Baseball Season Recap
2002 Campaign Marked One of the Most Successful in Wake Forest History
June 12, 2002
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2002 SEASON RECAP
Wake Forest (47-13-1, 17-6 ACC)
ACC Finish: Second
Postseason: NCAA Winston-Salem Regional
Final Ranking: 12th (Baseball America)
Highest Ranking: 2nd (Collegiate Baseball)
2002 Season Marks One of the Most Successful in School History
The 2002 season came to a close in the NCAA Subregional, short of the
team's stated goal of Omaha.
However, there is little doubt that in hindsight, the 2002 Deacons will
be remembered as one of the most succeessful teams in school history.
With 47 wins, the team tied the Wake Forest record for victories in a
season. The Deacons earned a fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth and
for the first time in school history, earned a national seed (#7) in the
tournament.
Wake Forest also picked up 17 regular season wins in the Atlantic Coast
Conference during the league's strongest season in memory as five teams
appeared regularly in the top ten.
The Deacons spent every week of the season in the top 25, peaking at
number two on May 20 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, the best ranking
in WFU history.
Overall, Wake Forest spent 12 weeks ranked in the top ten and eight
weeks among the top five.
For only the second time ever, the Deacons had three All-Americans --
reliever Dave Bush (1st team, Collegiate Baseball), pitcher Kyle Sleeth
(2nd team, CB) and Adam Bourassa (3rd team, NCBWA).
Five Deacons earned places on the All-ACC team. First team selections
included Bush, Sleeth, Bourassa and designated hitter Ryan Johnson.
Second baseman Nick Blue made second team.
Greer Named ACC Coach of the Year
In his 15th season at Wake Forest, head coach George Greer earned the
Atlantic Coast Conference's Coach of the Year award, the league
announced on May 27.
Wake Forest saw the departure of seven starters to graduation from last
year's ACC Championship team, including five All-ACC players. Greer,
however, led the Demon Deacons to a 47-13-1 mark and a fifth straight
NCAA Tournament. Under his guidance, Wake Forest set new records for
most ACC wins in a season (17), highest ranking in school history (2nd),
tied the school record for most wins in a single season and had three
individuals earn All-America status.
In June, it was announced that Greer would be inducted into the Cape
Cod Baseball League's Hall of Fame as a player and coach.
Deacons Get 5th Straight 40-Win Season
Wake Forest picked up its 40th of the season on May 15 at West
Virginia, the fifth straight year the Deacons have won 40 or more
contests. Wake had never accomplished the feat before 1998.
Bush Sets New ACC Appearance Record
On June 2, Dave Bush came out of the bullpen against the Richmond
Spiders -- the 140th relief appearance for Bush, and the 141st
appearance overall.
That broke the Atlantic Coast Conference record for appearances
previously held by Thad Chrismon of North Carolina (1991-94).
Bush went five innings for the win, his eighth of the season.
Sleeth Claims ACC Pitching Triple Crown
Kyle Sleeth emerged as the undisputed top starting pitcher in the
Atlantic Coast Conference in just his sophomore year.
Sleeth, out of Westminster, Colo., posted a perfect 14-0 record with a
2.97 ERA and 113 strikeouts, leading the league in all three categories.
Sleeth defeated four nationally ranked teams including Clemson,
Nebraska, Florida State and North Carolina.
With 14 wins, Sleeth set a new Wake Forest single season record for
victories.
D'Antona Deadly in the NCAA Tournament
As a freshman in the 2001 Knoxville Regional, Jamie D'Antona put his
name in the NCAA record books with three home runs in one game against
Tennessee Tech. The last person to achieve that feat was St. Louis
Cardinal slugger J.D. Drew.
It was part of an amazing tournament for D'Antona who finished the
weekend with five HR and nine RBI.
In 2002, D'Antona was again the Deacons' most lethal hitter in the NCAA
Tournament. He was almost impossible to keep off base, hitting .647
(11-for-17) with seven walks. D'Antona drilled three home runs and
drove in nine runs. In add, D'Antona tallied 22 total bases for an
off-the-charts slugging percentage of 1.294.
D'Antona Avoids Sophomore Jinx
After a sensational rookie campaign that netted National Rookie of the
Year honors from Collegiate Baseball, sophomore third baseman Jamie
D'Antona had a lot of expectations to live up to.
