Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacons Entertain UNC Charlotte on Feb. 23
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
February 22, 1999
DEACS RETURN TO STADIUM FOR FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND
After splitting a two-game series at Georgia last weekend, the Wake
Forest baseball nine return to Hooks Stadium for a four-game homestand this
week. The Demon Deacons will entertain UNC Charlotte on Tuesday at 2:30
p.m. and East Carolina on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Wake Forest and Virginia
Tech will square off in a two-game series this Saturday and Sunday, with
first pitch set for 1:30 p.m. each day.
Wake Forest's record now stands at 4-2 on the season after winning two of three games against Davidson and Georgia last week and the Deacons are ranked 22nd this week by Baseball America. UNC Charlotte brings a 2-4 record to Winston-Salem after dropping two of three games last weekend against George Mason, VCU and UNC Wilmington. East Carolina is 4-2 and defeated NC State earlier this year.
UPDATING THE DEMON DEACONS Wake Forest returns seven starters in the field as well as seven pitchers from last year's ACC Championship squad. Leading the way offensively is All-American first baseman Jon Palmieri, who has been nothing short of spectacular in the early going. Palmieri, the 1998 ACC batting champion, is batting .423 with a team high five home runs and nine RBI in six games.
Jump starting the Wake Forest offense is center fielder Scott Daeley, who has been a fixture on the basepaths this season for the Deacs. Daeley is hitting .417 and has walked four times, scoring seven runs in six games. He is also a perfect 4-for-4 in the stolen base department.
Sophomore DH Danny Borrell has been solid at the plate as well, batting .368 with three home runs and six RBI while second baseman Jason Aquilante has coupled good offense (.400-0-3) with steady defense in the first six games of the year. Shortstop Chase Voshell, who struggled at the plate last year, has found his stroke and is batting .400 with two homers and five RBI.
Right fielder Ben Danosky has gotten his season off to a good start by hitting .292 with four doubles and six RBI. On the other side of the outfield, Wake Forest's left-field platoon of righties Ricky Mendez (5-for-11) and Carlos Brackley (2-for-5) and lefty Stephen Sullivan (5-for-14) have combined to hit .400 with three homers and eight RBI.
Among the starting nine, only third baseman Corey Slavik, .167-1-4, and catcher Andrew Riepe, .208-0-5, have yet find their hitting strokes. Both have shown positive signs in recent games that their slumps may soon be over.
Junior right hander Mike MacDougal is 2-0 in his first two starts of the season with a solid 2.45 ERA. Rounding out the weekend starting rotation are junior righty Eric Schmitt, 1-0, 4.22, and senior southpaw John Hendricks, 1-1, 5.56. Both players struggled in their outings versus Georgia, and both will get a chance to rebound in starts this weekend against Virginia Tech.
Sophomore righty Scott Siemon, 0-0, 3.09, 2 SV, has emerged as the top player out of the bullpen after making appearances in four of the first six games of the year. Junior right hander Matt Briggs, who will make his first start of the year this Tuesday against UNC Charlotte, and freshman righty David Bush have combined to pitch 5.1 shutout innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit between them. A pair of freshman southpaws - J.J. Moult and Adam Heaps - round out the bullpen. Both pitchers struggled in their first appearances of the season, however that came primarily from a case of freshman jitters rather than a lack of talent.
Sophomore lefty Danny Borrell, who has not pitched in 1999 because of a sore back, is expected to bolster the bullpen with his return this weekend against Virginia Tech.
SERIES VS. UNC CHARLOTTE, EAST CAROLINA
Wake Forest and UNC Charlotte will be meeting for the 37th time on
Tuesday, with the Demon Deacons holding a slim 19-17 lead in the all-time
series. The series began in 1980, and with the exception of 1994 the two
schools have played at least one game every year since.
UNC Charlotte swept all three meetings last year, winning by a score of 7-0 in Winston-Salem and scores of 4-3 and 7-6 in Charlotte. That broke a four-game Wake Forest winning streak in the series. Overall, the Demon Deacons are 11-7 versus the 49ers in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest is 13-11 against UNC Charlotte under head coach George Greer.
Wake Forest holds a 14-6 lead in the series with East Carolina (since 1954). The Deacs and Pirates split two meetings last season with Wake Forest claiming an 11-5 win in Winston-Salem and ECU winning 4-2 in Greenville. Prior to 1998, the last time the two schools met was in 1977 in the NCAA Atlantic Regional in Columbia, SC. Wake Forest won that game 6-3.
Wake Forest is 1-1 against East Carolina under head coach George Greer.
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Junior righty Matt Briggs (0-0, 0.00) will make his first start of
1999 and only the third start of his career on Tuesday against UNC
Charlotte. Briggs made his only appearance of the season in the opening
weekend against Evansville, allowing one hit in three scoreless innings of
work.
Junior right hander Mike MacDougal (2-0, 2.45) will get the starting call on Wednesday against East Carolina. MacDougal has picked up wins in each of his first two starts of the season (Evansville and Georgia). In his last start against the Bulldogs on Saturday, he allowed just one earned run in six innings of work.
Senior southpaw John Hendricks (1-1, 5.56) is scheduled to make his second start of the season on Saturday in the opening game of the Virginia Tech series. Hendricks picked up a win in his opening start of the year against Davidson, allowing two runs in eight innings. He took the loss in relief last weekend at Georgia.
