Raising The Bar
1/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 9, 2002
Riding a streak of four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, four consecutive 40-plus win seasons and three ACC titles in the last four years, Wake Forest has certainly earned the right to be considered one of the nation's top baseball programs.
Now, the Demon Deacons look to reach elite status with a trip to the College World Series in Omaha.
To achieve their goal, Wake Forest will rely on a talented, deep and experienced pitching staff, a core of returning starters from last year's 44-18 team and a number of key newcomers who will be asked to fill some big shoes.
Overseeing the construction of this project is 15th year head coach George Greer. The fourth winningest coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history, Greer reached the 600 career win plateau last season.
"I get excited thinking about how this team will be together for two years. We only have three seniors," Greer said. "We have talented, young, quality pitchers. We have power, speed in the field and experience behind the plate.
"We're going to get better every day for the next two years."
PITCHING
First year pitching coach Michael Holmes inherits a talented group of experienced pitchers. Without question, this area is Wake Forest's greatest strength.
Three of the team's top four starters are back from last season including juniors Ryan Braun and Ben Clayton. Emerging as the team's top starter, however, is sophomore Kyle Sleeth, who is coming off a Freshman All-American season as a rookie and an All-Star summer in the Cape Cod League for Cotuit.
Battling for the midweek assignments will be several newcomers with high expectations, including freshmen Tim Morley, Brian Bach and junior college transfer Seth Hill.
Seniors Brad Comer and Ryan Lewis have spot-started in the past and could be called into emergency duty, if necessary. Otherwise, they will be the two most experienced arms in middle relief.
Another key to the bullpen is sophomore Adam Hanson who made 26 appearances last season in his first year.
"The cornerstones of the pitching staff are back from last year," Greer said. "Add to that several talented newcomers and the best reliever in college baseball and we feel pretty good about our staff."
What separates Wake Forest's pitching staff from virtually every other in the country is senior closer Dave Bush.
Bush, a preseason first team All-American, was the ACC Tournament's Most Valuable Player last year, a third team All-American and a fourth round pick of Tampa Bay last summer.
But he elected to return for his senior year to make a run for Omaha.
Bush's value exceeds that of most college relievers because of his durability. He came out of the bullpen 41 times last season including seven postseason appearances totalling 16 innings with a 1.12 ERA and three saves.
Several other pitchers will contribute including sophomore Gregory Russell and junior Eric Maycroft. Russell saw some action in ACC games last year and Maycroft gained experience in the Cape last summer.
The coaching staff is excited about the potential of freshmen Chris Caudill and Daniel Davidson. Davidson comes from an athletic family. His sister, Margaret, was an All-ACC volleyball player at Wake Forest.
Perhaps the wild card of the bunch is Danny Mackey, a former draftee of Pittsburgh. He pitched just twice as a freshman but has added size and strength since last spring and has developed a strong change-up.
CATCHER
Switch-hitting junior Stephen Ghutzman is the top returner behind the mask. He started 26 games last year with a .308 average and four home runs.
Ghutzman brings a strong arm and big game experience to the position. His home run in the ACC Tournament against Georgia Tech gave the Deacons the lead for good, putting them in the championship game.
Ghutzman will see the majority of time but will share the responsibilities with redshirt freshman Ryder Mathias.
An excellent receiver, Mathias picked up valuable experience this summer while playing for Columbus (OH) in the Great Lakes League.
Walk-on Jonathan Portnoy is a hard-working freshman from St. Louis and could be considered the team's inspirational leader.
INFIELD
The Demon Deacons will have a new look in the infield in 2002 after the departure of Corey Slavik, a four-year starter at third base, and Jason Aquilante, who spent most of his four years at second.
Preseason All-American Jamie D'Antona, the 2001 National Freshman of the Year, will move across the diamond to third base. He took the ACC by storm as a rookie batting .364 with 17 home runs and 77 RBI on his way to conference rookie of the year honors.
Junior Nick Blue returns to his familiar ground at second base. A very sound defensive player, Blue contributed at the plate in 2001 hitting .291 with 18 steals.
Blue was a clutch hitter in the ACC Championship game, going 4-for-4. At the NCAA Subregional in Knoxville, he batted .353 and was named to the All-Tournament team.
The new faces in the infield will be first baseman Jeff Ruziecki, a transfer from Cypress JC in California, where he left as the school's all-time leader in home runs. The left-handed Ruziecki will enjoy the short porch in right field at Hooks Stadium.
In the fall, Ruziecki also impressed with the glove.
Freshman Ben Ingold will likely take over at shortstop for the drafted and departed Jamie Athas.
Ingold, a native of Durham, N.C., is a capable defensive player with good range and a good arm.
Sophomore Doug Riepe, one of the hardest working players on the team, could see time at a corner infield position.
Junior Ryan Hubbard is another transfer from Cypress JC where he was a teammate of Ruziecki. Hubbard is a natural infielder with great speed. He had off-season arm surgery but should seriously push for time upon his return.
At the semester break, Brad Scioletti joined the Deacons from Army. One of the top hitters for the Black Knights before having his freshman year cut short by a broken leg, Scioletti is back to full health and could see time at a number of positions.
Freshman Grant Achilles, brother of former WFU infielder Todd Achilles, will provide valuable depth up the middle.
OUTFIELD
The first question asked about the outfield is how Wake Forest will replace All-America center fielder Cory Sullivan.
The Deacons believe Adam Bourassa is the answer to that question.
Bourassa comes from Kishwaukee Community College in Illinois. More recently, Bourassa played for Yarmouth-Dennis in the Cape Cod League and was an All-Star for the Red Sox while batting among the league leaders.
Junior Ryan Johnson returns in right field. Johnson batted .363 overall and .423 in the ACC last season. He was the team's best hitter in the second half with a .410 average. Johnson led the team in the conference tournament last year, going 7-for-12.
Wake Forest will employ a number of players in left field, often depending on the opponent.
One of the candidates is sophomore Steve LeFaivre, a very dangerous hitter at the plate.
The Winston-Salem, N.C., native was used primarily as a pinch-hitter last year and once homered in three consecutive at-bats against VCU and North Carolina.
Other possibilities in left field include Hubbard, Scioletti, Riepe and Bach.
SCHEDULE
The schedule includes six teams that qualified for last year's NCAA Super Regionals plus a 24-game schedule in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
This could be one of ACC's strongest years in recent memory. The Deacons are one of five ACC teams ranked in the preseason top 25.
Out of the conference, Wake Forest will again face one of the nation's best schedules.
This year, the Demon Deacons return to Houston, Texas, to play in the Rice Invitational where they will meet New Mexico, College World Series participant Nebraska and nationally-ranked Rice.
The schedule also includes a trip to New Orleans to play the Privateers in early March.
Georgia, a College World Series team in 2001, will visit Hooks Stadium for a two-game set on March 19 and 20.
Before traveling to the ACC Tournament in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Deacons will take a seven-day, six-game road swing through Liberty, West Virginia and Duke.
Other regional powers on the slate include Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, UNC Greensboro and Davidson.
