May 11, 2006
THE MATCHUP
May 12-14
Demon Deacons vs. Hurricanes
Mark Light Field
Coral Gables, Fla.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Game-1, Friday (8 p.m.)
RHP Brad Kledzik (5-2, 3.53) vs. LHP Scott Maine (8-2, 4.82)
Game-2, Saturday (7 p.m.)
LHP Eric Niesen (3-0, 3.30) vs. LHP Manny Miguelez (6-4, 3.69)
Game-3, Sunday (1 p.m.)
RHP Justin Keadle (4-2, 4.14) vs. RHP Ricky Orta (2-1, 5.51)
LIVE GAME COVERAGE
Radio: WBRF 98.1 (Sunday)
Audio: WakeForestSports.com
Gametracker: WakeForestSports.com
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: Miami leads, 9-2.
2005 Results: The Hurricanes took two of three from Wake Forest in the regular season series (2-11, 13-6, 4-12) in Winston-Salem.
Series Notes: The Demon Deacons last visited Coral Gables in the 1999 NCAA Super Regional. The Hurricanes swept Wake Forest by the scores of 10-2 and 8-1.
IN THE BATTERS BOX -- Wake Forest returns to the diamond this weekend with a three-game ACC series at Miami. The Demon Deacons (32-15, 15-8 ACC) sit alone in second place of the Atlantic Division -- 2.5 games behind Clemson (18-6). Wake Forest is just one game ahead of third place Florida State (14-9) and 1.5 games ahead of fourth place NC State (14-10). The Hurricanes (14-10) are tied with Georgia Tech for third in the Coastal Division. Game times for this weekend are 8:00 pm (Friday), 7:00 pm (Saturday) and 1:00 pm (Sunday). Every game of the series can be heard on WakeForestSports.com and Sunday's game will be broadcast live on 98.1 WBRF.
MIAMI INSIDER -- The Hurricanes, ranked as high as No. 17, are led by 13th-year head coach Jim Morris. Morris has won 1,099 career games. Miami enter the series with an overall record of 32-16 and 14-10 in the ACC. The Hurricanes have not played since sweeping Wright State last weekend. In its last ACC series, Miami took two of three games against NC State in Raleigh. The Hurricanes are hitting .308 as a team and are led by junior outfielder Jon Jay. The left-handed hitter is batting .350 with four home runs, 30 RBI and 22 stolen bases. Senior Tommy Giles is hitting .346 with seven homers and 28 RBI, while freshman Yonder Alonzo (.320) leads the club in doubles (16), home runs (8) and RBI (59). Juniors' Eddy Rodriguez and Danny Valencia are each hitting over .340. Rodriguez is batting .343 with eight home runs and 30 RBI, while Valencia is hitting .341 with four bombs and 37 RBI. In addition to Jay's prowess on the base paths, freshman Blake Tekotte has swiped 10 bases. The Hurricanes sport a 4.03 ERA and .236 opponents' batting average. The starting rotation of redshirt sophomore Scott Maine, sophomore Manny Miguelez and junior Ricky Orta have combined for a 16-7 record, 4.51 ERA, 156 strikeouts and 66 walks in 30 starts. Miami junior closer Chris Perez is 2-1 with 10 saves and a 1.75 ERA in 26 appearances. He has struck out 46 against 19 walks.
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INJURY UPDATE -- Sophomore second baseman
Andy Goff has an injured hamstring and remains questionable this weekend... freshman starting pitcher
Garrett Bullock returned from his bout with pneumonia against Virginia Tech on April 2, but injured his left tricep in the outing and remains questionable this week... junior starting pitcher
Charlie Mellies underwent Tommy John surgery on April 14 and will miss the season... sophomore pitcher
Matt Hammond is out for the year after breaking his right hand... freshman
Cory Hindel will redshirt the season following elbow surgery last fall.
ON DECK -- After this weekend's ACC series with Miami, Wake Forest closes the regular season with a three-game series at Atlantic Division leader Clemson.
