Wake Forest University
Penn St
Deacons Come From Behind To Knock Off Penn State
2/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 11, 2001
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Wake Forest baseball team won its third straight game by defeating Penn State 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at Hooks Stadium. The Demon Deacons overcame a late one-run deficit with two runs in the bottom of the eighth to get the win. With the victory, Wake Forest improves to 3-0, the team's best start since the 1998 ACC Championship season.
Freshman Adam Hanson earned the victory in relief of starter Ryan Braun. Hanson threw three and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit while striking out three. Junior closer Dave Bush took over in the ninth inning in his first save opportunity of the year and sealed the victory.
After scoring 12 and 10 runs in the previous two games, Wake Forest was limited to just one run on five hits through five and two-thirds innings by Penn State starter Justin Nash. The Nittany Lion bullpen was unable to hold the narrow lead as the Deacons finally broke through in the eighth inning.
Wake Forest began their rally when Cory Sullivan was hit by a Kevin Damiano pitch. Sophomore Nick Blue moved Sullivan to second on a sac bunt. Freshman Josh Hansen followed with a double that brought Sullivan around to score. Senior Corey Slavik singled to put runners on the corners to set the stage for senior Matt Price. His fly ball to center field was deep enough to allow Hansen to score, giving Wake Forest the final margin of victory.
"It was a great college baseball game, especially for February 11. Nash did a good job keeping our hitters off-balance. He made us hit his pitches,? Wake Forest head coach George Greer said, "but Cory Sullivan got on base at a crucial time. Josh Hansen got the big hit for us and Matt Price gave us the lead. David Bush was David Bush, again. It was over when he came in for us."
The Demon Deacons return to the Hooks Stadium diamond on Wednesday to face Liberty, a team Wake Forest eliminated from last year's NCAA tournament. First pitch is slated for 2:30 p.m.
