Wake Forest Athletics
Baseball Ends Homestand with East Tennessee State
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 15, 1999
Having won eight of their last nine games, the Wake Forest baseball nine wraps up its six-game homestand with two non-conference games against East Tennessee State this week. The Demon Deacons and Buccaneers will square off on Tuesday and Wednesday at Hooks Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. each day.
Wake Forest's record now stands at 12-4 on the season after sweeping a rain-shortened two-game ACC series against Duke last weekend. The Deacons are ranked 23rd this week by Baseball America.
UPDATING THE DEMON DEACONS
Wake Forest returned 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 continues to
produce consistent results at the plate. Palmieri, the 1998 ACC batting
champion, is batting .354 with a team high seven home runs and 13 RBI in
addition to his perfect 5-for-5 mark in the stolen base department.
Jump starting the Wake Forest offense is center fielder Scott Daeley, .368-0-8, 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 seven stolen bases in eight attempts.
Right fielder Ben Danosky, .343-3-16, leads the club in RBI and has thrived since moving to the cleanup spot in the lineup three games ago. Wake Forest's left-field platoon of righties Ricky Mendez, .296-2-5, and Carlos Brackley, .333-0-2, and lefty Stephen Sullivan, .231-2-5, has been solid in the first 16 games of the season.
The sophomore middle infield combination of shortstop Chase Voshell, .343-4-11, and second baseman Jason Aquilante, .385-2-7, 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 after his hot start.
Catcher Andrew Riepe, .274-2-11, continues to be an ironman behind the plate for the Demon Deacons and has started 86 of Wake's last 89 games, dating back to the final weeks of the 1997 season.
Among the starting nine, only third baseman Corey Slavik, .175-2-8, has yet find his hitting stroke, although he has shown positive signs in recent games that his slump may soon be over.
Sophomore DH Danny Borrell, .278-3-6, began the season with a fast start but his availability has been limited over the last two weeks while suffering from a sore back. He is should return to the lineup on a full-time basis this week.
Junior right hander Mike MacDougal is 4-1 in his first six starts of the season with an impressive 1.74 ERA. MacDougal was very impressive in his most recent outing when he tossed the school's first no-hitter in 60 years last weekend against Duke (see note on following page). Rounding out the weekend starting rotation are senior southpaw John Hendricks, 4-2, 3.55, and junior righty Eric Schmitt, 1-0, 4.35. Hendricks is working on a current streak of 10.2 scoreless innings over his last two appearances while Schmitt bounced back from a couple of rough starts with a quality outing against Vanderbilt (2 ER in 8.1 IP).
Sophomore righty Scott Siemon, 2-0, 3.38, 3 SV, has emerged as the top man out of the bullpen after making appearances in nine of the first 16 games of the year. Siemon will get his first starting call of the season this week against East Tennessee State.
A pair of righties in junior Matt Briggs, 1-0, 3.95, and freshman David Bush, 0-0, 0.00, have also been solid out of the pen to date, and the duo has allowed just six earned runs in 21 innings pitched (2.57 ERA).
Sophomore lefty Danny Borrell, who had been out with a bad back, bolstered the bullpen with his return to the staff last week against UNC Greensboro. Borrell started and tossed 1.1 scoreless innings before having to leave the game with a sore elbow. He is expected to return to the mound this week against ETSU.
SERIES VS. EAST TENNESSEE STATE
Wake Forest leads the all-time series between the two schools, 4-1,
including a 3-1 mark at Hooks Stadium. The two schools first met in 1990
when the Demon Deacons swept two games in a home and home series. Wake
Forest won two games from the Buccaneers in 1998 by scores of 5-4 and 9-0.
ETSU's lone win in the series came during the 1996 season when the Bucs
took a 6-4 decision in Winston-Salem.
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Junior righty Eric Schmitt (1-0, 4.85), who owns a 14-1 career
record, will get the nod on Tuesday against ETSU. Schmitt was scheduled to
start the third game of the Duke series before it was canceled by rain.
After struggling in his two previous starts with a blister on his right
hand, Schmitt rebounded with a quality effort against Vanderbilt (8.1 IP, 5
H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K's) in the Blue-Gray Classic.
Sophomore right hander Scott Siemon (2-0, 3.38, 3 saves) will get his first start of the season on Wednesday against East Tennessee State after making nine straight appearances out of the bullpen to start the season.
The likely rotation for the North Carolina series this weekend will feature junior righty Mike MacDougal on Friday, senior southpaw John Hendricks on Saturday, and Schmitt on Sunday.
MacDOUGAL TOSSES NO-HITTER vs DUKE
Junior right-hander Mike MacDougal added his name to the school
record book when he tossed the first no-hitter in 60 years for Wake Forest
to lead the Demon Deacons to a 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over
Duke last Friday afternoon.
MacDougal was in total command all afternoon as he allowed just two batters to reach base, both via walks, and recorded five strikeouts. The no-hitter was the first in Wake Forest history since the opening day of the 1939 season when three Demon Deacon pitchers combined to no-hit Springfield College. MacDougal's effort was only the second individual no-hitter in Wake Forest history, with the first coming in 1938 when George Wirtz turned the trick against Washington & Lee.
For the year, MacDougal is now 4-1 with an impressive 1.74 ERA. Opponents are batting just .185 against him.
MacDougal earned the ACC's Pitcher of the Week award as well as Collegiate Baseball's National Player of the Week honors for his outstanding effort.
500 & COUNTING FOR HEAD COACH GEORGE GREER
A 25-year veteran of coaching, George Greer has a 501-384-6 record
in 18 years at the Division I level. Greer reached the 500 victory plateau
in Wake Forest's 5-0 win over Duke last weekend. Prior to coming to Wake
Forest, Greer coached at Davidson and Connecticut-Avery Point as well as in
the Cape Cod League.
The winningest coach in Wake Forest history in any sport, Greer is now in his 12th season with the Demon Deacons. He owns a record of 395-262-2 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 five 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.
CARDIAC KIDS
After winning eight games in their last at bat during the 1998
season, the Demon Deacons have put together more of the same late-inning
heroics this year. Four of Wake Forest's 12 wins this season have come in
the Deacs' final at-bat.
1. The first comeback win came against Virginia Tech (2/28) when the Deacs rallied from a four-run ninth-inning deficit to claim a 10-9 win. Wake Forest scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, with Corey Slavik delivering the game-winning RBI single with two outs.
2. A second victory came versus Vanderbilt in the Blue-Gray Classic (3/6). With the score knotted at 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Chris Turner belted a game-winning double to score Danny Borrell and give the Deacs a 3-2 win.
3. The third win came the following afternoon against West Virginia in the final day of the Blue-Gray Classic (3/7). With the score tied at 4-4 after eight innings, Slavik scored on an error in the top of the ninth inning to give the Deacs a 5-4 victory.
4. The most recent victory came at home against UNC Greensboro (3/10). The score was tied at 3-3 before Jason Aquilante blasted a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth and give Wake Forest a 4-3 win.
DEACS ON THE RUN
Over the years, Wake Forest has been known as a team that uses
power to generate offense rather than a team that likes to start up the
running game. And although this year may be more of the same (27 home runs
vs. 21 stolen bases in 16 games), it is of particular interest to note the
Deacons' success in the stolen base department.
Through 16 games, the Deacs are 21-for-24 (87.5%) on stolen base attempts, including a perfect mark by first baseman Jon Palmieri. Center fielder Scott Daeley leads the club with seven thefts in eight attempts.
