April 5, 2007

IN THE BATTERS BOX -- Wake Forest hits the road this weekend for a three-game ACC series at Maryland. The Demon Deacons are looking to rebound from Tuesday's 8-2 loss at Elon. Wake will be playing its second straight ACC road series and its third conference road series of the season. The Deacons enter the weekend 15-16 overall and 4-8 in the ACC. Maryland comes in 19-12 overall and 5-7 in leage play. The Terrapins split their mid-week games after being swept by Georgia Tech in Atlanta last weekend.

MARYLAND INSIDER -- Maryland is coming off a 7-6 13-inning loss at Towson on Wednesday. The Terps split their mid-week games, shutting out UMBC 9-0 at home on Tuesday. Maryland has lost four straight ACC contests after starting out the season 5-3 in the league. In their last home conference series, the Terrapins took two of three from Clemson. Maryland is 12-3 at home this season. As a team, the Terps are hitting .295 with 21 home runs. A.J. Casario is the team's leading hitter with a .327 average. Joe Palumbo has driven in a team-high 27 runs, while he and Mike Murphy are tied for the lead with four homers apiece. Steve Braun is the Terps' top basestealer, with eight stolen bases in 10 attempts. The pitching staff has an ERA of 4.32. Casey Baron has pitched the most innings, 50.2, and is 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA. Closer Brett Cecil has seven saves and 35 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched.

LAST MEETING -- Wake Forest took two of three from Maryland April 21-23, 2006, in Winston-Salem. The Deacons rolled past the Terrapins, 15-4, on Friday. Wake broke a 4-4 tie with 11 runs in the eighth inning. Evan Ocheltree and Andy Goff each had three hits and three RBIs. On Saturday, Wake Forest edged Maryland 4-3. Relievers Josh Ellis and Ben Hunter combined for 4.2 innings of shutout ball. Ellis struck out a career-high seven in 3.2 innings of work. The Terps avoided the sweep with a 3-2 win on Sunday. Wake took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but Maryland won the game with single runs in the fourth, sixth and eighth innings. Hunter struck out three in two innings of work.

ON DECK -- Wake Forest has two mid-week games on deck. The Deacons will host Triad-rival UNC Greensboro on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and then travel to Coastal Carolina on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. game. Next weekend, Wake will play host to Clemson in a three-game series.

RANKINGS -- Both Maryland and Wake Forest are unranked.

ELON LEFTOVERS --
-The Deacons couldn't get it going on the mound or at the plate in an 8-2 loss at Elon. The Phoenix almost shut out the Deacs, but Wake pushed across two runs in the ninth--without the virtue of a hit. Weldon Woodall drove in a run with a bases loaded walk, and Dustin Hood followed with a sacrifice fly. Prior to the ninth, Wake Forest put just five runners into scoring position and only two of the five to third base. The Deacs had just four hits on the night. Starter Alex Wiesner spotted Elon five runs in the first two innings. The Phoenix added three more off Wiesner and reliever Joel Ernst in the fifth.

NORTH CAROLINA LEFTOVERS --
-Wake Forest dropped two of three at North Carolina. The Deacons' only win came on Sunday when Eric Niesen led Wake to a 6-0 shutout of the Tar Heels. Niesen pitched 8.1 innings before being relieved by Josh Ellis. The duo combined for the Deacs' first shutout of 2007. The outing was the longest of Niesen's career, and the win was the first time UNC had been shut out this season.
-The Demon Deacons let Saturday's game slip away late. After breaking a 1-1 tie with four runs in the top of the seventh, Wake Forest surrendered eight runs in the bottom of the frame. Starter Garrett Bullock and reliever Ben Hunter combined to allow the eight runs in the inning. Bullock, who had pitched brilliantly up until that point, gave up four runs in the inning, while Hunter suffered the loss by allowing the final four runs of the frame.
-Michael Murray hit the first home run of his collegiate career on Friday. Murray's fourth-inning blast accounted for Wake's only run in the 3-1 loss and was just one of the Deacons' two hits on the day. Starter Brad Kledzik suffered the hard-luck loss, holding the Tar Heels to three runs in 6.1 innings. After allowing a two-run homer in the first, Kledzik scattered five hits the rest of the way. Kledzik did not walk a batter in the game.
-Allan Dykstra saw very few pitches to hit in the series. North Carolina walked Dykstra five times, including two intentional passes. He was also hit by two pitches. Dykstra saw some pitches on Sunday and finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. He had just one official at-bat on each Friday and Saturday.

