Fifth-Ranked Deacons Head to Charlottesville

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Wake Forest (25-6, 8-3 ACC) vs. Virginia (18-15, 7-5 ACC)

Dates: April 12-14
Site: UVa Baseball Stadium
Radio: None
Live Stats: WakeForestSports.com

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday / 7:00 / UVa Baseball Stadium
WF: #20 Kyle Sleeth, So., RHP (6-0, 3.58 ERA)
VA: #22 Jeff Kamrath, So., RHP (5-2, 1.98 ERA)

Saturday / 7:00 / UVa Baseball Stadium

WF: #17 Seth Hill, Jr., LHP (2-0, 2.97 ERA)
VA: #21 Joe Koshansky, So., LHP (1-3, 4.21 ERA)

Sunday / 1:00 / UVa Basball Stadium

WF: TBA
VA: #6 Dan Street, Sr., RHP (3-0, 4.76 ERA)

Fifth-Ranked Deacons Take Their Show to Charlottesville to Face Virginia

Wake Forest, off to its best start in school history at 25-6 overall, visits Virginia this weekend for a three-game series at the brand new UVa Baseball Stadium. Virginia, 18-15 (7-5 ACC) sits in a tie for third place in the league, two games back of North Carolina and 1.5 games behind the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest will play its first game in five days on Friday after getting rained out on Tuesday.

Wake Forest - Virginia: The Series History

The Deacons won all four meetings last season, three in Winston-Salem and one at the ACC Tournament in Fort Mill, S.C.
Wake Forest leads the all-time series 69-54 since 1954. The Demon Deacons captured each of the last two series in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers last defeated Wake Forest on May 19, 2000.
(Career stats vs. UVa available on page four)

2002 Deacons Fastest to Reach 25 Wins

This year's Wake Forest baseball team is re-writing the record books.
On Sunday, with a dramatic come from behind win over UNC, the Deacons earned its 25th victory of the season.
At 25-6, no Wake Forest team has reached the 25-win plateau faster.
(More on best starts on page two)

Demon Deacons Rank in Top Five

The Baseball America weekly poll was released on Monday and for the first time in school history, Wake Forest is ranked in top five. The Demon Deacons check in at number five, behind perennial powers Clemson, Stanford, Rice and Alabama.
Wake Forest is one of three ACC teams in the top six and one of five teams in the top 25.

Tearing Up the ACC

Wake Forest has won eight straight ACC series since March of 2001, the longest such streak in school history. The previous high was four. Since dropping three games at Florida State last year, the Deacons captured series victories over Georgia Tech (twice), NC State (twice), Virginia, Maryland, UNC and Florida State.
That is the longest active streak in the ACC.

D'Antona Named National Hitter of the Week by NCBWA

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its National Hitter and Pitcher of the Week awards for the period ending April 7th.
Wake Forest sophomore third baseman Jamie D'Antona and Southwest Missouri State senior infielder Jeremy Isenhower share the Hitter of the Week award, while Oral Roberts sophomore righthander Rene Recio took the Pitcher of the Week honors.
The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.
D'Antona, a sophomore from Trumbull, Conn., led the Demon Deacons to a 3-1 week that included a pair of wins over No. 12 North Carolina. He hit safely in each game, going 7-for-15 (.467) on the week, reaching base 10 times in 18 plate appearances for a .556 on-base percentage. D'Antona scored seven times, smashed four home runs and drove in nine runs. Twice, he drove in the game-winning run, including in the series-opener against North Carolina.

Sleeth Quickly Becoming One of the ACC's Premier Pitchers

After a Freshman All-America campaign in 2001 and an All-Star season for Cotuit in the Cape League this past summer, Kyle Sleeth is one of the ACC's premier pitchers.
In its season preview, Baseball America identified Sleeth as the seventh-best sophomore nationally.
He has lived up to the billing with a 6-0 record and a 3.58 ERA, ranking among the ACC's leaders in those categories.
The biggest improvement Sleeth since last year has been his control. He has improved his strikeout-to-walk ratio from 1.8 to 2.8.
Sleeth earned the ACC Player of the Week award on Feb. 18 after leading Wake past No. 8 Nebraska and fanning a career-high ten batters at Davidson.
At New Orleans on March 9, Sleeth carried a perfect game into the fifth inning before a 67-minute rain delay. He eventually lost the perfect game but did combine for a shutout of the Privateers, allowing just three hits in eight innings with seven K's.
Sleeth has defeated three ranked teams -- Nebraska, Florida State and North Carolina -- and has gone at least six innings in every start this season.
In one and a half seasons as a Demon Deacon, Sleeth has a career record of 16-3. Last season, he lead the team with 10 wins and defeated four NCAA Tournament teams.