He met and exceeded those expectations, finishing with 20 home runs and
83 RBI, the second-highest single season mark for RBI in Wake Forest
history (Jon Palmieri in 1999 with 94)
Of D'Antona's 20 home runs, exactly half came against ACC teams.
D'Antona homered against four nationally ranked teams including North
Carolina (three times), Florida State, Nebraska and Richmond.
Before the College World Series, D'Antona ranks fifth nationally in
runs batted in (1.46 per contest) and 22nd in home runs (0.35 per game)
Everyone Loves Bush
In the May 13 issue of Sports Illustrated, Deacon closer Dave Bush was
profiled by writer Albert Chen. The feature chronicles Bush's decision
to return for his senior season after getting drafted in the fourth
round by Tampa Bay last June, the discovery of a life-threatening blood
clot in his hip and finally, Bush's return to dominance on the mound.
The piece was part of the publication's preview of several NCAA
Championships and can be found in the clippings section of this
postseason media guide.
Media outlets that ran feature stories on Bush this year included
Sports Illustrated, Baseball America, Winston-Salem Journal, ACC Live,
the Old Gold and Black, Gold Rush, Tampa Tribune, St. Petersburg Times
and Philadelphia Inquirer.
Four Deacs Make NCAA All-Regional Team
Outfielders Ryan Johnson and Adam Bourassa, third baseman Jamie
D'Antona and pitcher Tim Morley were Wake Forest's representatives on
the NCAA All-Regional Team.
D'Antona hit a sizzling .647 with three jacks and nine RBI in just five
games. He piled up 22 total bases for a slugging percentage of 1.294
and seven walks for an on-base percentage of .750.
Johnson hit .304 four the weekend with eight RBI, coming up with a
clutch hit whenever the Deacons needed one.
Bourassa started the tournament slowly at the plate and hit just .300
but made several sparkling defensive plays in centerfield including a
diving catch in the regional championship game that saved two runs.
Morley, pitching in his first ever NCAA Tournament, silenced the Navy
bats on Saturday night. He went the distance, going nine innings
allowing one unearned run on six hits with eight strikeouts.
Five Deacons Earn All-ACC Honors
Five Wake Forest baseball players were named to the All-ACC team at the
conference tournament in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The teams were determined by a vote of the league's nine coaches.
Senior closer Dave Bush, sophomore pitcher Kyle Sleeth, centerfielder
Adam Bourassa and designated hitter Ryan Johnson were selected to the
first team. Junior second baseman Nick Blue earned second team honors.
Bush, made his second consecutive appearance on the first team, put up
impressive numbers. Bush was 8-1 with a 1.64 ERA, an ACC-leading 13
saves and 40 appearances. The senior from Devon, Pa., allowed just one
earned run in 26.1 regular season innings against conference opponents.
On June 2 against Richmond, Bush became the ACC's all-time leader in
appearances with 141 in his four-year career.
Sleeth, the ace of the Deacon rotation, had a perfect 14-0 record with
a 2.97 ERA and 113 strikeouts. A sophomore from Westminster, Colo.,
Sleeth led the conference in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He tossed two
complete games, 1.5 shutouts to his credit and defeated four
nationally-ranked teams.
Bourassa, a junior from Apple Valley, Minn., led the Deacons in most
offensive categories including batting average (.412), runs (72), hits
(103), triples (4), on-base percentage (.495) and stolen bases (26).
Bourassa, in his first season at Wake Forest, started all 61 games in
center field for the Deacons and finished third in the league in
hitting.
Johnson, a junior from Laguna Hills, Calif., was the team's
second-leading hitter with a .366 batting average, 13 home runs and 77
RBI. Johnson finished the season on a tear, batting .400 in the
postsason (9 games) with two home runs and 15 RBI. In the ACC
Tournament, Johnson was 9-for-17 with two home runs and seven RBI.
Sleeth, Bush Named Howser Semifinalists
Deacon pitchers Kyle Sleeth and Dave Bush were selected as
semifinalists for the Dick Howser Award, presented to college baseball's
top player as determined by the membership of the National Collegiate
Baseball Writers Association.
Sleeth, a sophomore, and Bush, a senior, are two of 40 semifinalists.
It is the second straight year Wake has had a player in contention.
Last year, Cory Sullivan was among the 20 finalists.
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