Sports > March 6, 2003

By Jason Mazda

Assistant Sports Editor

The baseball team pulled out an 8-7 victory over Charlotte March 4 at Hooks Stadium. Senior lefthander Seth Hill took the hill for the Deacs. Despite a strong start by Hill, who struck out three in the first inning, the 49ers got a bases-loaded, two-out double to put them up 3-0. All three runs were unearned, though, thanks to two Wake Forest errors in the inning.

Meanwhile, the Deacs did not get on the board until the third inning off Charlotte starter Matt Landphair. Freshman Chris Getz singled advanced to second on an error and was driven in by freshman Steve Malinowski to cut the lead to 3-1.

After Hill prevented the 49ers from extending their lead in the top of the fourth, the Deacon offense went back to work against Charlotte reliever Kory Radford, who took over for Landphair. Senior Ryan Hubbard led off the inning with a single, and D’Antona tied the game at three with a homerun to center. Wake Forest did not stop there, though. Senior Jeff Ruziecki drew a walk, and advanced to third on a double by junior Brad Scioletti and scored on a sacrifice fly by junior Doug Riepe, putting the Deacs ahead, 4-3.

Charlotte wasted no time in regaining the lead, though, with a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 5-4.

The Deacs answered with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth to tie it back up. Hubbard doubled. With the always dangerous D’Antona at the plate, Hubbard stole third base on 49er pitcher Julian Sides. Sides walked D’Antona, but a wild pitch on ball four allowed Hubbard to score the tying run.

In the top of the sixth, Hill made Deacon fans nervous by getting into a bases-loaded, one-out jam. He worked out of it, though, by getting a strikeout and a fly out to end the inning and keep the game tied.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Deacs took what, at the time, seemed to be a commanding lead when Scioletti and Riepe led off the inning with back-to-back solo homers to make it 7-5.

In the seventh, Hubbard again used base running to produce an important run. After singling, he stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He then scored on a double by D’Antona. It would prove to be the winning run, as Hill gave up two more in the top of the eighth, allowing Charlotte to cut it to 8-7, before sophomore reliever Daniel Davidson came on for the two-inning save.

Hill (2-2) got the win, striking out six and allowing seven runs, four earned, on 11 hits in seven innings. Davidson did not allow a hit in two innings of work, getting his first save of the season. He struck out three but made it interesting by walking two and hitting a batter.

Hubbard went 3-for-4 and scored three runs, while D’Antona was 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

The win was big for the Deacs, as they improved to 6-3 after a tough weekend at the Dairy Queen Classic in Minneapolis, Minn.

According to the rankings, Wake Forest was the premier team at the Dairy Queen Classic, which took place Feb. 28 to March 2. Unfortunately, the Deacs, now ranked 11th, were upset by two other Top 25 teams, winning just one in the three-game event.

The Deacs started the weekend on a high note against host Minnesota, as Kyle Sleeth continued to give Wake Forest fans reason to simply expect a victory when he pitches. The junior righthander, projected as one of the top picks in the Major League draft, went eight innings, allowing just three runs on seven hits, and striking out seven en route to a 7-3 Deacon victory. Sleeth improved to 3-0 on the season, even though he said he did not even have his best stuff against the Gophers.

“I didn’t have much velocity in that game,” Sleeth said. “I think for me (the key) was throwing my off speed pitches.”

On the offensive side, senior Adam Bourassa and Hubbard each had two hits in the game. Scioletti had the game-winning hit for the Deacs, a two-out, two-run single in the sixth.

March 1, the Deacs rode a four-game winning streak into their showdown with then-No. 18 Nebraska.

Hill started for the Deacs, allowing five runs, four earned, on ten hits in three innings.

Brian Bach was strong in relief, allowing just one run over the final six innings, but it didn’t matter in the end as the Deacs were shut out by Nebraska starter Brian Duensing (3-0), who allowed just five hits and struck out nine as the Cornhuskers won the game, 6-0.

“They pitched well and we didn’t hit well,” Greer said.

The Deacons’ offensive struggles continued March 2, when they faced then-No. 14 Notre Dame.

It was a classic pitcher’s duel, as Wake Forest starter Tim Morley allowed just one run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven in his first start of the season.

Irish starter John Axford was just as good, though, allowing just one run in seven innings.

The Deacs scored their only run of the game in the seventh inning. Hubbard and Ruziecki singled to put runners on the corners, and Ruziecki scored on a wild pitch by Axford to tie the score, 1-1.

In the eighth, with both starting pitchers out and the score knotted at one, the Deacs looked to Hanson to come on in relief, while the Fighting Irish brought in J.P. Gagne. Hanson and Gagne then waged their own battle for the next six innings, as the score remained 1-1 until the bottom of the 13th inning.

In the 13th, Hanson gave up a two-out, RBI single as the Fighting Irish won the game, 2-1.

“We just didn’t play very well as a team,” Sleeth said. “We’re in a little bit of a rut right now, but hopefully we’ll get it going soon.”

While the Deacs dropped from 7th to 11th in the Baseball America rankings, there were bright spots at the Classic.

“From a pitching standpoint, I thought we did pretty well,” Sleeth said.

More importantly, though, the Deacs came away from Minneapolis knowing that they can compete with top teams. Nebraska, now ranked No. 14, and Notre Dame, now No. 17, are the best competition the Deacs have faced this season.

“It was good to know that we didn’t play nearly as well as we should and we were still able to hang in there with two Top 25 teams,” Sleeth said.

Greer added that, considering the team’s injury problems, it was a good showing. All-ACC second baseman Nick Blue is out for the season and will apply for redshirt status. Greer said he expects Blue to be ready for fall 2003. Also, injured cleanup hitter Johnson was unavailable for the two losses, Ruziecki was available only in limited action as a designated hitter in the series, and sophomore catcher Ryder Mathias was available only to pinch hit. Mathias, who had not played yet this season after offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum, could return full-time soon.

“If you look at the fact that we played without (them), I thought we did very well,” Greer said. “I thought that the games were very well played and that they were close. It was a good test for us with our conference season starting next week.”

The Deacs open conference play March 14, with a three-game series at Maryland.