April 18, 2007

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - It was lucky sevens for Wake Forest on Wednesday afternoon. The Demon Deacons broke a 3-3 tie with seven runs in the seventh inning, en route to a 12-5 defeat of No. 21 Coastal Carolina at Hooks Stadium.

The win gives the Deacons a season series sweep of the Chanticleers after earning a 4-3 victory in Conway, S.C., last Wednesday. Wake Forest improves to 22-19, while Coastal drops to 30-8 on the year.

The Deacs took a 3-2 lead into the seventh, only to see the Chanticleers tie it up with a run off reliever Alex Wiesner in the top of the inning. However, Wake Forest rallied for the go-ahead run and then some in bottom half of the frame.

Wake sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning. Coastal starter Nick McCally hit Ben Terry to put the leadoff man on base. Austin Jones then attempted a sacrifice bunt, but McCally's throw to first was wide, allowing Jones to reach. Brett Linnenkohl was able to move both runners up with a sacrifice bunt.

Andy Goff came through for Wake, grounding a single past a drawn-in infield to score Terry with the go-ahead run. McCally then intentionally walked Allan Dykstra to load the bases. Reliever Joey Haug uncorked a wild pitch to score Jones from third and then walked Michael Murray to load the bases again.

Coastal Carolina brought on its third pitcher of the inning, Chad Jenkins, to face Dustin Hood. Hood cleared the bases with a triple past a diving centerfielder, giving Wake Forest an 8-3 lead. Evan Ocheltree followed with what looked to be the finishing touches on the rally, driving in Hood with a sacrifice fly.

Tyler Smith thought different, though, hitting the first pitch he saw from Jenkins over the trees in right field for his second home run in as many days. Smith now has six homers on the season.

Ocheltree also homered for Wake Forest, erasing a 2-1 deficit with a two-run shot in the fourth inning.

Ocheltree and Hood drove in three runs apiece to lead the Demon Deacon attack. Hood was the only Deacon with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Murray also drove in two runs with a single in the eighth inning.

Dykstra, who was intentionally walked twice, extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an eighth-inning double. Linnenkohl and Terry both extended their hitting streaks to eight games apiece.

"This win against Coastal was huge for us, not only because we swept a top-20 team," said Murray. "Last night when we had the tough loss at High Point with them coming back, it was very important to get back out here today and have a really good game going into the weekend. I'm sure everyone's happy with that, heading into the weekend getting going.

"That's one of our biggest things, staying consistent throughout all nine inning, scoring runs and not sitting on a lead. It's something we're constantly working on, having tough at-bats throughout the game and being tough outs for opposing pitchers."

Wake Forest starter Ben Hunter received a no-decision despite leaving the game with the lead. Hunter pitched six strong innings, the longest outing of his Wake Forest career. Making his second start of the season, the junior righty allowed two runs on six hits. He struck out a career-high six and walked just one.

"These guys (Coastal Carolina) have some solid hitters," said Hunter. "They're a team it always feels good to beat, especially twice. I think, as a top-20 team, they match up well with a lot of teams we see in the ACC. It gives you confidence to start against any team in the ACC."

The Demon Deacons took an early lead with a single run in the second inning. Hood led off with a single and then moved to second on a wild pitch. Terry drove in Hood with a two-out single to center.

Coastal Carolina stole the lead from Wake with two runs in the fourth. Hunter issued Dom Duggan a leadoff walk, and Chris Raber followed with a home run off the scoreboard in left center. The Chanticleers put two more runners into scoring position, but Hunter worked his way out of the jam with neither runner scoring.

Wake re-gained its lead with a two-run home run of its own in the bottom half of the fourth. Hood reached on a one-out walk, and Ocheltree followed with his seventh homer of the season. Ocheltree's blast into the trees in left center gave the Deacons a 3-2 margin.

The Chanticleers pulled even with the Deacs in the seventh inning. Wiesner came on to start the inning and put two runners on with one out. Eric Niesen relieved Wiesner and allowed an Adam Vrable single to load the bases.

David Sappelt followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Derek Martin with the tying run. Ocheltree made a shoestring catch on the ball and came up throwing, but Martin scored just ahead of Ocheltree's throw.

After Wake Forest's seven-run seventh, Coastal Carolina scored twice in the eighth to cut the Wake Forest lead to 10-5. Martin's two-out single off Josh Ellis scored Raber and Matt Rademacher.

Wake got both runs back in the bottom of the eighth. Jones led off with a single, and two outs later Dykstra doubled to center. Murray brought them both home with a single up the middle.

McCally (2-2) took the loss for the Chanticleers. In six-plus innings of work, the righthander allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits and two walks.

Raber went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Chanticleer hitters.

Wake Forest returns to action this weekend with a three-game series at Boston College. The Deacons and Eagles will kick the series off on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Saturday's game, which has been moved off campus to Brockton, Mass., will start at 4 p.m. Sunday's first pitch is set for 1 p.m.