#11 Wake Forest Hosts #5 Georgia Tech

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March 13, 2002

Wake Forest (14-2) vs. Georgia Tech (14-1)

Date/Time: March 15-17
Site: Hooks Stadium
Live Stats: WakeForestSports.com
Broadcast: GT/ISP - www.RamblinWreck.com

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday / 1:30
WF: #20 Kyle Sleeth, So., RHP (4-0, 2.12 ERA)
GT: #28 Kyle Bakker, So., LHP (5-0, 2.06 ERA)

Saturday / 1:30
WF: #34 Tim Morley, Fr., LHP (2-1, 1.23 ERA)
GT: TBA

Sunday / 1:30
WF: TBA
GT: TBA

Deacons Open ACC Play With Ga. Tech

Wake Forest (14-2, 0-0 ACC) begins its ACC schedule with a three-game weekend series at home against Georgia Tech (14-1, 0-0 ACC).
The series should provide several interesting storylines.
* Both the Demon Deacons and Yellow Jackets open their conference slates this weekend.
* Both teams were picked to finish in the top four of the league.
* Both teams are among the top-ranked squads in the country -- Georgia Tech as high as No. 5 and Wake Forest as high No. 11.
* Georgia Tech has the best team ERA in the conference while Wake Forest ranks second.
* Last year, the teams met in perhaps the most exciting game of the ACC Tournament, a 5-4 win for the Demon Deacons.
* Several current Yellow Jackets used to call Wake Forest home.
Georgia Tech leads the all-time series 44-26-1 but Wake Forest has won the last three meetings.

Last Year Against the Yellow Jackets

After losing the first game of the regular season series in Atlanta last year, Wake Forest won the final three meetings of the year, including a thrilling 4-3 victory at the ACC Tournament at Knights Stadium in Rock Hill, S.C.
Kyle Sleeth got two victories on the mound while Jamie D'Antona hit .368 off the Jackets with a pair of homers. Recaps, stats on page three.

Quality Pitching Has Been A Team Effort

Most expected the returning experience, talent and depth of the Wake Forest pitching staff to be the team's strongest attributes.
That expectation has held to form as the staff has posted a 3.04 ERA, the second best mark in the league behind Georgia Tech (2.41).
While it's still very early, it's worth considering that a Wake Forest staff hasn't finished with an ERA that low since 1967.
Sophomore Adam Hanson leads the ACC in earned run average (0.64) and freshman teammate Tim Morley ranks third (1.23). Other early standouts on the mound have been sophomore Kyle Sleeth (4-0, 2.12 ERA), freshman Daniel Davidson (2-0, 2.61) and senior closer Dave Bush (1-0, 2.61, 2 SV).
Last weekend in New Orleans, the staff posted a 1.86 ERA with 23 K's and just four walks.

First, The Good News ...

... is that Wake Forest's pitching staff is on pace to break the 1998 team's team strikeout record of 482. The 2002 Deacons are striking an average of 8.2 opposing batters each game. Projecting that out over 62 games (the number of games played in each of the last two seasons), Wake Forest is on pace to fan 512 hitters.

Now, The Bad News ...

... is that Wake Forest batters are following suit. The 1996 team holds the dubious record of striking out 394 times, the most in school history. This group of Deacons has struck out 7.9 times per game, on pace to shatter the old record with 489 strikeouts.

Putting Out the Fire

The Wake Forest bullpen, led by senior Dave Bush and sophomore Adam Hanson has been excellent.
Deacon relievers have combined for a 5-0 record and a 3.17 ERA. Opposing hitters have hit just .214 against the Wake Forest bullpen.
Hanson and Bush have compiled notable streaks of consecutive innings without an earned run. Hanson has 18.1 innings over the course of ten appearances without an earned run. Bush has 9.2 innings over nine appearances with a clean slate.

In the Rankings

Wake Forest's stay in Collegiate Baseball's top ten was short lived, slipping to No. 11 this week. The Deacons, however, did climb in both the Baseball America and Baseball Weekly polls and is ranked anywhere from 11th (CB) to 13th (BA).

Deacons Dominate At Home

Last season, Wake Forest posted an impressive 23-4 mark at Hooks Stadium with the only losses coming against Clemson (2), Duke and Liberty.
In 2002, the Deacons are a perfect 7-0 and have won 31 of their last 41 ACC home games since 1998.
Not surprisingly, Wake Forest has put up some impressive numbers at home this season, batting .319 with a 2.43 ERA.

