#19 Wake Forest Hosts #14 NC State at Hooks Stadium
Deacons look to gain ground in the ACC
April 11, 2003
Complete NC State Notes
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NEXT THREE GAMES
SAT vs. #14 NC State
12:00 at Hooks Stadium
Live Coverage: Radio and Gametracker
WF: Kyle Sleeth (Jr., RHP, 6-1, 2.25 ERA)
NCST: Nate Cretarolo (Sr., LHP, 3-2, 5.40 ERA)
SAT vs. #14 NC State
approx. 3:00 at Hooks Stadium
Live Coverage: Gametracker
WF: Tim Morley (So., LHP, 2-2, 4.58 ERA)
NCST: Michael Rogers (So., RHP, 7-1, 2.44 ERA)
SUN vs. #14 NC State
1:30 at Hooks Stadium
Live Coverage: Radio and Gametracker
WF: Brian Bach (So., RHP, 4-0, 3.07 ERA)
NCST: Vern Sterry (Jr., RHP, 8-0, 2.24 ERA)
Wake Forest Looks to Gain Ground in ACC Standings vs. NC State. . .
Ranked 19th by Collegiate Baseball, the Demon Deacons (20-10, 5-4 ACC) return home to Hooks Stadium for a three-game weekend series beginning on Saturday against NC State (28-5, 6-3 ACC).
Wake Forest enters the weekend in a tie for fourth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings with Virginia and behind Florida State, Georgia Tech and NC State.
Heavy rains this week washed out Wednesday's game against Davidson and pushed game one of the NC State series to Saturday. Wake Forest has had eight games rescheduled due to weather this year. Because of the rain, the Deacons will be taking the field for the first time in six days.
Wake Forest lost three games at Florida State, victims of a sweep for the first time since the team's Tallahassee trip in 2001. The Deacons are in danger of losing four straight games for the first time since 1999.
The Wolfpack were able to play their mid-week game, a 7-5 home win over NC A&T.
Game one on Saturday will air on WBRF 98.1 FM and at wakeforestsports.com and Sunday's game will be an internet-only broadcast.
Deacons and Wolfpack: Series History. . .
Wake Forest has won seven of the last eight meetings including a 17-4 win in the 2001 ACC Championship game in Fort Mill, S.C. The team's only loss in that stretch came in the series opener in Raleigh last year.
The Deacons have won each of the last two series in Winston-Salem including a sweep in 2001. The Wolfpack swept an abbreviated two-game series at Hooks Stadium in 1997.
Wake Forest and NC State Connections. . .
In recent years, the Deacons have established the "Cypress Pipeline" having received key transfers such as Scott Daeley, Cory Sullivan, Jeff Ruziecki and Ryan Hubbard.
Evidently there's a branch in the pipeline that leads to Raleigh. The Wolfpack's schedule Sunday starter, Vern Sterry, is a junior at NC State. He played one season with Ruziecki and Hubbard at the California Junior College.
Off the Hook: Deacons Dominate at Hooks Stadium
During the last five seasons (including 2003), Wake Forest has been virtually unbeatable at home. Since 1999, the Deacons are 104-17 (.860) at Hooks Stadium.
That mark has been even more impressive against non-conference opponents. Wake Forest is 61-6 against non-ACC teams in that span including 13-1 records in each of the last three seasons.
The only non-conference teams to beat Wake Forest at Hooks Stadium in recent years are Le Moyne (2003), Georgia (2002), Liberty (2001), East Carolina (1999, 2000) and Evansville (1999).
In 2003, Wake Forest is 11-1 at Hooks, its on-campus home. However, due to a brutal stretch of weather and road games, only four of the team's last 17 games have been played at "The Hook."
If History Is Any Indication. . .
With a senior-laden team and nine starters returning from last year's 47-win team, the 2003 Deacons came into the season with heavy expectations and a lofty No. 7 preseason ranking.
Few expected the Deacons to be sitting 20-10 through just first 30 games of the year. Last year, Wake Forest didn't lose its tenth game of the year until May 24, in the ACC Tournament.
However, if history is any indication, maybe 20-10 isn't that bad. Last time the Deacons owned that record was in 1998 and 1999 -- the years Wake Forest won back-to-back ACC titles.
Sleeth's Streak Ends at NCAA Record-Tying 26 Wins . . .
Although junior Kyle Sleeth threw his second complete game of the season, his streak of consecutive wins ended at 26 last Friday night in Tallahassee.
Sleeth allowed six earned runs on 11 hits with eight strikeouts and six walks.
The streak lasted 39 appearances, 28 starting assignments and a total of 740 days. His career record now stands at 30-4.
During Friday night's game, he struck out eight to pass Eric Schmitt and Mike Buddie for 7th place on Wake Forest's strikeout list at 238. Sleeth needs nine strikeouts to tie former teammate Dave Bush at 249.
Sleeth had not lost since March 25, 2001 at Hooks Stadium against Clemson during his freshman year.
Sleeth is listed by Baseball America as the best pitcher in college baseball and has been mentioned by ESPN's Peter Gammons as a possible selection for Tampa Bay, holders of the top pick.
For much more on Sleeth, please turn to page four.
Coach George Greer Ranks Fifth All-Time in ACC Wins. . .
