 1958 season (the last 50 years), Wake Forest is 31-20 on opening day... Wake Forest has won four of its last five opening weekend series dating back to 1994 and has gone 13-13 on the first weekend of the season all-time in series... the Demon Deacons are 1-2 under Rick Rembielak on opening day and Rembielak is 7-7 all-time in his career. REMBIELAK TO FACE OLD TEAM -- Head coach Rick Rembielak saw a familiar opponent in the Deacs' opening series against the Golden Flashes. He was an assistant coach with Kent State from 1988-93 and then its head coach from 1994-2004. "Coach Rem" left Kent, Ohio, with a 373-251-1 (.598) record and led the squad to the NCAA Regionals four times. DEMON DEACONS RETURN SIX STARTERS -- Wake Forest returns six position starters from last year's team. Sophomore Allan Dykstra, the only returner to start all 55 games in 2006, is back at first base. Also back are fellow sophomores Evan Ocheltree (RF) and Dustin Hood (SS) and junior Andy Goff (2B). Behind the plate, senior Dan Rosaia and junior Austin Jones will again split time at catcher, and junior Eric Williams is back in centerfield. Junior Brett Linnenkohl, who missed some time with a hamstring but started 20 games in 2006, will begin the year in left field. ARM(ED) SERVICES -- Wake Forest returns six pitchers that recorded 40 or more IP last season, including five hurlers with 50 or more IP. That does not include redshirt junior Charlie Mellies, who will return to the lineup in 2007 after missing much of 2006 after undergoing elbow surgery. Sophomore Brad Kledzik, junior Eric Niesen and sophomore Garrett Bullock anchor the starting rotation to begin the year. Junior Ben Hunter returns as one the top closer's in the country and will be looked upon for similar results in 2007. DEACONS TO HAVE 32 HOME DATES IN 2007 -- Wake Forest will play 32 games within the "friendly confines" of Hooks Stadium during the 2007 season, starting with Kent State on Feb. 16. Other non-conference teams slated to visit Winston-Salem this season are: Appalachian State (Feb. 20), Charlotte (Feb. 27), UNC Wilmington (March 2-4), Gardner-Webb (March 6), Ball State (March 13-14), Ohio (March 20), Winthrop (March 28), UNC-Greensboro (April 10) and Coastal Carolina (April 18). The Demon Deacons are scheduled to open their ACC schedule at home for the second straight year, starting with a three-game series against Virginia (March 9-11). Wake Forest will also host ACC foes NC State (March 23-25), Clemson (April 13-April 15), Duke (April 27-29) and Miami (May 11-13). DEACONS PICKED TO FINISH EIGHTH BY ACC COACHES -- Wake Forest was picked to finish fourth in the ACC Atlantic Division in the preseason poll. In a vote of the league's 12 head coaches, the Demon Deacons received 40 points in the poll. Clemson was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic, while 2006 College World Series runner-up North Carolina was picked to win the Coastal Division. Clemson was also voted as the favorite to capture the ACC Tournament title. DEACONS IN THE MAJORS -- During the history of Wake Forest baseball, a total of 32 former players have made it to the majors. The 2006 MLB draft saw All-American Matt Antonelli go 17th overall to the San Diego Padres. Antonelli was the fourth Demon Deacon in school history to be chosen in the first round and the program's first-ever position player. Detroit drafted Kyle Sleeth 3rd overall in 2003, Kansas City drafted Mike MacDougal 25th overall in 1999 and St. Louis took Bret Wagner 19th overall in 1994. Jamie D'Antona, second round and 66th overall pick of Arizona, was the highest previously drafted Wake Forest position player. GAME ONE STARTER -- #27 So., RHP Brad Kledzik (0-0, 9.00 ERA). Kledzik made his first start of the season on opening day against Kent State (Feb. 16)... had a no decision in the 8-7 win, allowing eight hits, three walks while punching out four batters in 4.0 innings. KLEDZIK'S LAST... CAREER BESTS... VS. THE TOREROS... GAME TWO STARTER -- #24 Jr., LHP Eric Niesen (1-0, 5.68 ERA). Niesen made his last start on Feb. 17 vs. Kent State... got with the win in the Deacs' 8-4 victory over the Golden Flashes... allowed five hits and four walks while striking out four batters in 6.1 innings. NIESEN'S LAST... CAREER BESTS... VS. THE TOREROS... GAME THREE STARTER -- #17 So., LHP Garrett Bullock (1-0, 1.80 ERA). Bullock made his last start on Feb. 18, 2007 vs. Kent State... got the win in the 8-6 victory... allowed five hits, one walk while striking out two batters in 5.0 innings. BULLOCK'S LAST... CAREER BESTS... VS. THE TOREROS...
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