Wake Forest Athletics
Baseball Hosts Clemson March 26-28
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 25, 1999
#24 WAKE FOREST (16-6, 3-2 ACC) vs CLEMSON (14-8, 2-0 ACC)
March 26-28 - Winston-Salem, NC - Hooks Stadium
DEACS HOST CLEMSON - GREER EYES 400th WIN AT WAKE FOREST
Having won 12 of their last 15 games, the Wake Forest baseball nine returns to Atlantic Coast Conference play this weekend when the 24th-ranked Demon Deacons host the Clemson Tigers in a three-game series beginning on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m at Hooks Stadium. The series will continue on Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. each day.
With just one more win the Demon Deacons will give head coach George Greer his 400th victory at Wake Forest. Greer's record in Winston-Salem currently stands at 399-264-2 in 12 years.
Wake Forest's record currently stands at 16-6 on the season, including a 3-2 mark in ACC play. Clemson enters the series with a 14-8 overall mark and the Tigers are 2-0 in ACC play after sweeping two games from Maryland last weekend.
UPDATING THE DEMON DEACONS
The Wake Forest offense continues to be led by All-American first baseman Jon Palmieri, who produces nothing but consistent results at the plate. Palmieri, the 1998 ACC batting champion, is batting .363 with a team-high nine home runs and 23 RBI. He has reached base safely in all but three games this year.
Jump starting the Wake Forest offense is center fielder Scott Daeley, .363-0-13, who has been a fixture on the basepaths this season for the Deacs from his leadoff spot in the batting order. Daeley leads the team with eight stolen bases in 10 attempts.
Right fielder Ben Danosky, .352-5-22, is second on the club in RBI and has thrived since moving to the cleanup spot in the lineup nine games ago (.405, 3 HR, 11 RBI). In left field, however, the Demon Deacons continue to look for one player to rise above the mix among righties John Kubachka, .348-0-5, Ricky Mendez, .250-2-6, and Carlos Brackley, .321-0-2, and lefty Stephen Sullivan, .188-2-6. Each of those four players had one start last weekend in the North Carolina series. The sophomore middle infield combination of shortstop Chase Voshell, .342-4-14, and second baseman Jason Aquilante, .357-2-11, were expected to provide solid defense and a smooth double play combination, but the early season offensive numbers for both players have a pleasant surprise. Voshell has already surpassed last season's home run (0) and RBI (7) totals while Aquilante has moved to the two-hole in the batting order over the last eight games after his hot start. Catcher Andrew Riepe, .271-3-14, continues to be an ironman behind the plate for the Demon Deacons and has started 92 of Wake's last 95 games (97%), dating back to the final weeks of the 1997 season. Among the starting nine, only third baseman Corey Slavik, .190-2-10, has yet find his hitting stroke, although he has shown positive signs at the plate in recent games. Slavik is on a current season-long five game hitting streak in which he is batting .294. Sophomore DH Danny Borrell, .352-3-13, began the season with a fast start but saw his availability limited during the first two weeks of March while suffering from a sore back. He returned to the lineup on a full-time basis two weeks ago.
Junior right hander Mike MacDougal is 5-1 in his first seven starts of the season with an impressive 2.05 ERA. MacDougal, who tossed the school's first no-hitter in 60 years earlier this year against Duke, was impressive in his most recent outing against North Carolina when he allowed three runs in seven innings and out-dueled Tar Heel's ace Kyle Snyder. Rounding out the weekend starting rotation are senior southpaw John Hendricks, 4-3, 4.72, and junior righty Eric Schmitt, 2-1, 6.03, although both have struggled in their most recent outings. Sophomore righty Scott Siemon, 4-0, 2.67, 3 SV, has emerged as the top man out of the bullpen after making appearances in 13 of the first 22 games of the year. Freshman righty David Bush, 0-0, 2.70, has also been solid out of the pen to date.
Sophomore lefty Danny Borrell, who had been out with a bad back, bolstered the bullpen with his return to the staff earlier this month against UNC Greensboro. Borrell started and tossed 1.1 scoreless innings before having to leave the game with a sore elbow. He has begun throwing again and is expected to return to the mound next week. His return would bolster the depth of a bullpen that has been very thin in the opening month of the season.
SERIES VS. CLEMSON
Clemson leads the series with Wake Forest, 89-28, dating back to 1954 when ACC play first began. The Tigers took two of three games against the Demon Deacons last year in Clemson, winning games one and two by scores of 10-2 and 6-5, respectively. The Deacs took the third game in the series, 8-2, behind a strong pitching performance from southpaw John Hendricks. Two years ago, Clemson won two of three games played at Hooks Stadium. Wake Forest is 6-23 against Clemson under head coach George Greer.