RANKINGS -- Wake Forest remained in the top 25 of the Rosenblatt Report (18) and Collegiate Baseball (20) polls this week. The Deacons are receiving votes in the USA Today and NCBWA polls. Wake Forest rose to 17th in the Warren Nolan RPI. Miami is ranked No. 17 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 20 by Rosenblatt Report and ESPN/Sports Weekly and No. 23 Baseball America and NCBWA. The Hurricanes are 15th in the RPI.
HITTING STREAKS -- After the midweek matchup with High Point, only one player has a hitting streak of at least four games.
Player Statistics During Streak
Tyler Smith (4) .278 (5-for-18), 1 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI
LET'S PLAY TWO -- Wake Forest and Florida State played the longest game in the 53-year history of the ACC on Saturday, May 6. The previous record is unknown, but the 20-inning affair turned out to be the 12th in NCAA Division I history to ever reach the 20th inning and only the third to do so since 1974. There have been more individual perfect games (16) in NCAA Division I history since 1957 than games that reached the 20th inning. The game featured 11 different pitchers, 546 pitches and lasted five hours and two minutes. The Seminoles and Demon Deacons each had a pitcher throw at least six innings out of the bullpen (Barret Browning went 6.0 for FSU and Kyle Young went 7.0 for WFU). Wake Forest catcher Dan Rosaia, who pinch hit in the ninth inning, recorded five at-bats. Demon Deacons defensive substitute Nathan Frazier, who entered in the 10th inning, recorded a season-high nine assists (also tied for third most in single-game school history). Wake Forest first baseman Allan Dykstra recorded 26 putouts, not only an ACC record, but the second most in NCAA Division I history. FSU first baseman Dennis Guinn and Deacon designated hitter Brendan Enick tied the ACC single-game record with nine at-bats. The game had an ACC record 171 fielding chances combined by both teams (ranks fifth most in NCAA Division I history) and an ACC record 88 fielding chances by Wake Forest (ranks eighth most in NCAA Division I history). The teams also combined to make an ACC record 147 plate appearances (eighth most in NCAA Division I history).
DEACON TIDBITS --
Wake Forest has really struggled offensively over its last five games. The Demon Deacons are batting just .160 (30-for-187) with no home runs and only six extra base hits. Wake Forest is pressing even more with runners in scoring position. The Deacs are hitting just .135 (7-for-52) over the same span. The Deacons have not hit a home run since Tyler Smith's three-run bomb in the 15-4 rout of Maryland on April 21.
The Deacons were held scoreless over the first 7.1 innings of Wednesday's 3-1 victory over High Point. Wake Forest finally scored a run in the top of the eighth inning on back-to-back wild pitches. The run snapped a streak of 33.1 consecutive innings without plating an earned run. When freshman Dustin Hood followed with an RBI single, it was Wake's first run scoring hit in its last 21 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Junior All-American Matt Antonelli has had quite a power surge in 2006. The third basemen entered this season with seven career home runs, five of which came in 2005, but Antonelli has smacked 11 over the Demon Deacons first 47 games. In fact, eight of the 11 homers have been hit to the opposite field. His career-best 13-game hitting streak ended on Wednesday against High Point.
Wake Forest junior reliever Josh Ellis had his worst relief outing of the season against Davidson on April 18. The right-handed hurler allowed five earned runs on four hits and failed to retire a single batter, but Ellis rebounded his next outing on April 22 against Maryland. He tossed 3.2 perfect innings of relief and fanned a career-high tying seven. The seven punch outs were the most for a Wake Forest reliver since Seth Hill fanned nine against North Carolina on April 7, 2002. If you eliminated Ellis' first two outings of the season, he would be 4-1 with a 2.94 ERA in 33.2 innings.
Senior setup-man Kyle Young has excelled since moving back into the bullpen on February 21. The right-handed hurler is 4-3 with a 2.24 ERA in 52.1 innings of work. Young has allowed just one earned run in his last 18.1 innings of work. He was the tough-luck loser in the 20-inning marathon against Florida State on May 6. He allowed a run in 7.0 innings of relief. Young made his 83rd career appearance in the game. He ranks fifth all-time in school history.
