Sports > April 17, 2008

By Jeff Merski | Senior writer

The baseball team was able to snap its nine-game losing streak on April 13, but continued to slide further down the ACC standings after dropping their weekend series to Virginia Tech.

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Senior outfielder Ben Terry takes a swing in the April 16 game against Winthrop. Terry went 1-for-4 against the Tigers with a RBI bunt in the second inning. (Jeff Merski/Old Gold & Black)

The Deacons dropped the first game of their series against the Hokies on April 11 by a score of 7-3, with the Hokies breaking open a scoreless game in the fifth inning against starting pitcher junior Garrett Bullock who gave up five runs in 6 1/3 innings of work. Bullock gave up all five runs charged to him in the fifth inning; other than that inning Bullock pitched well, and kept the Hokies at bay. Sophomore relief pitcher Phil Negus came in to escape a jam in the seventh inning and pitched a scoreless eighth inning, providing 1 2/3 innings of hitless, scoreless relief.

The Deacon offense was lead by sophomore catcher Mike Murray, who hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning. Redshirt junior pinch hitter Weldon Woodall added a solo home run in the ninth inning. This contest marked the return of senior Brett Linnenkohl to the starting lineup; Linnenkohl went one-for-four while batting as the designated hitter.

The Deacons continued their slide on April 12, falling to the Hokies with a score of 13-4. Senior starter Charlie Mellies took the loss, giving up six runs in six innings. Relief pitchers sophomore Alex Wiesner and redshirt freshman Ryan Bouton struggled against the Hokies as well before senior Matt Hammond was able to settle down Virginia Tech, as he went 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to finish the game.

Redshirt junior Nathan Frazier led the offense on the day, collecting his first career multi-hit game, finishing two-for-four with a double and an RBI. Junior first baseman Allan Dykstra, senior outfielder Ben Terry and Woodall also collected RBIs in the loss.

The Deacons broke through on April 13, led by senior starting pitcher Ben Hunter’s strong seven inning, two run effort. Hunter recording 10 strikeouts while scattering seven hits to stymie the Hokie offense.

The offense was able to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning behind a Woodall RBI single that brought home Fox and a Dykstra RBI double that drove in Terry.

However, the Hokies responded with two runs in the seventh inning to tie the game at two runs apiece.

In the ninth inning, Dykstra led off with a double to left field, putting the Deacons in a strong position.

Freshman Steven Brooks pinch-ran for Dykstra and advanced to third base on a ground-out by junior second baseman Dustin Hood. Senior shortstop Andy Goff was then intentionally walked to bring up redshirt freshman Ryan Semeniuk; however, Hokies pitcher Jesse Hahn threw a pitch into the backstop, allowing Brooks to get a good jump from third base and to slide into home plate just ahead of Virginia Tech catcher Anthony Sosnoskie to give the Deacons only their second win in 17 games.

“It was a big hit at a big time,” Dykstra said. “We needed that runner.”

On April 16, the Deacons traveled to Davidson, where they fell to the Wildcats 9-3. The Deacs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning behind a Dykstra double, but Davidson managed to tie the game in the third inning against starter Mark Adzick and took the lead with a three-run fourth inning.

Murray lead the Wake Forest offense, going 2-for-4 on the day with a run and 2 RBIs.

One of his hits was a solo home run in the fifth inning, his fourth homer of the season. Junior third baseman Tyler Smith also collected two hits against the Wildcats.

The Deacons returned home on April 16 to face Winthrop, where they defeated the Eagles by a score of 10-8.

Freshman pitcher Ryan McGrath made his first career start, going four innings while allowing three runs. Wiesner picked up his third win of the season, pitching out of jam in the seventh inning where he inherited two runners on base.

Wiesner went 1 2/3 innings while allowing only allowing one hit. Sophomore reliever Phil Negus came in during the ninth to earn his first career save.

Wake Forest broke through in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead, with Dykstra hitting his ninth home run of the year.

The offense didn’t back down, with Smith picking up an RBI single and Terry laying down an RBI bunt with two outs.

“I needed one of those,” Dykstra said of his home run. “We probably hit more home runs today than we did in the past three weeks.”

Fox and Woodall also homered for the Deacs.

The Eagles chipped away to tie the game at seven runs apiece before breaking it open in the seventh inning with junior second baseman Dustin Hood and junior outfielder Evan Ocheltree each having a triple to give the Deacons the lead for good.

“We had very good at-bats and they were quality at-bats, taking good pitches,” Head Coach Rick Rembielak said. “That’s a good sign.”

“We took a lead, we lost it, our guys came back, we didn’t get down. The guys stayed together and didn’t fold. That’s one of the better ones I’ve seen in three weeks.“

The Deacons travel to Charlottesville, Va., this weekend to play the University of Virginia, which enters the weekend with a record of 29-10 (11-7 in the ACC) and is ranked No. 16 in the country.