Feb. 24, 2001

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Behind the pitching of sophomore Ben Clayton and the timely hitting of the Demon Deacon batters, Wake Forest captured a 3-1 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon at Hooks Stadium. The Deacons win their second straight game and improve to 6-2 on the season.

Clayton scattered five hits over seven innings to earn his first win of the season. He got off to a rocky start by loading the bases in the first inning with no outs. But Clayton worked his way out of the jam with minimal damage, allowing just one run.

Trailing by a run in the second, junior Jamie Athas led off with a walk before stealing second base. He advanced to third base on Matt Price's fly ball to center. Jason Aquilante followed with an infield hit that scored Athas to tie the game at one.

After the second inning, the pitchers dominated. Clayton retired 15 straight batters before allowing a leadoff single in the sixth inning and Virginia Tech starter Jason Bush yielding just six Wake Forest hits through 7.2 innings.

Neither team was able to break the deadlock until the bottom of the seventh. To lead off the inning, Matt Price drilled a ball to left-center field where Virginia Tech centerfielder Brad Bauder crashed into the wall while attempting to make the catch. The ball fell to the ground and Price ended up at third base with a triple. Aquilante followed with a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Athas, giving the Deacons a lead they would not relinquish.

In the eighth inning, freshman first baseman Jamie D'Antona gave Wake Forest an insurance run with a towering blast to left field, his second home run on the season.

Junior closer Dave Bush did not allow a hit or a walk in the final two innings to pick up his second save of the year.

"It was a very good college baseball game. I thought their pitcher, Bush, pitched a great game. He mixed his pitches well and had good command of his off-speed stuff," Wake Forest head coach George Greer said. "Matt Price really picked us up. He hit the ball hard and his contributions to this team are more than just his batting average. Today, he got on and stole two bases for us."

"Ben Clayton was able to get ahead of batters in the count, for the most part, and Jamie D'Antona's home run was huge. His hit took away the bunt. When they had one on in the ninth, they couldn't bunt the guy over. Instead, they hit into a double play. The home run made a big difference," Greer said.

Wake Forest and Virginia Tech will get together again on Sunday for a 1:30 p.m. start time at Hooks Stadium. Freshman Kyle Sleeth (1-0, 2.38 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for the Deacons.

Virginia Tech    100    000    000    -    1    5    1

Wake Forest    010    000    11x    -    3    6    1