Briefly Looking Back at New Orleans

Wake Forest captured a hard-fought three-game sweep from New Orleans last weekend.
The Deacons got three days of outstanding performances by the bullpen. In 12.2 innings of work, the Wake Forest relievers gave up zero earned runs.
On Saturday, Kyle Sleeth took a perfect game into the fifth inning and combined for a shutout with Dave Bush.
On Sunday, the Deacons fell behind early but rallied while getting 5.1 innings of scoreless relief from Brian Bach, Adam Hanson and Dave Bush.
On Monday night, Wake Forest overcame a 4-3 deficit and some suspect calls in the 10th inning to take a 5-4, 11-inning win on Adam Bourassa's single.

On Deck: Georgia

The Deacons continue their six-game homestand with a short two-game set with Georgia. Both games are scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
The Bulldogs, coming off a College World Series appearance in 2001, are one of two CWS participants on Wake's schedule. In February, the Deacons defeated Nebraska, 9-8, at the Rice Invitational.
Georgia is returning a series from the 1999 season when the teams split two games at Foley Field when current WFU operations assistant Jay Lowe was a senior in Athens.

Wake-Tech Connections

* Georgia Tech volunteer assistant Jon Palmieri was a two-time All-American for the Deacons in 1998 and 1999. He is still the school's all-time leader in hits, runs, doubles and runs batted in.
* Georgia Tech associate head coach Bobby Moranda spent six seasons as the pitching coach for Wake Forest from 1996-2001.
* Georgia Tech baseball contact Chris Capo spent three years as a member of the Wake Forest sports information office before returning to his alma mater.
* Former Wake Forest ace Mike MacDougal is batting with former Georgia Tech ace Kris Wilson for a spot in the starting rotation of the Kansas City Royals.

D'Antona Heating Up

After a slow start at the plate, sophomore third baseman Jamie D'Antona has picked up it at the plate lately.
While D'Antona's run production never slowed, his batting average sagged to .243 after going 0-for-5 at High Point and he had just one home run in his first nine games.
Since then, D'Antona has been on a tear, raising his average to .328. In his last seven games, D'Antona is 13-for-30 (.433) with three home runs and at least one RBI in each game for a total of 14.
Although the Deacons will certainly see better pitching once the team enters ACC play, it's still worth considering that D'Antona is on pace for 16 HR and 93 RBI.

Bush Back For Senior Season, ACC, NCAA Records In Sight

Dave Bush, recognized by Baseball America as the nation's top senior and best overall closer, made a lot of Deacon fans happy when he passed on Tampa Bay's contract offer to return for his senior year.
The native of Devon, Pa., was the fourth-round choice of the Devil Rays in June but couldn't come to terms with the team, opting to return to the Deacons for his final season.
Bush, who originally came to Wake Forest as a catcher, has been showered with accolades since his dominating pitching performance against Clemson in the 1999 ACC Championship game. He is a two-time Cape Cod League All-Star, a third-team All-American last year and is Wake Forest's all-time leader in appearances and saves.
Bush has a legitimate shot at becoming the NCAA's all-time leader in appearances. The current leader is Stetson's Tom Hickox who made 151 appearances between 1988-91. Bush came into the season with 112, needing 40 to become the new NCAA leader.
Bush could also become the ACC's all-time saves leader this season. He needs 17 saves to catch UNC's Thad Crismon who finished his career with 41.

Bush, D'Antona: Preseason All-Americans

Dave Bush and Jamie D'Antona were named by several publications to preseason All-America teams.
D'Antona, last season's National Rookie of the Year with a .364 average, 17 HR and 77 RBI, a second team selection by Collegiate Baseball.
Bush, a third team All-American last year, was named to the first team by the NCBWA and to the second team by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. In 2001, he finished second nationally in saves with 16.

Sleeth Ranked Among Nation's Best Sophomores

In its college baseball preview, Baseball America identified pitcher Kyle Sleeth as the seventh-best sophomore in the country.
The Colorado native got some attention last year by beating four NCAA tournament teams over the course of the season, winning ten games in all. But he really turned heads on Cape Cod on his way to an All-Star summer for Cotuit.
In fall and spring scrimmages, Sleeth's fastball was clocked in the upper-90's. He has lived up to the billing with a 4-0 record and a 2.12 ERA, ranking among the ACC's leaders in those categories.
On Feb. 18, Sleeth earned the ACC Player of the Week award after leading the Deacons to victory against No. 8 Nebraska and the opening day win over Davidson with a career-high ten strikeouts.

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