April 2, 2009

Wake Forest Game Notes

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest baseball team hits the road for the second straight weekend, traveling to Blacksburg, Va., for a critical Atlantic Coast Conference series against Virginia Tech.

Game times for the weekend series are set for 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's game will be televised on the ACC's regional sports networks, which includes Comcast SportsNet, FSN South, Fox Sports Florida and NESN. The games on Friday and Sunday will be shown on ACC Select. Friday and Saturday's game will be aired on 98.1 WBRF-FM and all three games will be available on WakeForestSports.com with Andy Jones on the call.

The weekend series could prove to be a turning point for either Wake Forest or Virginia Tech. As the midpoint of the ACC season approaches, both teams are on the outside looking in at the ACC Tournament. The top eight teams in the conference will advance to the conference tournament in Durham, N.C., from May 20-24. The Demon Deacons enter the weekend in a tie for 11th place in the league with Maryland, while Virginia Tech is in 10th position.

Wake Forest is 15-11 on the season and has a 3-9 record in ACC play. The Deacs, winners of seven of their last 10 games, are on a four-game winning streak after defeating Charlotte and UNC Greensboro in midweek games. The Demon Deacons pounded out 19 hits and scored 15 runs against the 49ers. Against UNCG, Steven Brooks drove in the game-winning run on a single in the bottom of the ninth to lift Wake to victory.

Senior Weldon Woodall leads Wake Forest in several offensive categories. Woodall leads the team in batting average (.385), hits (35), doubles (10), RBIs (24) and on-base percentage (.486). Dustin Hood (.324) and Carlos Lopez (.319) are also hitting over .300 on the season. Lopez leads the team with nine home runs on the season.

Virginia Tech enters the weekend with a 16-10 record, including a 3-8 mark in ACC play. The Hokies are sixth in the Coastal Division and 10th in the race for the ACC Tournament. Virginia Tech lost two of three games at NC State last weekend. The Hokies defeated James Madison 4-0 on Tuesday night in their last game. Virginia Tech is third in the ACC in team batting average at .327, while the pitching staff has compiled a 4.77 ERA.

Steve Domecus leads the Hokies at the plate with a .416 batting average. He is tied for the team lead with 32 RBIs and has three home runs. Anthony Sosnoskie leads the team with six home runs and also has 32 RBIs, while swinging the bat at a .344 clip. Austin Wates is hitting .386 on the season, while Ronnie Shaban has a .370 batting average.

Virginia Tech has six pitchers with less than a 4.00 ERA. Ben Rowen has made a team-high 16 appearances on the season and has a 3-0 record with a 6.23 ERA. Brandon Fisher leads the team with two saves and has a 0-1 record with a 2.41 ERA in 11 relief appearances.

Wake Forest will send freshman lefty Austin Stadler to the mound in the series opener. Stadler, who pitched out of the bullpen last weekend against Duke, is 2-2 on the season with a 3.45 ERA. He also is tied for the team lead with two saves. Stadler has struck out 24 and walked just nine in 31 1/3 innings of work. He made two relief appearances against Duke last weekend. Stadler allowed a run in 4 2/3 innings during the series and picked up a save in the second game of the weekend.

Virginia Tech will counter with redshirt senior Rhett Ballard, who will be making his seventh start of the season. Ballard is 3-1 on the season and has a 3.22 ERA. Opponents are hitting .248 against Ballard on the season. In his last start against NC State, Ballard allowed two unearned runs on two hits in 3 2/3 innings and earned a no decision. Ballard threw two scoreless innings in relief against James Madison on Tuesday night.

Coming off the best outing of his collegiate career, junior righty Phil Negus will take the hill for the Demon Deacons in the middle game of the series on Saturday. Negus is 2-2 on the year with a 5.34 ERA. Negus earned his second win of the season last weekend against Duke, throwing a career-high seven innings and allowed one unearned run on four hits, while striking out three batters.

The Hokies are scheduled to start freshman Mathew Price in Saturday's game. Price is 2-1 on the season and has a 5.40 ERA. He has struck out 24 and walked 18 in 25 innings pitched. Price allowed 10 runs, nine earned, on six hits and six walks in 2 1/3 innings in his last outing against NC State.

Wake Forest will senior southpaw Garrett Bullock to the bump in Sunday's series finale. Bullock sports a 1-0 record and an 8.40 ERA entering the weekend. He earned his first win of the season against Duke last Sunday, giving up seven runs, six of them earned, on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Virginia Tech is scheduled to throw sophomore lefty Justin Wright in the final game of the series. Wright is 1-1 with a 4.87 ERA on the season. Wright is averaging nearly a strikeout an inning, fanning 18 batters in 20 1/3 innings pitched. He started the series finale against NC State last weekend, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Wake Forest holds a narrow 31-26 advantage in the all-time series against Virginia Tech. The Demon Deacons are 6-4 in the last 10 meetings and have won the season series in two of the last three seasons. The Hokies took two of three games in last year's series in Winston-Salem.

Live stats and recaps of all three games will be available on WakeForestSports.com.

Weekend Schedule (Times Eastern and Subject to Change) - Blacksburg, Va.
Friday, April 3 - 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 4 - 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 5 - 1 p.m.

Probable Pitching Matchups (Wake Forest vs. Virginia Tech)
Friday, April 3
LHP Austin Stadler (Fr., 2-2, 3.45) vs. RHP Rhett Ballard (R-Sr., 3-1, 3.22)

Saturday, April 4
RHP Phil Negus (Jr., 2-2, 5.34) vs. RHP Mathew Price (Fr., 2-1, 5.40)

Sunday, April 5
LHP Garrett Bullock (Sr., 1-0, 8.40) vs. LHP Justin Wright (So., 1-1, 4.87)

Records
Wake Forest - 15-11, 3-9 ACC
Virginia Tech - 16-10, 3-8 ACC

Rankings (BA/ESPN/NCBWA/Rivals)
Wake Forest - Not Ranked
Virginia Tech - Not Ranked

Television/Webcast
Saturday's game will be shown live on the ACC's Regional Sports Networks, which include Comcast SportsNet, FSN South, Fox Sports Florida and NESN. Mike Hogewood and Dan Bonner will call the action. Friday and Sunday's games will be available on ACC Select.

Radio/Internet Radio
Friday and Saturday's game will be broadcast on 98.1 WBRF-FM. All three games of the series will be available on WakeForestSports.com with Andy Jones on the call.

Live Stats
Live stats of all three games will be available on WakeForestSports.com.