May 30, 2007
IN THE BATTERS BOX -- Wake Forest heads to Round Rock, Texas, for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. The Demon Deacons will be looking to build off the momentum gained from their improbable run to the ACC Championship Game. Wake went 2-1 in ACC Tournament pool play to advance to the championship game where it fell, 3-2, to second-seeded North Carolina. The Deacons, who were given an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, enter the weekend 33-27 overall. Wake went 14-16 in the ACC regular season to finish eighth in the conference standings. Wake Forest will open the Round Rock Regional with second-seeded UC Irvine on Friday at 1 p.m.
ROUND ROCK REGIONAL INSIDER -- The Round Rock Regional is comprised of Brown from the Ivy League, Texas from the Big 12, UC Irvine from the Big West and Wake Forest from the ACC. Texas (44-15) is the top seed and tournament host. The Longhorns finished as the regular season Big 12 champions and were one of six conference teams to make the NCAA Tournament. Texas, the No. 4 national seed, is coming off a 2-1 showing at the Big 12 Championships with its only loss coming to eventual champion Texas A&M. UC Irvine (40-15-1) is the second seed in the Regional. The Anteaters were runners-up in the Big West Conference and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. UCI is making its third Tournament appearance (2004, 2006). UC Irvine has won nine of its last ten, dating back to May 11. Brown (27-19) is the fourth seed in the Regional, entering as the champions of the Ivy League. The Bears defeated Pennsylvania in the Ivy League Championship Series to earn their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. The Bears have won seven of their last eight and 13 of their last 15 games.
ON DECK -- NCAA Super Regionals will run June 8-11 at a to-be-determined site. The Round Rock Regional winner will advance to play the winner of the Wichita Regional, which includes Arizona, New Orleans, Oral Roberts and host school Wichita State.
The College World Series is set for June 15-25 in Omaha, Nebraska.
RANKINGS -- Wake Forest remains unranked in all of the national polls, but the Deacons received a vote in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll on May 28.
ACC TOURNAMENT TIDBITS --
-Wake Forest entered the 2007 ACC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and finished as the runner-up. The Deacons needed up until the final day of the regular season to qualify as the last team into the field but made the most of their opportunity. Wake lost its opening game, 11-2, to top-seeded Florida State. However, the Deacs rebounded to defeat Clemson and Miami and take home the Division `A' bracket title. Wake Forest's Cinderella run ended in the Championship Game, as No. 2 seed North Carolina edged out the Deacons 3-2.
-The Deacons made their sixth appearance in the ACC Championship Game since 1973. Wake won Tournament titles in 1977, 1998, 1999 and 2001. The Deacs were runners-up in 1978.
-Wake Forest was just the second-ever eight seed to play in the ACC title game. NC State was the previous team to accomplish the feat, falling to Wake Forest 17-4 in the 2001 title game.
-It was the third time in the ACC Tournament's 34-year history that the championship game was played between two North Carolina schools. It last happened in the 2001 final between Wake Forest and NC State. The only other all-North Carolina school final came in 1990, when North Carolina defeated NC State.
-Sophomore shortstop Dustin Hood was named to the All-Tournament Team. Hood went 6-for-16 with three runs and two RBIs in four games. Hood scored the winning run in Wake's 3-2 walk-off defeat of Clemson on Saturday.
-With a stiff wind blowing in all week, teams found it difficult to get much offense going. The first home run of the Tournament was not hit until Game 8 on Friday evening. Wake Forest managed just one home run (Allan Dykstra vs. Miami) and hit .211 for the Tournament. The Deacs were hit by 10 pitches in the Tournament, including four by junior Ben Terry.
-Junior Brett Linnenkohl had the game-winning hit against Clemson for the second time this season. Linnenkohl beat the Tigers with a walk-off single on April 14. He repeated that feat again on Friday, giving the Deacs a 3-2 victory. Linnenkohl also scored the game-tying run in the eighth inning on Friday.
CLOSE CALLS ARE WAKE'S M.O. -- Wake Forest has had a lion's share of close games this season. The Deacs are 11-14 in one-run games and 8-3 in two-run games, meaning 36 of Wake's 60 games have been decided by two runs or less. The Deacons have the most one-run losses and have played in the most one-run games in the country. Wake was also 4-8 in one-run games in conference play. No other ACC team has more than seven one-run losses overall and none has played more than 18 one-run games. Additionally, the Deacons had twice the number of one-run conference losses as the next highest teams (Georgia Tech and Maryland).
WEDEKIND GOES FROM DEAC TO MARINE -- Senior Kirby Wedekind had his collegiate career come to an unexpected end. Last winter Wedekind had decided to join the Marines following his graduation from Wake Forest in May. However, the senior reliever found out prior to the ACC Tournament that he must report to officer candidate school in Quantico, Va., on June 2. Wedekind was able to end his career in his hometown of Jacksonville and pitched in relief against Florida State on Wednesday. Prior to their games on Friday and Saturday, the Deacs took batting practice at Wedekind's high school, Episcopal HS, and allowed the pitcher to take a few cuts. Senior LHP Sean Souders has filled Wedekind's spot on the postseason roster.