ANTONELLI, DYKSTRA, HUNTER ALL NAMED TO HOWSER TROPHY WATCH LIST -- Wake Forest's trio of All-American candidates, Matt Antonelli, Allan Dykstra and Ben Hunter, were each named to the initial "Watch List" for the 2006 Dick Howser Trophy, awarded annually to the top player in collegiate baseball by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Wake Forest not only leads all ACC schools with three nominees, but Rice is the only other school in the country with three selections.
HUNTER ADDED TO WATCH LIST FOR NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR & CLEMENS AWARD -- Wake Forest sophomore closer Ben Hunter was added to the mid-season watch list for both the NCBWA Stopper of the Year and Clemens Award. The NCBWA award is given to the nation's top closer, while the Clemens Award is given to the nation's top collegiate pitcher.
WHAT'S AT STAKE -- In the ACC Tournament derby, the Demon Deacons are currently fourth and the Hurricanes occupy eighth. The top eight teams will advance to the ACC Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., between May 24-28. If the season ended today, Wake Forest would face Florida State in the first round, while Miami would face Clemson.
HITTERS WHO HANDLE PRESSURE -- Coming through with key hits in clutch situations is a necessity as the Demon Deacons head down the stretch. Four different players have reached double-digits in RBI with two outs: Allan Dykstra (21), Evan Ocheltree (15), Brendan Enick (14) and Matt Antonelli (13). In fact, Wake Forest has 114 two-out RBI, while their opponents have 61. Enick is batting .370 (17-for-46) with runners in scoring position, while Dykstra is batting .378 (17-for-45). Enick also has a .420 (21-for-50) batting average with two down and .824 (14-for-17) batting average with a runner on third and less than two outs.
KINGS OF THE MOUND -- Wake Forest's pitching staff is vastly improved from each of the past two years. The Deacons might have the deepest and most talented staff in recent memory, including any staff of the three ACC Tournament Championship teams (1998, 1999, 2001). Wake Forest has posted a 3.78 ERA to this point of the season, well down from 6.21 in 2005 and 7.12 in 2004. In fact, the team ERA for the 1998, 1999 and 2001 clubs was 4.87 (2001), 4.82 (1999) and 4.26 (1998). The 3.78 ERA would be the lowest single-season ERA since 1980.
HOW DO THE 2006 DEMON DEACONS COMPARE TO THE BEST TEAMS OF THE PAST -- At 32-15 overall and 15-8 in the ACC, Wake Forest is having its best season since 2002. The key to the success, without question, has been the Deacons pitching. Wake Forest enters this week sporting a 3.78 ERA -- better than the ERA from all five Wake Forest teams that reached the NCAA Regionals (1998-02). The team ERA for the 1998, 1999 and 2001 ACC Tournament championship clubs was 4.26 (1998), 4.82 (1999) and 4.87 (2001).
MAKING AN IMPACT -- The impact of a freshman class normally takes some time to discover, but SS Dustin Hood, 1B Allan Dykstra, OF Evan Ocheltree, OF/RHP Tyler Smith, LHP Garrett Bullock and RHP Brad Kledzik have yielded immediate results. Hood hits second in the lineup and is batting .308 with 22 RBI. Dykstra bats third and leads ACC in home runs (14), slugging percentage (.726), on-base percentage (.502), sacrifice flies (8) and walks (47). He also ranks in the top five in RBI (54), doubles (16) and total bases (114). Kledzik has not only moved into the ACC weekend rotation, but has served as the Friday night starter each of the past seven ACC series. Kledzik is 3-2 with a 3.64 ERA in 47.0 innings in ACC action. He has struck out 34 and walked 20. Ocheltree leads the Demon Deacons in batting average in ACC games. The outfielder is hitting .329 (27-for-82) with five home runs and 18 RBI in league games. He was named ACC Player of the Week on April 17 after homering in four straight games. Smith is 1-2 with a 3.57 ERA in 35.1 innings, including 6.0 no-hit innings against UNCG on April 12. He is also batting .286 with a home run and seven RBI. Bullock, who has missed over a month with pneumonia, is 1-0 with a save and a 6.10 ERA. Bullock picked up the victory against Ohio State and struck out seven Buckeyes in the outing.
