Sports > March 26, 2003

By Jason Mazda

Assistant Sports Editor

The Deacs opened their weekend series at ACC rival North Carolina with an impressive 6-1 win on the shoulders of ace starting pitcher Kyle Sleeth, but the rest of the team was unable to follow suit as the Deacs dropped the last two games of the series by scores of 12-5 and 12-3.

“UNC is a strong team all around, they have good starting pitching and their hitters are solid 1 through 9,” junior Jamie D’Antona said. “We needed to string a few hits together to get some more confidence and score more runs, and unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”

The series started off on a high note March 21 as the Deacs’ junior superstar took the hill. Sleeth improved his ACC record to 25 straight wins without a loss, pitching eight innings and giving up just one run on four hits, striking out ten.

The Tar Heels got on the board first in the opener, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning off of Sleeth, aided by a hit batsman and a passed ball. They tried to make it two, but senior leftfielder Ryan Hubbard gunned down UNC’s Jeremy Cleveland at the plate for the final out.

The Deacs did not trail for long, though, as freshman Chris Getz and sophomore Ben Ingold led off with singles and were eventually driven in on a groundout by freshman Steve Malinowski and a walk by D’Antona, respectively, putting Wake Forest ahead, 2-1. It would turn out to be the winning run.

The Deacs added to their lead in the fifth with a sacrifice fly by senior Ryan Johnson that scored Malinowski and put the Deacs up 3-1.

The game remained close until the ninth inning, when senior Adam Bourassa broke it open with a three-run homer, giving the Deacs a 6-1 lead. That score became final when junior Adam Hanson retired all three batters he faced in the ninth to preserve the win.

Sleeth said he makes a conscious effort to make sure his team plays well behind him when he pitches, and it seems to be working, as he has not lost in nearly two years.

“I think that it is more of keeping the game going at an exciting pace,” Sleeth said. “When I pitch I always try to keep a good tempo, which keeps the game exciting and makes everyone in tune with what’s going on.”

The series continued March 22 as the Deacs sent sophomore Tim Morley to the mound to face off against UNC’s Daniel Moore.

The Tar Heels jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning, and never looked back. The closest the Deacs got was when they cut it to 7-2 in a sixth inning sparked by a double by junior Brad Scioletti.

The Tar Heels pulled away, though, responding with three runs in the bottom of the sixth and one run in the seventh. In the eighth, senior Jeff Ruziecki hit a three-run homer to give the Deacs a glimmer of hope, but the Tar Heels scored one more in the bottom of the eighth and shut the Deacs down in the ninth for the 12-5 win.

In the rubber match March 23, it was an all-too-familiar story as North Carolina took a 10-1 lead in the first four innings off of senior starter Seth Hill, who gave up six runs in two innings, and sophomore Brian Bach, who gave up five runs, three earned, in three innings of relief. The Deacs never got back into the game, eventually losing by a score of 12-3.

“I think that (the UNC series) left everyone dissatisfied,” Sleeth said. “I believe everyone is realizing that we need to play better as a team, and once that thought processes in everyone’s head, I think that things will start to click and the game will start going or way.”

The Deacs rebounded March 25 from the tough series with an 18-3 drubbing of High Point.

In his first career start, junior Adam Hanson, usually used out of the bullpen, allowed just three runs in six innings of work and struck out six.

The offense did a good job of easing any pressure Hanson may have felt, scoring nine runs in the first inning.

Scioletti and Ruziecki each had two hits, including a double for each, two runs scored and three RBIs in the game. Junior Doug Riepe had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs.

Senior Adam Bourassa walked four times in the game, scoring two runs, and stole his 19th base of the season. Sophomore Ben Ingold went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

The Deacs were back in action the following night, March 26, when they hosted UNC-Greensboro at Ernie Shore Field. Bach started the game and gave the Deacs eight strong innings, allowing just three runs and striking out nine.

On the offensive side, Ruziecki was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while senior Ryan Johnsons was 4-for-4. D’Antona hit a solo homerun in the first inning, giving him 43 RBIs and eight homeruns in just 24 games this season.

D’Antona is already one of 23 ACC players in history to drive in 200 career runs and he ranks fourth on Wake Forest’s all-time list. He needs just 39 more RBIs to be the all-time career leader. He is also just 11 homeruns shy of the school record for career homers.

“I don’t really spend too much time on statistics,” D’Antona said. “The RBI record I cannot reach without the guys hitting in front of me in the lineup.  Bourassa, Hubbard and Johnson have been unbelievable this year. They have been on base so many times and in a position to score it seems whenever I come to bat.”

Next up for the Deacs is a home series against Duke March 28-30.