May 10, 2004

Winston-Salem, N.C. - For the Wake Forest baseball team, the 12-day break for final exams didn't come at the best time. The Deacons had won five of six games and six of their last nine to become one of the hottest teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In their last six games before exams, the Deacons hit .359 as a team and averaged more than 10 runs per contest. Deacon seniors Nick Blue and Brad Scioletti each went 13-for-29 between April 20 and April 28. In their most recent starts, Wake Forest's top three starters -- Justin Keadle, Kyle Young and Tim Morley -- combined for a 0.72 ERA, allowing just two earned runs in 25 innings with opponents hitting just .182 against the Deacon trio.

Now with finals out of the way and renewed confidence on the field, Wake Forest hopes to pick up where it left off, beginning Tuesday at Elon. Pitch first at Latham Park is set for 1:00 p.m.

The Deacons' last game before exams was against the Phoenix, a 5-4 win on April 28 at Hooks Stadium. Wake Forest received an excellent pitching performance from starter Justin Keadle as did Elon from Matt McSwain.

On Tuesday, the Phoenix will again send McSwain to the mound to face the Deacons. Wake Forest (17-24) will start left-hander Tim Morley. His last outing, on April 27 vs. VCU, was perhaps his best of the season. Morley did not allow an earned run, yielded just two hits through eight innings of work.

While Wake Forest was idle, Elon won six games against only one defeat, including a convincing three-game sweep of Wofford.

The Deacons will continue their road swing on Thursday for a three-game series at conference-leading Virginia (37-11, 15-6). The Cavaliers lost their first ACC series last weekend against Florida State in Charlottesville.

Wake Forest will not return to Hooks Stadium until Thursday, May 20 against Florida State.