May 14, 2008
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest returns to action with a critical three-game ACC series at Boston College this week. The Demon Deacons are still looking to qualify for next week's ACC Tournament. Wake needs to win at least once at BC, or have Duke lose once at Virginia Tech, to make it into the eight-team field. The Deacons have an outside chance at the sixth seed but need to sweep BC and have either Georgia Tech or Virginia post a sweep as well. If Wake Forest wins at least once against the Eagles, it can do no worse than the seventh seed.
The Deacons come in to the series at 22-28 overall and 11-15 in the ACC. Wake had its season-best six-game winning streak snapped with a 16-15 setback on Tuesday at Elon. The Deacs have won four straight games in conference play.
Boston College enters the series at 25-25 overall and 8-19 in the league. The Eagles, who have been eliminated from postseason consideration, are coming off an 11-9 defeat of Connecticut on Tuesday. BC has won five of its last six games, including a three-game sweep of Maryland May 2-3 in Chestnut Hill.
Quickie Notes
Over its last five games, Wake Forest has hit .329 with five homers and 41 RBIs ... The Deacons have outscored opponents, 44-24, during the stretch ... Mike Murray is riding a nine-game hitting streak, the longest current streak on the team ... Murray has had a hit in 22 of his last 23 games since April 2 ... Andy Goff is riding a seven-game streak ... Allan Dykstra has set the school's single-season walks record with 58 ... He currently leads the country in walks ... Wake Forest is ranked second nationally in Strength of Schedule, according to WarrenNolan.com.
Postseason Scenarios
Wake Forest, Clemson and Duke are all battling for the final two spots in the eight-team ACC Tournament. Wake Forest holds the upperhand, needing to just win once to get in. The Deacs can also make it in if Duke loses once at Virginia Tech. Clemson needs Duke to lose once or Wake to be swept. Duke needs to sweep VT to make it in. The Deacons can get the sixth seed if they sweep the Eagles and either Georgia Tech or Virginia sweeps their matchup this weekend in Charlottesville.
On Deck
Wake Forest will need to win at least once at Boston College in order to qualify for next week's ACC Tournament. The 2008 ACC Tournament is set for May 21-25 in Jacksonville, Fla. The top eight teams in the conference qualify for the postseason tournament.
Individual Career Stats vs. BC
Garrett Bullock has a 1.80 ERA with seven strikeouts in 10 innings pitched ... Allan Dykstra has hit .304 with six runs and six RBIs in six games ... Dustin Hood has hit .333 with three runs and three RBIs in six games ... Ben Hunter has two saves in two scoreless relief outings ... Austin Jones has hit .313 with three runs in five games ... Brad Kledzik is 1-0 with a 0.68 ERA in two starts ... Kledzik has allowed just one earned run in 13.1 innings.
Wake-BC in 2007
Wake Forest was dealt a three-game sweep at the hands of Boston College April 20-22 in Chestnut Hill. The Deacons let a two-run lead slip away in the ninth inning, falling 5-4 on Friday. The Eagles then outlasted the Deacs, 4-3, in 17 innings the next night. Holding all of the momentum, BC ran past Wake 11-5 on Sunday.
The Demon Deacons got strong outings from starters Brad Kledzik and Garrett Bullock, but both pitchers had to settle for no-decisions. Kledzik went a career-long 7.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Bullock pitched 10.0 innings on Saturday and gave up just two runs with seven strikeouts. He became the first Deacon hurler to throw 10 innings since John Hendricks in 1999.
Wake hit .214 as a team and struck out 34 times. On Saturday, the Deacs struck out 23 times and had three players with four strikeouts each. Wake Forest scored just 12 runs in the series and suffered two one-run defeats.
Deacons' Last Time Out
Wake is coming off a 16-15 setback at Elon on Tuesday. It was the Deacs' final non-conference test of the season. The Phoenix rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to post the walk-off win.
Wake Forest and Elon combined to score 31 runs on 33 hits. The Phoenix hit five home runs on the day, while the Deacons had one--a three-run shot off the bat of Ben Terry. The game was the second slugfest the teams have played this season, as the Phoenix posted a 19-10 defeat of the Deacons in late April. In the two games combined, the squads scored 60 runs on 61 hits.
Terry, Andy Goff, Dustin Hood, Mike Murray, Tyler Smith and Eric Williams had two hits apiece. Terry finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs. Smith drove in four runs, going 2-for-5. Williams scored four times.
Six Deacon hurlers combined to allow 16 runs on 19 hits. Each pitcher gave up at least one run. Negus (4-3) took the loss with 1 2/3 innings of relief. The righthander gave up three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and a walk.
Starter Brandon Johnson (2-2) did not factor into the decision after pitching 2 1/3 innings for the Deacons.
