April 24, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest continues its two-week long road swing with a three-game ACC series at Georgia Tech this weekend in Atlanta. The Demon Deacons enter the series at 16-25 overall and 7-13 in the ACC. Wake is coming off an 8-7 defeat of No. 15 Coastal Carolina on Wednesday. Georgia Tech comes in at 28-12 overall and 10-11 in conference play. The Yellow Jackets played just once during the recent mid-week, earning a 16-9 win at Mercer on Tuesday. Wake Forest and Georgia Tech have not met on the diamond since 2005.

Quickie Notes
The Wake Forest defense has not committed an error in five straight games and eight of its last 10 contests ... The Deacons hit a season-high four homers on Tuesday at Elon ... Dustin Hood hit his first career homer on Tuesday ... Willy Fox is riding a six-game hitting streak, the longest current streak on the team ... Mike Murray had his 13-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday at Coastal Carolina ... Over his last four games, Allan Dykstra has hit .375 with three homers and 10 RBIs ... Fox has hit .500 with seven runs and five RBIs during the same stretch ... Ben Hunter has allowed exactly two earned runs in each of his last three starts ... The Deacs have not stolen a base in their last four games ... Wake Forest is ranked fourth nationally in Strength of Schedule, according to WarrenNolan.com.

Scouting the Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech comes in having won two straight and three of its last five contests. The Yellow Jackets, however, have dropped five of their last six in ACC play, including two of three last weekend at Maryland. Georgia Tech hit eight home runs in Tuesday's 16-9 defeat of Mercer. As a team, the Jackets are hitting .300 with 62 home runs. Luke Murton is the team's top hitter with a .387 average. Derek Dietrich leads the way with 12 homers and 45 RBIs, while Charlie Blackmon is the squad's top threat on the basepaths with 17 steals. On the mound, Georgia Tech has a team ERA of 4.50. Deck McGuire is 7-0 with a 3.25 ERA in 12 appearances. Friday starter David Duncan has struck out a staff-high 50 batters, while closer Chris Hicks has eight saves.

On Deck
Wake Forest will play twice during the upcoming mid-week. The Deacons will finish their nine-game road swing on Tuesday at UNC Greensboro. Wake will then host Davidson on Wednesday for the Deacs' first game at Hooks Stadium in two weeks. Wake Forest has eight days off for finals before returning to ACC play against Duke May 9-11 in Winston-Salem.

Deacs' Last Appearance at Russ Chandler Stadium
No. 8 Georgia Tech swept Wake Forest in three games March 11-13, 2005. The Yellow Jackets outscored the Deacons 47-24 in the series.

In game one, the Jackets broke open a close game with six runs in the seventh inning. GT had built an early 5-0 lead, but Wake battled back to within 7-5 before the Jackets exploded for six in the seventh and two more in the eighth. Brett Linnenkohl went 2-for-3 with a run, while Charlie Mellies pitched 1.2 innings of relief, allowing three runs on four hits.

The Jackets out-slugged the Deacons, 16-14, in game two. Wake Forest pounded out 19 hits but committed five errors in the field. The Deacs led 10-9 in the sixth, but the Yellow Jackets came back to take a 16-10 lead heading into the ninth. Wake rallied for four runs but came up just short. Matt Miller and J.B. Tucker drove in four runs each, while Matt Antonelli finished with four hits.

Tech got the sweep with a 16-5 win in game three. The Deacs scored four in the first, but the Jackets came back with nine in the second to take control of the game. Matt Hammond made the start for Wake, going 1.1 innings. Mellies pitched four innings of effective relief, allowing three runs on six hits. Brendan Enick and Casey Sterk drove in two runs each.

WF-GT Last Meeting
The two teams last met in the 2005 ACC Tournament. The eighth-seeded Deacons had to win two single-elimination games against Duke and Maryland the day before just to advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament. Facing the top-seeded Yellow Jackets, Wake Forest and its depleted pitching staff almost pulled off the unthinkable. The Deacs took an 8-7 lead into the ninth before the Jackets rallied for a 9-8 victory.

Wake had opened the game with a 7-0 lead, but GT answered with six runs in the fifth inning. Tech tied it in the seventh before Wake took a lead with a run in the eighth. The Yellow Jackets won the game on a sacrifice fly in the ninth.

Starter Brian Bach turned in a gutsy performance for the Deacs. The senior pitched into the ninth inning, throwing 140 pitches on the day. Leadoff man Matt Antonelli was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run to lead Wake at the plate.

Individual Career Stats vs. GT
Since the Demon Deacons and Yellow Jackets have not met since 2005, only four players on Wake Forest's current roster have faced Georgia Tech. Andy Goff and Brett Linnenkohl have each played in four career games against the Jackets--all the games coming when the pair were freshmen in 2005. Goff has gone 2-for-18 with two RBIs, while Linnenkohl has gone 3-for-14 with three walks and a run against GT. Charlie Mellies has pitched in three career games against the Jackets, one in 2004 and two in 2005. Mellies has an 8.22 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched out of the bullpen. Matt Hammond pitched in one game against Georgia Tech in 2005, totaling 1.1 innings.

For Georgia Tech, only two players on its current roster have faced the Deacons. Brad Feltes was a defensive replacement in one game in 2005, while Brad Rulon made two relief appearances in the 2005 series.

Deacons' Last Time Out
Wake Forest split its mid-week games, falling at Elon, 19-10, on Tuesday before taking down No. 15 Coastal Carolina, 8-7, on Wednesday.

The Deacons took an early 2-0 lead at Elon, but the Phoenix plated 14 runs over the first three innings to take control of the game. Wake had a productive night at the plate, getting home runs from Allan Dykstra, Willy Fox, Dustin Hood and Evan Ocheltree. Hood and Fox finished with three hits apiece, while Dykstra drove in three runs. Hood's home run was the first of his career. Mike Murray extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by a Deacon this season.

On the mound, the Deacs combined to hit six batters and issue seven walks in the game. All but three of the 13 batters who reached on free passes came around to score. Starter Mark Adzick (0-3) took the loss for Wake Forest, lasting just 0.2 innings on the night.

The Deacons jumped out to a 2-0 lead, courtesy of a two-run homer from Dykstra in the first, on Wednesday. Wake built its lead to 8-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth and then withstood a furious two-out rally by Coastal. The Chanticleers plated five runs with two outs and had the winning run on second before Brad Kledzik ended the game with a strikeout.

Dykstra went 2-for-2 with three RBIs, Fox was 3-for-5 with two runs, while Hood finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run. Murray had his 13-game hitting streak snapped, going 0-for-5.

Phil Negus (4-2) picked up the win with three innings of solid relief of starter Ryan McGrath. McGrath was effective over four innings, despite walking eight batters. Kledzik pitched the final two innings but did not record a save after entering the game with Wake holding a four-run lead.

The Deacon defense shined once again, turning in its fifth straight error-free game.