Sports > April 12, 2007

By Gerard McMahon

Senior writer

The Demon Deacons rebounded from a wretched stretch of six losses in eight games with a three-game sweep of Maryland at College Park before thrashing UNC-Greensboro 14-3 at home and passing Coastal Carolina to advancing their record to 20-16 (7-8) midway through the conference schedule.

“Not to take anything away from them, but these are the teams that we really have to beat,” junior second baseman Andy Goff said. “We have to sweep teams like Maryland just to keep pace with the top of the conference.”

Wake Forest set the tone for the weekend on April 6 by overcoming a pair of three-run deficits to post an 8-5 victory.

Sophomore Brad Kledzik settled down after allowing three runs in the first and two more in the second to give the Deacs six solid innings and improve his record to 3-2.

Junior Eric Niesen and senior Josh Ellis combined for three no-hit shutout innings to preserve the victory. Ellis struck out two in the final 1.1 innings to earn his fourth save of the year.

Junior left fielder Ben Terry went 4-4 with a pair of runs scored to lead the offensive attack for Wake, but it was Goff’s three-run homer in the fourth that gave the Deacons the lead and eventual win.

After trailing 3-0 through one inning, the Deacs climbed within one run on a two-run double from sophomore first baseman Allan Dykstra in the third inning, before again falling behind 5-2 heading into the top of the fourth.

With one run already in and runners on first and second, Goff hammered his first home run of the year over the wall in left-center to give Wake Forest a 6-5 lead. A pair of insurance runs in the seventh would give the Deacs more breathing room than they would need, as they hung on for the 8-5 win.

One day later, the Demon Deacons jumped out to a 6-0 lead through seven innings, but had to fight off a late Terrapin rally to preserve the 8-6 victory.

With no score in the top of third inning, the Deacs netted a pair of runs on consecutive bases-loaded walks before sophomore right fielder Evan Ocheltree cleared the bases with a three-run triple to give Wake a 5-0 lead.

A Goff RBI single in the sixth inning stretched the lead to six before things began unraveling for the Deacons.

Sophomore Garrett Bullock, who had cruised through seven scoreless innings, allowed two runs on three hits in the eighth inning before senior Kirby Wedekind came in and put out the fire, but not before letting up a two-run double to pull Maryland within 6-4.

Wake Forest answered Maryland’s four-run inning with a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth on Dykstra’s league-leading 13th home run of the year — runs that the Deacs would need in the bottom of the inning.

A leadoff groundout, a pair of doubles and an error brought the Terrapins within two before Ellis shut the door on the 8-6 victory to earn his second save of the weekend and fifth of the season.

Bullock, who improved to 3-1 with the victory, struck out four and allowed just four runs in 7.2 innings. “It’s nice to put some things together and get these wins,” junior outfielder Ben Terry said.

“We just have to carry this momentum and keep the bats and pitching going to get these wins.”

The final game in the series on April 8 marked the 2007 debut of redshirt junior Charlie Mellies — the Deacons’ ace throughout the early part of last season before missing the last 385 days after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Mellies (1-0) pitched two shutout innings and junior Ben Hunter tacked on four innings of hitless ball to lead Wake to a 7-5 victory to cap off the sweep.

As in the previous day, the Deacs jumped on the scoreboard early, as they scored all seven of their runs in the first three innings.

Goff again keyed Wake Forest’s offensive attack with a pair of hits and a pair of RBIs.

Senior catcher Dan Rosaia and sophomore shortstop Dustin Hood also collected two hits each.

The Terrapins made things interesting late, as they scored two in the seventh to pull within 7-2 and knocked a three-run homer in the ninth to get within two. The Deacons settled down to get the final two outs, however, and held on to the 7-5 win.

“I think I was more excited about (Mellies’ first start in 2007) than he was,” saidd pitching coach Greg Bauer. “But it’s just exciting for our guys to have their leader back.”

Returning home April 10, Wake overcame an early deficit to demolish UNC-Greensboro by a final score of 14-3. Goff and third baseman Tyler Smith each picked up three RBIs, while Ocheltree scored a team-high four runs.

Senior Kirby Wedekind (1-0) pitched two innings of scoreless relief to earn his first victory of the season.

One day later, Hunter made his first Wake Forest start as the Deacs defeated Coastal Carolina 4-3 April 11.

The Deacs got off to a good start, scoring a run in the first inning, when freshman catcher Michael Murray’s single to center field drove in Linnekohl.

Wake Forest held the Chanticleers scoreless in the first two innings of play, but a rough third inning put Costal Carolina up by two runs.

The Deacs quickly responded in the top of the fourth inning.

After an error by a blown pick-off attempt moved Goff and Linnenkohl to third and second, junior Ben Terry stepped up to the plate and hit the ball into center field, advancing both runners to home plate, and then Terry advanced all the way to third base off a throwing error by the Chanticleers center fielder.

Costal Carolina managed to score another run in the sixth inning, but were unable to overtake the Deacs, giving the Deacs a 4-3 win and moving them to 20-16 on the season.

“We’ve switched up the rotation a bit and moved (junior fireballer Eric) Niesen to the bullpen,” Bauer said. “It’s great to have that power lefty in the bullpen — big advantage for us.”

Wake Forest returns home April 13 to host No. 16 Clemson in a three-game weekend series. The Deacs then travel out to High Point on April 17 before coming back to Hooks Stadium to finish off the home-and-home against Coastal Carolina on April 18.