PACK IT UP AFTER SEVEN -- For the past six seasons, the Deacons have been close to unbeatable when leading after seven innings. Since 2001, Wake Forest has compiled a 163-9 (.948) record in games in which it held the lead at the end of the seventh inning. This year, the Deacs are 28-1 in such games. The Demon Deacons are also 178-7 (.962) when taking a lead into the ninth inning over the same span.
RUNS ON THE BUS, GO ROUND AND ROUND -- Wake Forest sent 16 to the plate, pounded out nine hits and scored 11 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in the 15-4 rout of Maryland on April 21. The 11 runs are the most in a single-inning for the Demon Deacons since they plated 13 against Wofford on March 12, 2003. The inning was also the second largest by Wake Forest in an ACC game. The Deacons scored 12 runs in the first inning against Duke on April 6, 1988.
SWEEP, SWEEP, SWEEP -- The sweep for Wake Forest over Duke was the third for the Demon Deacons in ACC action this year. Wake Forest, which swept Boston College and Virginia Tech, had not swept three ACC series since 2002. The road sweep is the first for the Deacs since taking three straight over Maryland in College Park during the 2003 season.
DEACS DIG THE LONG BALL -- Wake Forest belted 10 home runs in the series against Duke. The Deacons had not hit that many home runs in one series since they smacked 13 in a three-game sweep of Maryland in 2002.
ONE STREAK OVER, ANOTHER CONTINUES -- While junior All-American Matt Antonelli's streak of consecutive starts has extended to 155, his streak of 145 straight starts at third base ended on April 14 when he made his first career start at second base. Sophomore Andy Goff was the first Deacon other than Antonelli to start at third since Jamie D'Antona in 2003. In fact, Goff is the first player other than D'Antona or Antonelli to start at third base since Brad Scioletti started at the hot corner on May 12, 2002 against VCU.
WAKE UP, BATS DID NOT -- Wake Forest managed just one hit in a 5-0 loss at No. 23 Winthrop on April 5. The last time Wake Forest was one-hit came on February 21, 1998 when Rice blanked the Deacons, 2-0.
A NUMBER OF DEMON DEACONS PICK UP CAREER FIRSTS AGAINST UNCG -- Freshman Tyler Smith did not allow an earned run en route to his first career victory on April 12 against the Spartans. He also added a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly. He was the first Wake Forest pitcher to start and play both ways since Cory Sullivan on May 26, 2001. Sullivan, the starting center fielder for the Colorado Rockies, started on the mound against Middle Tennessee State. The one hit allowed was a season-low for the Demon Deacon pitching staff -- surpassing the three hits allowed in the 3-2 victory over Virginia on March 25. Ironically, it is the fewest hits by a Wake Forest opponent since Ben Clayton no-hit the Spartans on March 22, 2000. Sophomore Nathan Frazier registered his first hit, double and RBI all on the same swing with his two-run double.
OCHELTREE NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK -- Freshman Evan Ocheltree was named ACC Player of the Week on April 17. The outfielder batted .565 (13-for-23) with five home runs and nine RBI in five games. The freshman outfielder registered four straight three-hit games, scored 10 runs, added a double and walked three times. Ocheltree led the Demon Deacons in batting average, runs scored, homers and on-base percentage (.615) over the five-game span. In the three-game series with Duke, Ocheltree hit .600 (9-for-15) with four home runs and seven RBI. With a two-run homer in the series finale against the Blue Devils, the Richmond, Va., native has blasted a home run in four straight games.