Junior righty Eric Schmitt (1-0, 4.22), who owns a 14-1 career record, will get the nod on Sunday versus the Hokies. Schmitt, who tossed eight shutout innings against Evansville in his opening start, struggled in his most recent outing at Georgia (five runs in 2.2 innings pitched).
NEW BATS HELPING PITCHERS? OR MAYBE NOT
Of course it is still too early to make any final conclusions, but
it appears that the new bats the meet the new NCAA standards may be more
hitter friendly than originally anticipated.
In January the NCAA adopted a resolution for the 1999 season that all bats will have a weight-to-length differential of no more than three ounces and the diameter will be reduced by 1/8 of an inch to 2 5/8 inches. The change was made in an effort to increase player safety and reduce the power and velocity that the bats can create.
A quick look at Wake Forest's statistics through six games indicates that the new bats are not having that desired effect, at least not yet. The Demon Deacons are batting .343 as a team with an impressive .671 slugging percentage. Wake Forest has belted 37 extra base hits in six games, including 14 home runs (2.3 per game) and the Deacs are averaging 9.2 runs per game. Additionally, Wake Forest opponents are batting .294 against the Demon Deacon pitching staff.
In 1998, Wake Forest hit .298 as a team with 76 home runs (1.2 per game) and averaged 7.2 runs per game. The Deacon pitching staff held its opponents to a .262 batting average. It should be noted that the Wake Forest lineup of 1999 features seven of the nine players from last year and the pitching staff returns six of its top eight pitchers from 1998.
Again, it's still early in the season, but it will be interesting to see what develops in 1999 with these new bats.
THE PALMIERI WATCH
Senior first baseman Jon Palmieri has scattered his name throughout
the Wake Forest record book during his three-plus year career in
Winston-Salem. Following is a closer look at how Palmieri ranks on Wake
Forest's career batting charts:
BATTING AVERAGE DOUBLES 1. Billy Masse 1988 .422 1. Chris Kowilcik 1989-92 71 2. Bill Merrifield 1981-83 .400 2. Dave Lardieri 1994-97 67 3. Jon Palmieri 1996- .389 3. Jon Palmieri 1996- 63RUNS BATTED IN TRIPLES 1. Jake Austin 1989-92 236 1. Jake Austin 1989-92 13 2. Dave Lardieri 1994-97 210 2. Mark Melito 1991-95 12 3. Chris Kowilcik 1989-92 181 3. John Morabito 1985-87 11 4. Warren Sawkiw 1988-90 179 Tommy Gregg 1982-85 11 5. Bill Merrifield 1981-83 178 5. JON PALMIERI 1996- 9 6. JON PALMIERI 1996- 156
HITS RUNS SCORED 1. Jake Austin 1989-92 317 1. Jake Austin 1989-92 213 2. Brian Shabosky 1987-90 277 2. Brian Shabosky 1987-90 198 3. Dave Lardieri 1994-97 275 3. Chris Kowilcik 1989-92 196 4. Chris Kowilcik 1989-92 264 4. Tommy Gregg 1982-85 185 5. Tommy Gregg 1982-85 250 5. Dave Lardieri 1994-97 177 6. Warren Sawkiw 1988-90 247 6. Danny Martz 1989-92 172 7. Mark Melito 1991-95 243 7. Warren Sawkiw 1988-90 171 9. JON PALMIERI 1996- 237 8. Wade Perry 1985-88 168 9. Mark Melito 1991-95 161 10. JON PALMIERI 1996- 157
THE HENDRICKS WATCH
Senior left-hander John Hendricks is also among the Demon Deacons'
career leaders in a number of different categories. Following is a closer
look at how Hendricks currently ranks on Wake Forest's career pitching
charts:
VICTORIES INNINGS PITCHED 1. Frank Humber 1986-89 29 1. Frank Humber 1986-89 348.2 2. JOHN HENDRICKS 1996- 25 2. JOHN HENDRICKS 1996- 290.1APPEARANCES STRIKEOUTS 1. Frank Humber 1986-89 86 1. Buddy Jenkins 1987-91 277 2. Buddy Jenkins 1987-91 85 2. Frank Humber 1986-89 269 3. Mike Ramseyer 1994-97 74 3. Ross Atkins 1992-95 250 4. Keith Ksansnak 1983-86 69 4. Mike Buddie 1990-92 235 5. Bobby Wood 1993-96 68 5. JOHN HENDRICKS 1996- 232 6. Michael Holmes 1994-97 64 7. Craig Gourlay 1984-87 62 8. JOHN HENDRICKS 1996- 61
HEAD COACH GEORGE GREER
The winningest coach in Wake Forest history in any sport, George
Greer is now in his 12th season with the Demon Deacons. He owns a record of
387-260-2 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
13 more wins to reach the 400 victory plateau at Wake Forest and would
become just the 8th coach in ACC history to accomplish that feat.
A 25-year veteran of coaching, Greer has a 493-382-6 record at the Division I level. Prior to coming to Wake Forest, Greer coached at Davidson and Connecticut-Avery Point as well as in the Cape Cod League. With just seven more wins, Greer will reach 500 career victories.
