April 27, 2003

Box Score

Winston-Salem, N.C. -- The Wake Forest baseball team lost 6-4 to Virginia on Sunday afternoon at Hooks Stadium to fall to 26-17 overall, 8-12 in the ACC. It was the first series win in Winston-Salem for the Cavaliers since 1993.

The series loss leaves the Deacons in seventh place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia (9-8) and Clemson (8-7) are both one game above .500 in the league but the Tigers holds a small edge in winning percentage to hold down fifth place.

Virginia took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Joe Koshansky doubled down the left field line. Matt Dunn was running from first base on the play but stumbled and fell coming around third base. The ball made it back to the infield while Dunn was on the ground about a third of the way toward home. The Deacons could have easily cut down the runner at the plate but poor infield communication allowed Dunn to score without a throw.

The Deacons tied the game in the bottom of the first inning on a double steal. Ryan Hubbard and Jamie D'Antona were on the move when the throw from Virginia catcher Andrew Riesenfeld went into left field. Hubbard scored easily and D'Antona moved up to third. Ryan Johnson walked to put runners on the corners with one out but Wake Forest couldn't push across the go-ahead run.

After the rocky first inning, Koshansky settled in. After a leadoff single in the first, Koshansky surrendered just one hit until the seventh inning. He got the win on the mound for 6 1/3 innings of work, allowing three runs, one earned on four hits with a pair of strikeouts and four walks to improve to 7-0 on the year.

Virginia pulled ahead with two runs in the third on an RBI single from Mark Reynolds and a squeeze bunt by Ryan Zimmerman.

Tim Morley worked with runners on base and went six-plus innings. He left the game with the Deacons trailing 3-1. But Koshansky's two-run homer off reliever Adam Hanson and Eric Christensen's RBI ground out gave the Cavaliers some breathing room at 6-1.

Morley suffered the loss to fall to 2-4. He allowed four runs on six hits with three strikeouts and four walks.

The Deacons wouldn't roll over, however, and had scoring opportunities in each of the game's final three inning. In the seventh inning, Doug Riepe's one-out two-run pinch-hit double narrowed the margin to 6-3. But Riepe was stranded there.

In the eighth inning, Wake Forest loaded the bases and scored one on a two-out infield single by Chris Getz. But Ryder Mathias grounded out to second base to end the inning.

In the ninth inning, Bourassa led off with a single but Ryan Hubbard struck out looking, Jamie D'Antona popped out and Ryan Johnson grounded out to end the game.

Virginia's Canon Hickman was credited with his fifth save for escaping trouble in the eighth and ninth. He struck out two Deacons and allowed three hits.

Wake Forest will play two non-conference road games this week, Tuesday at UNC Greensboro and Wednesday at Charlotte, before taking a 10-day break for final exams. The Deacons will be idle for two straight weekends. Virginia plays at VCU on Tuesday night.