DYKSTRA NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK -- Freshman Allan Dykstra was named Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on April 3. The first baseman batted .786 (11-for-14) with five home runs and 11 RBI the previous week. He also added three doubles, eight runs scored and drew five walks. Dykstra recorded an absurd slugging percentage of 2.071 and on-base percentage of .850. Dykstra opened the week with a school-record tying three home runs against Davidson on March 28.
DYKSTRA ENTERS THE RECORD BOOKS - Wake Forest freshman Allan Dykstra entered the Demon Deacon all-time record books on March 28 in a 14-6 rout of Davidson. Dykstra became the ninth player in WFU history to hit three homers in a game and finished with a career-high five RBI. The first baseman joined a prestigious list that includes the likes of Jamie D'Antona and Bill Merrifield -- both former ACC Player of the Year winners and All-Americans. D'Antona was the last player to hit three homers in a game on May 26, 2001 versus Tennessee Tech in the NCAA Regional.
TRIO OF GOOSE EGGS -- The Deacons blanked High Point, 7-0, on March 22 for their third shutout of 2006. Wake Forest did not register a single shutout in 2004 or 2005. In fact, the Deacs had not had three shutouts in one season since 2000.
ANTONELLI AND YOUNG MOVING UP ALL-TIME CHARTS -- Junior Matt Antonelli walked a school-record 57 times in 2005 and has recorded 37 this season. The third baseman has drawn 126 walks over his career, eclipsing Jamie D'Antona's school record of 113. Senior pitcher Kyle Young led Wake Forest with 33 appearances in 2005 and has pitched in 25 more games in 2006. Young has appeared in 83 games over his career which ranks fourth all-time. Young has a decent chance to climb as high as second on the chart (Frank Humber, 86), but Dave Bush's ACC record of 142 games is not in danger. The 142 appearances for Bush is the second most in NCAA history.
DEACONS AT THEIR BEST AGAINST THE BEST -- With Wake Forest's 4-2 victory over No. 12 Florida State on May 5, the Deacons picked up their sixth win against a team in the top 25 this season. Wake Forest had also defeated two top five and three top 10 teams in the same season for the first time since 2002.
INSIDE THE 11-GAME WINNING STREAK --
Wake Forest extended its winning streak to 11 games before losing to No. 4 North Carolina on March 11. The Deacons fell shy of the school record winning streak of 15 games set in 1999, but it was the longest winning streak since 2002. Over the last 50 years of Wake Forest baseball, only eight teams have won 10 or more consecutive games.
The Demon Deacons allowed two or fewer earned runs in each of the first eight games of the winning streak.
Wake Forest extended its streak to 83 consecutive innings without trailing at the end of a full inning before Elon grabbed a 2-0 lead after three innings on March 8.
After opening his Wake Forest career 3-for-19 (.158), freshman Allan Dykstra found his stroke during the 11-game winning streak. The first baseman batted .432 (16-for-37) with five doubles, four home runs and 12 RBI. Dykstra slugged .892 over the span.
In the end, the Demon Deacon pitching staff only allowed more than two earned runs in three times. Wake Forest posted a 2.52 earned run average and its opponents batted just .220 over the stretch.
The Wake Forest baseball team moved into the Rosenblatt Report national poll at No. 24. The Demon Deacons entered the top 25 for the first time since April 14, 2003.
ENICK NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK -- Collegiate Baseball named Wake Forest redshirt junior Brendan Enick their National Player of the Week on March 6. Enick finished the previous week with a .786 (11-for-14) batting average, two home runs and 12 RBI in just three games. He led Wake Forest for the week in batting average (.786), slugging percentage (1.429), on-base percentage (.765), hits (11), RBI (12) and doubles (3).
ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK -- Wake Forest junior Charlie Mellies was named ACC Pitcher of the Week on February 27. The junior tossed a five-hit, complete game shutout of No. 1 Florida. Mellies is the first Demon Deacon to receive ACC Pitcher of the Week since Kyle Sleeth earned the award on March 24, 2003. He was also the first Deacon to toss a complete-game shutout since Sleeth.
