Deacons Square Off with In-state Rivals

March 4, 2002

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Wake Forest (10-1) vs. ASU, Elon

Date/Time: March 5 / March 6
Site: Hooks Stadium / Elon University
Broadcast: None
Live Stats:

Probable Pitching Matchups

Tuesday / 2:30
WF: #33 Daniel Davidson, Fr., RHP (1-0, 1.69 ERA)
ASU: #19 Kyle Shiplett, Fr., RHP (1-2, 7.72 ERA)

Wednesday / 2:30
WF: #34 Tim Morley, Fr., LHP (2-0, 1.42 ERA)
Elon: TBA

Deacons Square Off With In-State Rivals

After a three-day break due to rain the Triad, Wake Forest hosts Appalachian State on Tuesday. Off to their best start since 1964, the Deacons are 10-1 after defeating the Mountaineers on Friday afternoon before the rain set in for the weekend.
On Wednesday, Wake ventures down I-40 to face Elon for the second time this season. The Deacons beat the Phoenix on Feb. 21, 6-4, at Hooks Stadium.

Wake Forest Off to Best Start Since 1964

With a 10-1 record, the Demon Deacons have their best 11-game record in nearly 40 years. The 1964 Deacons rattled off ten straight wins before finally dropping a contest at Florida State.
Wake Forest has an opportunity to make history with a pair of wins this week. The Deacons have not started 12-1 to start a season since joining the ACC in 1954.

Streakin' Deacons

Wake Forest has won nine in a row, already equaling its longest such streak from last season. The current group of Deacons has its eyes set on the school record 15-game win streak set in 1999.
But a win on Tuesday would place the 2002 in select company. Since 1954, only seven Wake Forest teams have compiled winning streaks of ten games or longer. Most recently, the 2000 team won 11 consecutive contests.

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.
The Deacons are a perfect 6-0 at home this year and have won 42 of their last 44 non-conference home tilts dating back to 1999.

Wake Forest Cracks the Top Ten

At No. 10 in Collegiate Baseball, the Demon Deacons rank in top ten for the first time since April 2000.
Wake Forest is in the Baseball America poll for the 15th consecutive week dating back to last season. Wake Forest is ranked anywhere from 10th (CB) to 16th (Baseball Weekly).

On Deck: The Big Easy

The Deacons return a series with the University of New Orleans. This year, Wake Forest hits the Big Easy for a rare Saturday through Monday series. The Deacs are 3-0 all-time vs. UNO.

Deacon Pitching Behind Early Success

In the preseason, 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 3.64 ERA. While it's still very early, it's worth considering that a Wake Forest staff hasn't finished with an ERA that low since 1980.
Early standouts on the mound have been sophomores Kyle Sleeth (3-0, 2.77 ERA) and Adam Hanson (2-0, 0.84), freshman Tim Morley (2-0, 1.42) and junior Seth Hill (0-0, 1.80).
The pitching staff has limited opposing batters to a .245 average and has struck out 97 batters in 99 innings for an average of 8.8 K's per game.

Doing it the Hard Way

Wake Forest's 10-1 record looks pretty shiny from a distance but a closer look reveals that seven of the Deacons' ten wins have been of the come from behind variety.
In fact, Wake Forest has scored first in only six of their first 11 games.
By comparison, just 18 of last year's 44 wins were comeback victories and the Deacons scored first in 66% of their games.

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.

Random Stats

Deacon pitchers have struck out 97 batters... of those, 40 have been looking... as a team, Wake Forest is hitting .349 with runners on base... Ryder Mathias leads the team in that category, hitting .600 (3-for-5)... Nick Blue is batting .500 (8-for-16) with runners in scoring position... Jamie D'Antona is 2-for-4 with the bases loaded, including a double and a grand slam... Steve LeFaivre is currently on a nine-game hitting streak, the longest of any Deacon this year... Wake Forest has laid down eight bunts for hits in 11 games... Ryan Johnson is on pace for 17 triples.

Deacons Picked To Finish Third in ACC

In the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll, Wake Forest, the defending league champion, was predicted to finish third in a vote by the league's coaches. Clemson is the preseason favorite.
Last year, Wake was picked fourth in the preseason and finished third in the regular season before capturing the tournament title.

Random Notes

The Wake Forest roster has players from 15 different states... eight Deacons hail from California... Six teams on the 2002 schedule made the NCAA Tournament last year including two -- Georgia and Nebraska -- that made the College World Series... Ryan Hubbard and Jeff Ruziecki were teammates at Huntington Beach HS and Cypress Junior College... Nine current Deacons have been drafted at some point during their career... 10 of Wake Forest's 30 players did not start their college baseball careers at Wake Forest... five came from other four-year schools and five came from junior colleges.

Programs! Get Your Programs!

Wake Forest welcomes 16 newcomers to the team for 2002 and returns just 14. Of those 16 new faces, four were in the starting lineup on Tuesday at Davidson.
In fact, from 2001 to 2002, there was a new starter at every position. Only Jamie D'Antona and Nick Blue were holdovers from last year's opening day lineup but both were at different positions.

Bush Returns For Senior Season, ACC, NCAA Records on Horizon

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.

Sleeth 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 this summer on Cape Cod when he pitched his way to an all-star appearance for Cotuit.
In fall and spring scrimmages, Sleeth's fastball was clocked in the upper-90's.
He lived up to the billing on Tuesday at Davidson when he went seven innings to get the win. Sleeth allowed just one run on six hits with a career-high 10 strikeouts and no walks.
Sleeth started the game in the neighborhood of 95-96 mph with his fastball and stayed around 93-94 even into the seventh inning.

Sleeth Picks Up ACC Weekly Honors

Sophomore RHP Kyle Sleeth earned Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Week recognition on Feb. 18 after leading the Deacons to two victories, including a 9-8 victory over No. 8 Nebraska. The Westminster, Colo., native threw a total of 13 innings on the week allowing four runs and three walks while striking out 13 of the 50 batters faced.
In addition to the victory over No. 8 Nebraska, Sleeth also tallied the opening day win over Davidson with a career-high ten strikeouts and no walks.

Bush, Clayton Rate Among Top Pro Prospects

Allan Simpson of Baseball America, considered to be college baseball's answer to Mel Kiper, has compiled an early look at the 2003 draft.
Among his top 100 draft-eligible pro prospects are senior RHP Dave Bush (14th overall and the top senior) and junior LHP Ben Clayton (74th).
Wake Forest will get a look at 18 of the remaining players on Baseball America's list over the course of the regular season. Thirteen of the top 100 players play their college ball in the ACC.

Greer Begins 15th Season at Wake Forest

Head coach George Greer is the fourth winningest coach in ACC history with 515 wins since coming to Wake Forest in 1988.
During his 15 years at Wake Forest, Greer has coached 11 All-American and 10 Freshman All-Americans. The Deacons have won 30 games each season and in the last four years, the team has won 40 contests and qualified for the NCAA Tourney for an unprecedented four straight years.

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