MELLIES SET TO RETURN -- Fourth-year junior Charlie Mellies is set to make his return after sitting out more than a year due to Tommy John surgery. Mellies had the surgery on April 14, 2006, and has not pitched in a game since. His last appearance came on March 18, 2006, when he helped Wake Forest defeat Boston College. In that game, Mellies allowed three runs on six hits with six strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work. The win moved his season record to 4-1 at the time. When Mellies makes his first start of 2007 on Sunday he will have gone 386 days between appearances. With Mellies set to join Wake's weekend rotation, junior Eric Niesen will be shifted to the bullpen. The move gives the Demon Deacons a top-notch lefty out of the pen.

FOX SIDELINED WITH LEG INJURY -- Junior Willy Fox will be sidelined due to a non-baseball related injury. Fox suffered a laceration to his left leg when he thwarted a burglary attempt in his Winston-Salem apartment on Monday night. An intruder entered Fox's apartment late on Monday, and Fox tried to stop him. In the process, Fox suffered a laceration to his left leg and was taken to the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. He spent the night in the hospital and was released on Tuesday. Baseball athletic trainer Jeff Strahm has listed Fox's availability as day-to-day. Fox started each of Wake Forest's first 30 games before missing Tuesday's contest at Elon.

NIESEN NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK -- Junior Eric Niesen was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week on Monday, April 2. Niesen, a junior, did not allow a run in three appearances last week. The lefty hurler turned in the best start of his career on Sunday when he pitched 8.1 innings of shutout ball at North Carolina, leading the Demon Deacons to a 6-0 defeat of the No. 6-ranked Tar Heels. The win marked the first time UNC was shutout this season. Niesen threw 110 pitches, 74 for strikes, in Sunday's outing. His performance helped the Deacons snap a four-game losing streak and salvage the final game of the three-game set with the Tar Heels. Niesen's 8 1/3 innings on Sunday was the longest outing of his career, besting his previous high of seven innings set twice earlier this season. The win was Niesen's first in his last four starts, moving him to 3-3 on the season. The junior from New Boston, Mich., also pitched twice in relief during the week. He threw a scoreless inning on Wednesday against Winthrop and a scoreless 0.2 innings on Friday against North Carolina. 

CURRENT HITTING STREAKS -- Freshman Michael Murray is the only Demon Deacon with a current hitting streak of five games or more. Murray is riding a six-game hitting streak entering this weekend's series at Maryland. Murray has started each of the past five games after starting just six games total prior to that. He hit his first-career home run Friday, March 30, at North Carolina.

Player Statistics During Streak
Michael Murray (6) .318 (7-for-22), 2 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, .500 SLG

FOX'S STREAK STOPPED AT SIXTEEN GAMES -- Junior Willy Fox had his 16-game hitting streak stopped at UNC last Friday. Fox's streak dated back to March 6 against Gardner-Webb. The streak is tied for the fifth-longest by a Demon Deacon since 2001. Fox fell four games shy of Corey Slavik's 20-game hitting streak in 2001, which stands as the best streak in the past seven seasons at Wake Forest. During his streak, Fox had multi-hit days on eight occasions, including a 4-for-5 performance March 11 against Virginia. No other Deacon has a hitting streak this season longer than nine games.