RECAP FROM THE PEPSI BASEBALL CLASSIC --
The victory for Wake Forest over No. 1 Florida, 4-0, on February 26 was its first over the nation's top-ranked team since April 26, 2002 when the Deacs beat Clemson, 4-2.
Wake Forest captured the 2006 Pepsi Baseball Classic Tournament title and finished the weekend as the only undefeated team. After defeating No. 10 Missouri on February 25, the victory over No. 1 Florida gave the Demon Deacons consecutive wins over ranked opponents for the first time since March 15 and 16 of 2002.
Junior Charlie Mellies not only tossed his third career complete game against the Gators, but his first career shutout. It was Wake Forest's first shutout since February 11, 2003 when the Deacons blanked Appalachian State, 26-0. Former All-American Kyle Sleeth was the last WFU pitcher to toss a complete game shutout -- blanking Maryland on April 19, 2002.
Wake Forest registered victories over members of the Big 10, Big 12 and SEC in the same season for the first time in school history. The Demon Deacons were the first ACC school to accomplish the feat since Florida State defeated Nebraska, Michigan State and Florida in 2004.
The Demon Deacons allowed a total of five runs, only four of which were earned, the entire weekend. The four earned runs were the fewest allowed by a Wake Forest pitching staff since 1998 when the Deacons allowed just three earned runs in victories over UNC Wilmington (twice) and Radford.
After Ohio State scored in the top of the first inning on a solo home run, Wake Forest answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning and never trailed the rest of the weekend.
In addition to Charlie Mellies being named MVP, sophomore closer Ben Hunter, sophomore catcher Austin Jones and freshman Allan Dykstra were each named to the Pepsi Baseball Classic All-Tournament team.
Sophomore Weldon Woodall did not register a single plate appearance in 2005, but the designated hitter made his first career start on February 24 against Ohio State. After failing to pick up a hit against the Buckeyes, Woodall went 5-for-8 with a run scored and two RBI in victories over No. 10 Missouri and No. 1 Florida.
HOME OPENERS -- Wake Forest slipped past Charlotte, 4-3, in 10 innings on February 21. The Demon Deacons have won their home opener 19 of the past 20 years.
OPENING WEEKENDS -- Wake Forest has now dropped three consecutive season openers. The Deacons lost to Rice to open 2004, Winthrop in 2005 and now Charlotte. Dating back to the 1958 season (the last 50 years), Wake Forest is 30-20 on opening day. The Demon Deacons are 0-2 under Rick Rembielak on opening day and Rembielak is 6-7 all-time in his career.
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW -- Wake Forest freshman Dustin Hood had quite a debut for the Demon Deacons against Charlotte. The shortstop had seven hits in the twin bill, including five in the nightcap. Hood, who went 5-for-5 with an RBI double and two runs scored, became the first Deacon rookie to record five hits in a single game since Bill Merrifield went 5-for-8 against Georgia Tech on April 4, 1981.
IN THE BOOKS -- Wake Forest had a number of players that recorded firsts in the season-opening doubleheader against Charlotte. In addition to the Demon Deacon debuts of five true freshman and two transfers (So., Ben Hunter, So., Austin Jones and R-So., Eric Williams), Allan Dykstra, Dustin Hood, Jones and Williams each picked up their first career hits. Dykstra, Hood and Williams also had RBI. Hunter, who made 13 starts last season for Furman, registered his first career save, while junior Brian Shust smacked his first career home run.
NATIONAL FLAVOR -- As is usually the case, the Demon Deacon baseball roster is made up from players across the United States. This year, however, it's even more apparent as 30 of the 32 players on the roster are from outside the state of North Carolina. In fact, 15 different states, including North Carolina, are represented. The only North Carolinians on the team are pitchers Kip Byrum (Sr., Greenville, N.C.) and Garrett Bullock (Fr., Greenville, N.C.) -- both of whom attended J.H. Rose HS.
