Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
East Carolina
Deacons Fall To ECU In Greenville
3/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 21, 2001
Greenville, NC - John Williamson went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Cliff Godwin hit a three-run home run to lead No. 22 East Carolina over No. 20 Wake Forest, 8-3, on a soggy Harrington Field Wednesday night.
Wake Forest (17-5) jumped on the scoreboard first, plating two runs in the top of the second inning. The first three batters of inning reached safely. Jamie D'Antona, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, came in as the first run of the game on a wild pitch by Pirate starting pitcher Davey Penny.
Corey Slavik then scored as Josh Hansen hit a ground ball that was mishandled by shortstop Lee Delfino. ECU then turned a double play and Delfino threw out the runner at first to avoid further damage.
The Pirates scored three runs in the bottom half of the third inning to take a one-run lead. Ben Sanderson drew a leadoff walk and then advanced to third on a one-out single by Bryant Ward. Chad Tracy reached on an infield single, scoring Sanderson and extending his hitting streak to 22 games. Williamson then gave ECU the lead with a two-out single to left field, scoring both Ward and Tracy.
The Deacons tied the game at 3-3 in fifth as Jamie Athas scored on a two-out double by Nick Blue, after being hit by a pitch.
Penny was lifted with one out in the top of the seventh for Neal Sears. Penny struck out five batters in 6.1 innings and allowed five hits, but didn't factor in the decision.
Sears yielded a single to the first batter he faced, but fanned the next and got the third to ground out, preserving the 3-3 tie.
Sears (3-1), the losing pitcher in the game at Winston-Salem versus WFU, earned his third victory of the season, allowing no runs in 1.2 innings.
East Carolina (19-5) broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the seventh. With runners on first and second and one out, Williamson laced a single into right field, plating the go-ahead run. Delfino followed suit and singled to left field driving in another run.
Following the Deacons' second pitching change of the inning, Godwin greeted Ryan Lewis with a three-run blast, giving East Carolina an 8-3 lead.
Will Brinson pitched the ninth inning for the Pirates and retired all three batters faced.
Senior Josh Bartlett pitched six strong innings in his first career start for Wake Forest, but didn't factor in the decision as Kyle Sleeth (4-2) started the seventh inning.
Sleeth, in his first relief appearance after seven starts, was charged with two runs on three hits in 0.2 innings for his second loss of the year.
Wake Forest returns home for a key three-game series with ACC rival Clemson. The Deacons are 5-1 in the conference, tied for second with Florida State. The Tigers have played just one weekend in the league but are ahead of the pack at 3-0. The Deacons tangle with the Tigers at Hooks Stadium on Friday at 3:00 p.m.