Player Statistics During Streak
Willy Fox (16) .386 (27-for-70), 10 R, 5 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 17 RBI, .657 SLG, .463 OBP, 4 BB, 6 HBP

Longest Hitting Streaks Since 2001:
Games Player Year
20 Corey Slavik 2001
18 Ryan Johnson 2002
17 Jamie Athas 2001
17 Jamie D'Antona 2001
16 J.B. Tucker 2005
16 Willy Fox 2007
14 Cory Sullivan 2001
14 Adam Bourassa 2002
13 Five tied

DYKSTRA'S HOT STRETCH -- Prior to the North Carolina series, sophomore Allan Dykstra had a six-game stretch where he was as hot as anyone in the country. In six games from March 20-28, Dykstra hit .600 (12-for-20) with four home runs and 12 RBIs. The San Diego native scored 10 runs and hit three doubles during the span. Additionally, Dykstra slugged 1.350 and had an on-base percentage of .710 over the stretch, dating back to March 20 vs. Ohio. He struck out just two times in his a period of 30 plate appearances while drawing six walks and being hit by four pitches. Consequently, Dykstra did not see many pitches to hit at UNC. The Tar Heels walked him five times, including twice on intentional free passes. He was also hit by two pitches during the series.

BULLOCK KNOWS HOW TO PICK `EM -- Sophomore Garrett Bullock has mastered the art of the pickoff move. In eight appearances this season, the lefty has picked seven runners off first base. He leads the ACC in that category and has seven of Wake's eight pickoffs this season (RHP Phil Negus has the other). Bullock has picked off two runners in a game on two occasions--March 11 vs. Virginia and March 24 vs. NC State. In both games, Bullock recorded a pickoff in both the first and second innings. As a result of his crafty moves to first, opponents have had just three steal attempts while Bullock's on the mound. Only one of those attempts have been successful--UNC Wilmington's Jesse Haney on March 11.

WINTHROP LEFTOVERS --
-Winthrop used a 10-run fifth inning to cruise past Wake Forest, 15-9, on March 28. The Eagles brought 14 batters to the plate in the fifth inning to score 10 runs, all earned, off Deacon relievers Joel Ernst, Kirby Wedekind and Sean Souders. The Eagles had six hits in the inning and scored three of their runs off consecutive bases loaded walks.
-The Deacon hitters had a solid day, finishing with 11 hits total. Allan Dykstra finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs. He hit a solo home run in the first inning and a two-run shot in the seventh, giving him 12 home runs on the year. Dustin Hood, Michael Murray and Andy Goff had two hits apiece for Wake. Murray had a two-run double in the fourth inning that briefly gave the Demon Deacons a 4-3 lead. Willy Fox extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a two-out single in the ninth inning.

GOFF RETURNS TO LINEUP -- Second baseman Andy Goff returned to the Wake Forest lineup on March 21 at Winthrop after missing the 11 previous games with a hyper-extended elbow. The junior injured his throwing elbow turning a double play in the final inning of Wake Forest's 16-11 loss to UNC Wilmington on March 4. Nathan Frazier filled in at second for most of the 11 games that Goff missed. Frazier made 10 starts at second and hit .241 with a pair of doubles. Willy Fox also made a start at second base against Ohio. Goff had started each of the first 11 games of the season, hitting .267 before the injury. He had a solid series against UNC Wilmington, as he collected five hits and had five RBIs.

WHAT A RELIEF! -- Against Ohio and Winthrop (March 20-21), six Wake relievers combined to allow just one run in 9.1 innings of work. On Tuesday against Ohio, Kirby Wedekind, Brad Kledzik and Josh Ellis pitched a scoreless 2.2 innings. On Wednesday, Phil Negus, Eric Niesen, Ben Hunter and Ellis shut down Winthrop for 6.2 innings after the Eagles had scored seven runs in the first three innings. Ellis earned a save in each of the games.

YOUNG HAS SEASON-ENDING SURGERY -- Redshirt sophomore Greg Young had season-ending shoulder surgery in mid-March. A left-hander, Young had the surgery on his throwing arm. The Pacific Palisades, Calif., native had not appeared in a game this season. Last year, Young made 12 relief appearances, finishing 2-1 with a 8.83 ERA. Young is expected to be fully recovered from the surgery in time for the 2008 season.

STREAKING STATS -- Wake Forest was mired in a five-game losing streak from March 13-18, losing two to Ball State and three at Florida State. The Deacons' struggles were largely at the plate where the team left 56 runners on base during the losing streak. In the five games, Wake hit .161 (9-for-56) with runners in scoring position. The Deacs scored 4.2 runs per game during the losing streak. Four of the five losses were one-run defeats.