STARTERS STRONG IN ACC TOURNEY -- Wake Forest got solid outings from its starting pitchers in the ACC Tournament. Sophomore Brad Kledzik and junior Ben Hunter were especially strong on Friday and Saturday. Kledzik got a no-decision in Wake's 3-2 defeat of Clemson, going 7.1 innings. He allowed two runs on six hits and kept the Deacons in the ballgame. Hunter earned the win against Miami on Saturday. In his seventh start of the season, Hunter allowed two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in six innings. Fourth-year junior Charlie Mellies turned in a clutch performance in the Championship Game. Mellies allowed one unearned run in five innings of work, his season-long after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Sophomore Garrett Bullock did not fare as well in the opener against FSU. Bullock allowed seven runs, six earned, on 10 hits. He pitched 5.1 innings and walked a season-high four in his second loss to the Seminoles.
WAKE WEARING IT -- The Deacons find any way to get on base, no matter how painful it might be. Wake Forest was hit by 10 pitches in the ACC Tournament, bringing its season total to 107. The Deacs rank second in the country in HBPs, five behind national leader San Jose State. Junior Ben Terry leads the way with 23 HBPs, recording four in the ACC Tournament. Terry ranks second on Wake's single-season list, six behind Ryder Mathias' record of 29 set in 2005. Sophomore Allan Dykstra is not far behind with 20 HBPs on the year, bringing his career total to 32. Junior Willy Fox has been hit 14 times, while classmate Brett Linnenkohl has been hit by 11 pitches.
TEXAS CONNECTIONS -- Wake Forest has two players from the state of Texas. Third-year sophomore Weldon Woodall is from Highland Park, Texas, and sophomore Dustin Hood is from Nederland, Texas. Woodall's hometown is three hours from Round Rock, while Hood's is over four hours.
WAKE STRONG IN THE RPI -- Wake Forest has remained strong in the national RPI and Strength of Schedule ratings. Through the games of May 27, WarrenNolan.com had the Deacons ranked 23rd in the RPI and second in the Strength of Schedule. BoydsWorld.com ranked Wake 22nd in the RPI, as of the games through May 27. The NCAA listed the Deacs as 22nd in the RPI in its latest rankings following the games of May 20.
CURRENT HITTING STREAKS -- Junior Ben Terry and sophomore Tyler Smith are tied for the team lead with respective six-game hitting streaks. Sophomore Dustin Hood is not far behind with a five-game hitting streak. Sophomore Allan Dykstra has reached base safely in 57 of 60 games this season, while junior Willy Fox has reached base safely in 42 of 45 games. Junior Brett Linnenkohl had a hit in 22 of 24 games from March 31 - May 26.
Player Statistics During Streak
Tyler Smith (6) .320 (8-for-25), 1 R, 2B, 2 RBI
Ben Terry (6) .318 (7-for-22), 5 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 5 HBP, .483 OBP
Dustin Hood (5) .400 (8-for-20), 5 R, 4 RBI, .400 SLG, 2 BB, .458 OBP
DEACS GET DEGREES -- The Deacons' four senior players, Josh Ellis, Dan Rosaia, Sean Souders and Kirby Wedekind, all received their degrees in Wake Forest's Commencement ceremonies on Monday, May 21. Ellis earned a degree in political science, Rosaia in psychology, Souders in mathematical business and Wedekind in English.
HUNTER IMPRESSIVE AS STARTER -- Junior Ben Hunter has been solid in each of his seven starts this season. The Deacons' All-American closer in 2006, Hunter made the transition to a starting role in mid-April. He has made seven starts, four coming against ranked opponents (Coastal Carolina twice, Charlotte and Miami) and three in ACC regular season competition. Hunter has gone 4-1 with a 2.79 ERA as a starter. He has struck out 45 batters and walked 18 in 42.0 innings pitched. More importantly, Wake Forest is 6-1 in games that Hunter has started. In contrast, Hunter is 3-5 with a 6.91 ERA in 20 relief appearances in 2007. Hunter earned All-American honors as the Demon Deacons' closer last season and came into 2007 as a Preseason All-American by multiple publications. However, Hunter's early struggles out of the bullpen thrusted him into the role of a starter. This is not new territory for Hunter, though, as he went 6-3 in 13 starts as a freshman at Furman in 2005.
MR. CLUTCH, Tyler Smith -- Sophomore Tyler Smith has proven to be one of Wake Forest's most clutch hitters this season. In his first at-bat of the year, Smith hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th to cap a 9-7 comeback win against Charlotte on February 27. Smith was also in the middle of Wake's walk-off win against Gardner-Webb on March 6, hitting an RBI single to plate the first run of the ninth-inning rally. Smith scored the winning run against Clemson on April 14, enducing a leadoff walk and then scoring on Brett Linnenkohl's game-winning single. Smith was at it again against Miami May 11-13. He hit the game-tying, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth on Friday. Smith then scored the winning run on Austin Jones' walk-off homer on Saturday.
WAKE WALKING-OFF TALL -- Wake Forest has had a knack for getting the big hit late in games this season. The Deacons' 3-2 defeat of Clemson in the ACC Tournament was Wake's ninth walk-off win of the year. The Demon Deacons have also walked-off against Kent State, Charlotte, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Virginia, Clemson, Duke and Miami. Wake Forest also won in its last at-bat on the road at San Diego and Charlotte. The Deacs have been on the wrong end of walk-off rallies four times this season, including setbacks at San Diego, Florida State and twice at Boston College.
