SAT at #5 Georgia Tech

SUN at #5 Georgia Tech
1:00 / Atlanta, Ga.

Wake Forest Ventures to Tech Looking to Break ACC Skid. . .
Ranked 22nd by Collegiate Baseball, the Demon Deacons hit the road to take on fifth-ranked and ACC leader Georgia Tech (29-7, 8-1 ACC) this weekend in Atlanta.

After starting 4-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Wake Forest has since dropped seven of ten league games to slip to sixth place. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets sit atop the conference heap at 8-1 with its only ACC loss at North Carolina.

The Deacons will play a home contest on Thursday afternoon against Davidson before leaving for Atlanta on Thursday night. Wake Forest enters that game with a season record of 22-12, 7-7 in the ACC.

Stan Cotten and Carter Blackburn will broadcast all three games on WBRF 98.1 and on the web at www.wakeforestsports.com. Friday's game will be televised on Fox Sports South. Wes Durham (play-by-play) and Randy Carroll (color analysis) will call the action.

Deacons and Yellow Jackets: Series History. . .
Wake Forest has won five straight against Georgia Tech, including a rain-shortened series sweep last year at Hooks Stadium.

The Deacons trailed in the seventh inning of both of those games (9-6 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday) but rallied for victories (10-9 on Friday and 11-5 on Saturday).

Wake Forest beat Tech in the 2001 ACC Tournament on their way to their third title in four years. This weekend's trip will be Wake Forest's first to the "New" Russ Chandler Stadium. The Deacons won the last two series in Atlanta, both two games to one, in 1999 and 2001.

Wake Forest has won 10 of the team's last 15 games.

Wake Forest and Georgia Tech Coaching Connections. . .
Two coaches on the Yellow Jacket staff have strong Wake Forest ties.

Tech volunteer assistant Jon Palmieri was a two-time All-American for the Deacons in 1998 and 1999. Palmieri is still Wake Forest's all-time leader in hits, doubles and runs scored.

Palmieri was a teammate of Wake Forest pitching coach Michael Holmes and Deacon volunteer assistant Scott Daeley.

All three of those players were coached at Wake Forest by second year Georgia Tech pitching coach Bobby Moranda.

Moranda was Wake Forest's recruiting coordinator for six seasons (1996-2001). However, only eight Deacons remain on the the roster from the 2001 season, Moranda's last in Winston-Salem (Nick Blue, Jamie D'Antona, Adam Hanson, Ryan Johnson, Steve LeFaivre, Ryder Mathias, Eric Maycroft and Kyle Sleeth).

Wake Forest and Georgia Tech Connections, Part II. . .

D'Antona Eyes ACC Triple Crown
In the 50 year history of the Atlantic Coast Conference, only three players have ever captured the Triple Crown. Most recently, Florida State's Marshall McDougall did it in 1999. Maryland's Derek Hacopian and Clemson's Denny Walling accomplished the feat in 1992 and 1975, respectively.

Jamie D'Antona is shooting to become the fourth.

Entering Thursday's play, D'Antona leads the ACC with 60 RBI and is tied with NC State's Colt Morton for the home run lead at 14. In batting average, D'Antona is hitting .428, second only to teammate Ryan Johnson's .441 mark.

One might have expected D'Antona's numbers to dip once into ACC play, but the opposite has been true. The Trumbull, Conn., native has raked ACC pitching to the tune of a .482 average, six home runs and 26 RBI in only 14 conference games.

Last weekend, D'Antona belted career home run #50, the second Deacon to do so.

D'Antona's .850 slugging percentage is far better of the next closest competitor (Jeremy Cleveland, UNC, .754). The last three ACC leaders in that category (Khalil Greene, John-Ford Griffin and Mark Teixeira) were all first-round draft picks.

Double Trouble. . .
Last Saturday, freshman second baseman Chris Getz doubled three times off NC State's Michael Rogers to tie the Wake Forest single game record for doubles.

On Tuesday at Appalachian State, Ryan Johnson matched Getz's accomplishment with three doubles in his first three at-bats before getting plunked in his fourth plate appearance. He finished 4-for-4 after an eighth inning single.

Ten different Deacons have laced three doubles in a game including Jamie D'Antona who has done it twice.

Speed Demons. . .
The Demon Deacons boast the best base stealing duo in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Ryan Hubbard and Adam Bourassa. The pair have combined for 47 thefts this season. Hubbard's 26 bags are second only to Stephen Drew of FSU (27). Bourassa ranks third with 21.

Wake Forest has produced 13 ACC stolen base champions since 1954, the most of any ACC school. However, no Deacon has led the conference in that category since 1985 when future Atlanta Brave Tommy Gregg swiped 41 bags.

Power Surge. . .
The Deacons have been playing long ball lately. With 10 home runs in the last five games, Wake Forest is in the midst of its most potent stretch of the season.

Jamie D'Antona accounts for four of those round trippers while Ryan Hubbard and Jeff Ruziecki each have two. Brad Scioletti and Adam Bourassa have also gotten into the act against Florida State, NC State and Appalachian State.

Stats, Streaks, Trends and Miscellany. . .
Jeff Ruziecki has 36 RBI on 29 hits this season... the Deacons turned four double plays on Tuesday this week to bring their season total to 40 in just 34 games... as the team, Wake Forest is fielding .967 and if the season ended today, it would be the team's best mark since 1995... Wake Forest is just 1-5 on Sunday's this year with three rainouts... the only win came at Maryland and the losses were to Notre Dame, Le Moyne, North Carolina, Florida State and NC State... the Deacons are 20-2 when scoring six runs or more and 2-10 when scoring five or less.

Getting Off on the Wrong Foot. . .
One of the biggest reasons for Wake Forest's struggles this season, particularly in conference play, has been its propensity to fall behind early in the game.

In each of their last 13 ACC games, the Deacons have allowed at least one run in either the first or second inning. Wake Forest has been outscored 39-9 in the first two innings of ACC contests.

When the Deacons get out of the first two innings unscathed, the team's record is 11-3.

Sleeth Eyes Additional Records. . .
Although Kyle Sleeth threw his second complete game of the season in Tallahassee on April 4, his NCAA record-tying streak of consecutive wins ended at 26 at the hands of the Seminoles.

Sleeth allowed six earned runs on 11 hits with eight strikeouts in that contest.

The streak lasted 39 appearances, 28 starting assignments and a total of 740 days. His career record now stands at 30-4.

But, Sleeth now has new records on the horizon.

With 30 career wins, Sleeth is sits four wins away from tying John Hendricks, Wake Forest's all-time wins leader, who pitched four years for the Deacons in the late-1990's.

The most wins by an ACC pitcher in three years in 35, achieved by Terry Harvey of NC State and Brad Rigby of Georgia Tech. Both did it from 1992-94.

On Friday, Sleeth will likely move into Wake Forest's top ten for innings (see page seven) and with five strikeouts, he would pass Dave Bush and Ross Atkins to get into the top five on Wake Forest's strikeout chart.

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 584 wins in his 15-plus seasons, trailing only Bill Wilhelm (1161, Clemson), Mike Roberts (780, North Carolina), current Florida State coach Mike Martin (606) and current Virginia coach Dennis Womack (586).

Greer coached his 900th game at Wake Forest earlier this year.

MacDougal Leads Major Leagues in Saves. . .
Former Deacon star Mike MacDougal has nailed down the closer's role for the Kansas City Royals and leads the major leagues in saves with seven entering Thursday's action.

He has been kept a clean sheet, not allowing a single earned run in seven 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 Puerto Rico last winter, the Royals opted to convert him to closer.