SEMINOLES STOP ELLIS' STREAK -- Reliever Josh Ellis gave up his first runs of the season on March 18 at Florida State. Ellis entered the series having pitched 14 2/3 scoreless innings to start the season. He extended that to 16 1/3 but finally succombed with one out in the eighth. Ellis allowed six runners to cross the plate in the inning, but only one of them was earned.

FOXY DEACON -- Willy Fox was named the ACC Player of the Week on Monday, March 12. Fox had a hit in all five games during the week, including two walk-off, game-winning hits. On Tuesday, Fox's two-run double capped a five-run rally in the ninth inning of Wake Forest's 5-4 win over Gardner-Webb. On Friday against No. 4 Virginia, Fox hit his first two home runs of the season in the Demon Deacons' 8-3 win. He became the first player this season to hit a homer off Cavalier lefty Sean Doolittle. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth of Sunday's 7-6 series-clinching win over Virginia. He finished Sunday's game 4-for-5. Fox also went 3-for-4 in Wake's loss to the Cavaliers on Saturday. For the week, Fox finished with a team-best average of .478 and also led the team in hits (11), RBIs (8), slugging percentage (.826) and on-base percentage (.500). For the Virginia series, Fox hit .692 (9-for-13) with six RBIs.

DEACON DRAMA -- Wake Forest fans should plan on sticking around until the final out this year, no matter what the situation. The Deacons seem to turn it on late, having won six games in the final inning, including five walk-off victories at Hooks Stadium. The Deacs have walked-off against Kent State (Feb. 16), Charlotte (Feb. 27), Gardner-Webb (March 6), High Point (March 7) and Virginia (March 11). Additionally, Wake hit the go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth at San Diego (Feb. 25).
-The Deacs had a thrilling, three-run rally in the ninth inning in their season-opener 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, Willy Fox singled home Tyler Smith to cut the deficit to one. Dustin Hood followed by reaching on a fielding error, which scored Brett Linnenkohl with the tying run. Weldon Woodall then grounded a ball into the hole between third base and shortstop to bring home Ben Terry for the game-winning run.
-Wake continued this habit on Sunday, Feb. 25, against San Diego. Going into the ninth inning with the scored tied at three, it was Evan Ocheltree's chance to deliver the late-game heroics. Leading off the inning,  the right fielder hit the go-ahead home run, allowing the Deacs to avoid extra innings and a potential series sweep with a 5-3 win over the Toreros.
-In the Deacs' first extra-inning affair of the season against Charlotte, Tyler Smith's two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th gave Wake Forest a 9-7 comeback win against the 49ers. In his first at-bat of the season, Smith capped a rally that saw the Demon Deacons score seven unanswered runs over the final five innings. Wake had dug itself an early 7-2 hole but fought back to post its fifth win of the season.
-Gardner-Webb dominated Wake Forest for eight innings, holding the Demon Deacon offense to just three hits. Prior to the ninth inning, not one baserunner had made it past second base. Trailing 4-0, Wake rallied with five runs in the bottom of the ninth. Pinch hitter Tyler Smith had a bases-loaded single to score Evan Ocheltree. Brett Linnenkohl followed with a perfectly-placed bunt single to plate Eric Williams. One batter later, Allan Dykstra cut the deficit to 4-3 with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Cory Hindel. Willy Fox followed with a two-out, two-strike double down the left field line. Smith scored the tying run, and Linnenkohl came all the way around from first to score the game-winner.
-The Deacons made it back-to-back walk-off wins with a 6-5, 10-inning victory against High Point. Ean Ocheltree completed Wake's comeback win all on his own in the 10th inning. Ocheltree tripled to lead off the frame, sliding headfirst into third just ahead of the tag. With Weldon Woodall at the plate looking for the game-winning RBI, High Point reliever Tom Boleska uncorked a wild pitch over Woodall's head, and Ocheltree raced home uncontested for the score.
-Wake clinched the Virginia series when Willy Fox singled home Brett Linnenkohl in the bottom of the ninth for the 7-6 win. After UVa homered in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 6-6, the Deacs put together a rally in the bottom of the frame. Eric Williams led off with a walk, Linnenkohl reached on a fielder's choice and Austin Jones singled. Fox came through with a two-out single up the middle, his second game-winning hit of the week.