Wake Forest Athletics
Baseball Visits Top-Ranked Florida State
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 31, 1999
DEACONS VISIT TOP-RANKED SEMINOLES AS ACC PLAY CONTINUES
Having won 15 of their last 19 games, the Wake Forest baseball nine
hits the road for their toughest challenge of the season this weekend. The
Demon Deacons, ranked as high as 19th this week, will visit No. 1 Florida
State for a three-game series in Tallahassee, Fla., beginning on Friday at
7 p.m. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Wake Forest's record currently stands at 19-7 on the season, including a 6-2 mark in ACC play, after sweeping a three-game series with Clemson last weekend. The sweep of the Tigers marked the first time Wake Forest swept three regular season games from Clemson since the 1952 season. The Seminoles enter the weekend with a 30-3 overall record and a perfect 9-0 mark in league play.
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Junior right-hander Mike MacDougal (6-1, 1.92 ERA) will get the
starting nod on Friday at Florida State in the series opened. MacDougal has
been on a roll over his last five starts, posting a 4-0 record and a 1.66
ERA in 38.0 innings. Included in that stretch is a no-hitter against Duke
and an outstanding performance at North Carolina where he out-dueled Tar
Heel's ace Kyle Snyder. MacDougal owns a perfect 3-0 record and a 1.50 ERA
in three starts against ACC opponents. MacDougal has struggled in his
career against the Seminoles, owing 0-3 record and a 9.87 ERA in three
starts. Last 3 starts: 3-0, 1.50 ERA, 24.0 IP.
Senior southpaw John Hendricks (4-3, 5.07) will start the second game of the FSU series on Saturday. He was scheduled to start on Wednesday at Winthrop, but that contest was rained out. In his most recent start against Clemson, Hendricks was in total command for seven innings - allowing just two runs - before tiring in the eighth and being charged with four more runs. He 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). In five career appearances against FSU, Hendricks is 1-2 with a 5.11 ERA, although he allowed just one run in a complete game effort against the Noles in the 1998 ACC Tournament. Last 3 starts: 1-1, 6.14 ERA, 22.0 IP.
Junior righty Eric Schmitt (3-1, 5.17), who owns a 16-2 career record, will get the starting nod on Sunday afternoon. Schmitt is coming off a solid performance against Clemson, allowing one earned run in seven innings of work. He has been inconsistent at times this season as he struggles with a recurring blister on his right index finger, although he has show flashes of brilliance in starts against Evansville (0 runs in 8.0 IP) and Vanderbilt (2 ER in 8.1 IP). Schmitt started and allowed four runs in 4.1 innings against the Seminoles last year in the regular season, but got no decision. Last 3 starts: 2-1, 6.11 ERA, 17.2 IP.
SERIES VS. FLORIDA STATE
Florida State leads the all-time series with Wake Forest, 42-11, in
a series that dates back to 1962. The Seminoles lead the series 22-5 since
joining the ACC in 1992 and FSU holds a 22-6 advantage in games played in
Tallahassee.
Wake Forest and Florida State met six times during the 1998 season, with the Seminoles winning four of those contests. FSU swept the three-game regular season series (game scores of 12-11, 10-4 and 6-9) and then took a second round meeting in the ACC Tournament (14-1). However, the Deacs two wins against the Noles proved to be the most important of the year as Wake Forest won two straight over FSU in the championship round of the tournament to capture the 1998 ACC Championship (by scores of 2-1 and 6-3).
STREAKS & SKIDS
Batters: Second baseman Jason Aquilante is in a 2-for-20 slump over
the last six games . . . designated hitter Danny Borrell has hit safely in
9 of the last 10 games, batting .444 with 14 RBI in that stretch . . .
center fielder Scott Daeley is batting .381 with 21 runs and 11 RBI in the
last 11 games . . . over the last 10 games, right fielder Ben Danosky is
batting .400 with 4 HR and 12 RBI . . . left fielder John Kubachka is
hitless in his last seven at bats . . . spanning the last 5 games, left
fielder Ricky Mendez is hitless in his last 12 at bats . . . first baseman
Jon Palmieri is on a 6-game hitting streak in which he is batting .500 with
2 HR and 13 RBI . . . catcher Andrew Riepe is hitting .367 over the last 8
games . . . third baseman Corey Slavik has hit safely in 8 of the last 9
games, batting .290 in that stretch . . . left fielder Stephen Sullivan is
hitless in his last 13 at bats . . . infielder Chris Turner is 4-for-8 in
his last two starts . . . shortstop Chase Voshell is hitting .381 over the
last 11 games, hitting safely in 9 of those contests.
Pitchers: Right-hander Matt Briggs tossed 4.1 innings without allowing an earned run in his most recent outing at East Carolina . . . when working out of the bullpen, righty David Bush has a 2.38 ERA in 11.1 innings while his ERA as a starter is 23.14 . . . lefty John Hendricks is 0-1 in his last 3 games, allowing 16 earned runs in 17.0 innings (8.47 ERA) . . . in his last 5 starts, righty Mike MacDougal is 4-0 with a 1.66 ERA (7 runs in 38 innings) . . . righty Eric Schmitt snapped a cold streak with a quality outing against Clemson, allowing one earned run in 7 innings . . . in 4 appearances last week, righty Scott Siemon went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, allowing 4 hits in 8.2 innings while recording 9 strikeouts.
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. For more information on where Hendricks stands on all of Wake
Forest's career pitching charts, please see the lists on the next pages in
this packet.