Now in his 16th year at Wake Forest, head coach George Greer has moved into the top four in overall wins while a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Greer has 582 wins in his 15-plus seasons, trailing only Bill Wilhelm (1161, Clemson), Mike Roberts (780, North Carolina), current Florida State coach Mike Martin (599) and current Virginia coach Dennis Womack (585).
Greer coached his 900th game at Wake Forest earlier this year and coached his 1150 collegiate game last week.
Looking Back at the Florida State Series. . .
The Deacons entered last weekend in the ACC with a half-game lead over Florida State but after three straight losses, left in a tie for fourth place behind FSU, NC State, Georgia Tech and tied with Virginia.
The Deacons have lost 13 in a row in Tallahassee since 1995. The sweep was a rarity for Wake Forest, which had not come away empty handed in a three-game set since their 2001 trip to Dick Howser Stadium.
Wake Forest had the game-tying run at the plate in the 9th inning on Friday and the game-tying run at the plate in the 7th inning on Sunday but failed to convert in those situations.
Each of the Deacon starters lasted at least five innings during the weekend but the Wake Forest bullpen surrendered six runs in five combined innings of relief.
D'Antona Climbs the Wake Forest Career Record Charts. . .
More than halfway into his junior season, third baseman Jamie D'Antona continues his assault on the Wake Forest record books. The Trumbull, Conn., native is tied for second in home runs with 48, just seven away from the school record held by Jake Austin.
D'Antona has 214 career RBI to his credit, third all-time at Wake Forest. He is just 28 RBI away from passing former Deacon All-American and current Georgia Tech assistant Jon Palmieri who holds the Wake Forest record.
If D'Antona is able to match his statistics from 2002 (20 HR, 83 RBI), he would become the school's home run king and all-time leader in RBI. D'Antona needs 8 more home runs and 28 RBI.
He and teammate Ryan Johnson are in a see-saw battle for 10th place on the batting average chart. (see page seven)
D'Antona has a good chance of becoming the school's all-time leader in walks, needing 12 more free passes for first place.
D'Antona Eyes the ACC Single Season Doubles Mark. . .
With 14 doubles in 30 games, almost one double per two games, Jamie D'Antona is on pace to challenge the Atlantic Coast Conference's single season doubles record.
The record is 36 by FSU's Jeremy Morris in 1997. He played in 69 games that season so technically, D'Antona is ahead of pace.
The runners-up in that category are renowned recent hitters in the ACC including a pair of former first round picks -- John-Ford Griffin (FSU) and Khalil Greene (CU). Each hit 33 two-baggers in a season and Griffin did it twice.
MacDougal is as Hot as Kansas City Barbeque;
Other Former Deacons Assigned in Minor Leagues. . .
Former Deacon pitcher Mike MacDougal has nailed down the closer's role for the Kansas City Royals and he picked up his first major league save on Opening Day in a 3-0 win against the Chicago White Sox.
Since then, MacDougal piled up the saves -- his total at five entering Friday's play. He has been kept a clean sheet, not allowing a single earned run in five appearances.
The Las Vegas native pitched from 1997-99 at Wake Forest and won 25 games with 288 strikeouts in his three seasons before Kansas City took him in the first round of the 1999 draft.
In his three seasons at Wake Forest and in his first three years of professional baseball, MacDougal had been used almost exclusively as a starter after throwing 100 mph several times in a summer league, the Royals opted to convert him to closer.
MacDougal is one of two former Deacons on major league opening day rosters. The other is Kevin Jarvis who is currently on the 15-day disabled list for the San Diego Padres.
Other former Deacons in the minor leagues include: Danny Borrell, Columbus (AAA - Yankees); Mike Buddie, Indianapolis (AAA - Brewers), Jeremy Ward, Tucson (AAA - Diamondbacks), Eric Schmitt, Trenton (AA - Yankees), Cory Sullivan, Tulsa (AA - Rockies), Jamie Athas, Norwich (AA - Giants), Dave Bush, Dunedin (A - Blue Jays), Chase Voshell, Peoria (A - Cardinals), Dan Conway, Visalia (A - Rockies).
Also, Rocco Baldelli, a 2000 WFU signee, was the opening day center fielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Roster Report: Blue Shelved for Season;
Clayton Dismissed for Violating Team Rules. . .
Senior tri-captain Nick Blue, a three-year starter at second base, will miss the rest of the 2003 season, it was announced earlier this spring.
On Friday, the athletic department announced redshirt junior pitcher Ben Clayton was dismissed from the baseball team for violating team rules and university policy.
Blue had shoulder surgery last summer and missed the entire fall with expectations of returning for opening day.
However, the shoulder has been slow to fully heal. He had one at-bat on Feb. 11, his only action of the year.
Blue plans to redshirt and return in 2004 as a fifth-year senior.
Clayton pitched in 32 games in three seasons with the Demon Deacons. His Wake Forest career ends with a 12-4 record, a 4.93 ERA in 127 2/3 innings with 105 strikeouts and 57 walks.
Clayton did not see any game action in 2003. He pitched in four just games in 2002 and received a medical hardship because of a shoulder injury. Clayton's final start in a Deacon uniform came on March 27, 2002.
In 2000, Clayton pitched a no-hitter against UNC Greensboro on his way to a 7-2 record and freshman All-American honors.
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