Braun Almost Ready to Pitch

Last season, Ryan Braun emerged as one of the team's top starters.
Armed with a deadly slider, Braun baffled hitters down the stretch, beating Georgia Tech and Maryland. He struck out 36 batters in his final 32 innings of the season.
But his best performance came in the ACC Tournament against this weekend's opponent, Virginia.
Braun struck out a career-high 10 batters, allowing just one run on four hits against the Cavaliers.
Braun has not pitched in 2002 because of a lingering lower back injury. He has continued to contribute, however, at the plate.
One of the most powerful players on the roster, Braun has blasted four home runs in just 33 at-bats while playing in a part-time role.
When healthy, however, Braun would be a greater value in the weekend rotation. He is a possible starter this weekend at Virginia.

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 already Wake Forest's all-time leader in appearances and saves.
Bush has an outside 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 102, needing 50 to become the new NCAA leader. To put that in perspective, he had 41 as a junior.
Bush could also become the ACC's all-time saves and appearances leader this year. He needs 17 saves and 40 appearances to catch UNC's Thad Crismon, the league's all-time leader in both categories.
Entering this weekend's series in Charlottesville, Bush has recorded seven saves and come out of the bullpen 23 times.

King of the Hill

There may not be a Wake Forest pitcher who has been more dominate lately than junior left-hander Seth Hill.
Hill, a transfer from Kishwaukee Community College where he was teammates with Adam Bourassa, has been outstanding in his last six outings.
Against Georgia, NC State, Liberty, Florida State, UNC Greensboro and North Carolina, Hill has totaled 19 innings of work with a 1.89 ERA. He has allowed just nine hits during that span with 27 strikeouts.

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 holding down the fort with a 15-3 mark, winning 37 of their last 45 ACC home games since 1998, including a two-game sweep of Georgia Tech and series victories over nationally-ranked Florida State and North Carolina.
Not surprisingly, Wake Forest has put up some big numbers at home this season, averaging 9.0 runs per game with a .310 team average.

Bourassa Drills Clutch Double vs. FSU on 21st Birthday

Junior Adam Bourassa had been on a tear until the Florida State series. When he stepped into the batter's box in the eighth inning in the Sunday game, he was 1-for-11.
At the time, the Deacons trailed 5-3. Bourassa, as he has all season provided the clutch hit, a two-run double that dropped just inside the left field line.
That tied the game and set the table for Stephen Ghutzman's dramatic, game-winning home run.
One of the fastest players in the ACC, Bourassa covers a lot of ground in center field where he has started every game.
Bourassa came to Wake Forest via Kishwaukee Community College in Illinois. This summer, he took the Cape Cod League by storm, ranking among the league's best hitters and earning the prestigious 10th Player Award for Yarmouth-Dennis.

On Deck: Back Home Again

Wake faces High Point and Virginia Tech at Hooks Stadium on Tuesday (3:00) and Wednesday (3:00).

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, was 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 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 CWS squads -- Georgia and Nebraska... the Deacons beat the Huskers and split a midweek series with the Bulldogs.
Ten of Wake Forest's 30 players did not start their college baseball careers at WFU... Five came from other four-year schools and five came from junior colleges.
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...

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.
The Deacons won 16 ACC games to tie a school record originally set by the 1999 team.

Bush, Clayton Rate Among Top Pro Prospects

Allan Simpson of Baseball America has compiled an early look at the draft. Among his top 100 draft-eligible pro prospects are senior RHP Dave Bush (14th overall) 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

For the last 14 seasons, George Greer has built the Wake Forest baseball program into a consistent winner. In recent years, Greer has molded the Demon Deacons into a power in the country's toughest conference, the ACC.
By capturing the 2001 ACC Championship, Greer and Wake Forest earned its third league title in four years. No other current coach in the league has won three rings.
Greer's accomplishments at Wake Forest have been numerous. The year 2001 was a banner year for the program but especially for Greer. During the course of the season, he picked up career win number 600 and also his 500th win as the Wake Forest skipper.
As a team last year, the Deacons won 44 games, the second-most in school history and reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season.
Greer's complete bio available on page eight.

ACC's All-Time Coaching Leaders

1. Bill Wilhelm (CU) - 1161
2. Mike Roberts (NC) - 780
3. Dennis Womack (VA) - 540 *
4. George Greer (WF) - 515 *
5. Mike Martin (FS) - 513 * entering 2002 season

Greer By The Numbers

3 ACC Championships
4 NCAA Tournament appearances
11 Freshman All-Americans
14 Seasons with 30+ wins at Wake Forest
24 All-Americans in 14 seasons at WFU
26 Former players that made the big leagues
45 Former players that played professionally
540 Wins in 14-plus season at Wake Forest
646 Victories at the Division I Level entering the UVa series

Greer's Milestone Wins At Wake Forest

# Date Opponent
1 2/14/88 at Fla. Int'l
100 5/6/90 vs. Ga. Tech
200 4/21/93 vs. UNCG
300 4/24/96 vs. NC A&T
400 3/23/98 vs. Ga. Tech
500 4/20/01 vs. NC State

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