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Junior righthander Mike MacDougal (5-1, 2.05) will get the starting call in the series opener on Friday afternoon. MacDougal has been especially impressive in his two most recent starts, tossing a no-hitter vs. Duke and out-dueling North Carolina's ace Kyle Snyder (7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 7 K's) last weekend in Chapel Hill. As a freshman in 1997, MacDougal tossed a complete game and allowed just two runs against Clemson in Winston-Salem. Last 3 starts: 2-0, 2.34 ERA, 23.0 IP. Senior southpaw John Hendricks (4-3, 4.72) will start the second game of the series on Saturday afternoon. Hendricks was brilliant last year against Clemson, allowing just two unearned runs in the first of what would be 10 consecutive complete games. He struggled in his last start at UNC (9 ER in 6.2 IP) after tossing eight shutout innings against Duke two weeks ago. Hendricks is looking for his 29th career victory, which would tie him for first place on the school's all-time win list (see note below). Last 3 starts: 1-2, 6.65 ERA, 21.2 IP.
Junior righty Eric Schmitt (2-1, 6.17) is the likely starter on Sunday afternoon. Schmitt, who was brilliant in two performances earlier this season against Evansville (0 R in 8.0 IP) and Vanderbilt (2 R in 8.0 IP), has struggled with inconsistency this spring. Schmitt has allowed more home runs this season (6 in 31.1 innings) then he gave up in all of 1998 (4 in 77.2 innings). He surrendered five runs in five innings in his most recent starting assignment at North Carolina. Last 3 starts: 1-1, 6.16 ERA, 19.0 IP.
STREAKS & SKIDS
Batters: Designated hitter Danny Borrell has 5 hits in his last 7 at bats and is on a 6-game hitting streak in which he is batting .476 . . . center fielder Scott Daeley is hitting .429 with 12 runs scored in the last 7 games . . . over the last 7 games, right fielder Ben Danosky is batting .448 with 10 RBI . . . left fielder John Kubachka is on a 4-game hitting streak in which he is hitting .462 with 5 RBI . . . spanning the last 4 games, left fielder Ricky Mendez is hitless in his last 11 at bats . . . first baseman Jon Palmieri is batting .419 with 12 RBI in the last 7 games . . . catcher Andrew Riepe is hitting .357 over the last 4 games . . . third baseman Corey Slavik is on a 5-game hitting streak, batting .294 in that stretch . . . left fielder Stephen Sullivan is hitless in his last 12 at bats . . . infielder Chris Turner went 3-for-5 in his last start . . . shortstop Chase Voshell is hitting .394 over the last 8 games, hitting safely in 7 of those contests, and has just 2 errors in the last 11 games (.964 fielding pct.).
Pitchers: In his last three appearances, right-hander Matt Briggs has allowed 10 earned runs in his last 6.1 innings (14.21 ERA) . . . lefty John Hendricks is 0-1 in his last 2 games, allowing 10 earned runs in 9.2 innings (9.31 ERA) . . . in his last 4 starts, righty Mike MacDougal is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA (6 runs in 30 innings) . . . righty Eric Schmitt has allowed 11 earned runs in his last 10.2 innings (9.28 ERA) . . . in his last 4 appearances, righty Scott Siemon is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA, allowing 2 earned runs in 11.0 innings.
HEAD COACH GEORGE GREER SHOOTS FOR 400th AT WAKE FOREST
The winningest coach in Wake Forest history in any sport, head coach George Greer is now in his 12th season with the Demon Deacons. He owns a record of 399-264-2 at Wake Forest, and has led the Deacs to 30 or more wins in 10 of 11 seasons, including a school-record 43 wins last season. Greer needs just one more wins to reach 400 victories at Wake Forest and would become just the 8th coach in ACC history to win that many games at a conference school.
A 25-year veteran of coaching, Greer has a 505-386-6 record in 18 years at the Division I level. Greer reached the 500 victory plateau in Wake Forest's 5-0 win over Duke earlier this season. Prior to coming to Wake Forest, Greer coached at Davidson and Connecticut-Avery Point as well as in the Cape Cod League.
EASY AS "1-2-3"?
Last weekend the Demon Deacons took on the nation's third-ranked team, North Carolina, in a three-game series in Chapel Hill. Next week, Wake Forest will face the nation's No. 1-ranked team, Florida State, in a three game series in Tallahassee. Throw in a single game against Auburn, now ranked 2nd in the country, and the Demon Deacons will have played seven games against the nation's three top teams, all away from home.
HENDRICKS EYES CAREER VICTORY MARK
Senior southpaw John Hendricks, who owns 28 career victories, needs just one more win to tie Frank Humber (1986-89) on Wake Forest's all-time victory list. Two more wins would move Hendricks into sole possession of first place on the school's chart and he would become just the 10th pitcher in ACC history to win at least 30 games in his career. The ACC record for victories is held by Brian Barnes, who won 44 games at Clemson from 1986-89.
