#3 Deacons Tangle With #1 Tigers

April 24, 2002

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

#3 Wake Forest (35-6, 14-3 ACC) at #1 Clemson (36-5, 10-2 ACC)

Dates: April 26-28
Site: Clemson, S.C. (Kingsmore Stadium)
Radio: Fri., Sun. - WakeForestSports.com
Live Stats: WakeForestSports.com

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday / 7:15 / Kingsmore Stadium

WF: #20 Kyle Sleeth, So., RHP (8-0, 2.99 ERA)
CU: #43 Steve Reba, Sr., RHP (9-1, 3.29 ERA)

Saturday / 7:00 / Kingsmore Stadium

WF: #17 Seth Hill, Jr., LHP (3-0, 3.38 ERA)
CU: #18 B.J. La Mura, Jr., RHP (4-1, 2.60 ERA)

Sunday / 2:00 / Kingsmore Stadium

WF: #30 Ryan Braun, Jr., RHP (1-0, 5.91 ERA)
CU: TBA

#3 Deacons Tangle With #1 Tigers

Third-ranked Wake Forest (35-6, 14-3 ACC), currently on an 11-game winning streak, visits Death Valley this weekend for a three-game series against top-ranked Clemson (36-5, 10-2 ACC).
The Deacons are playing their best baseball of the season and have been swinging hot bats as of late. Over the last seven games, Wake Forest has scored 96 runs, averaging almost 14 per contest.
Clemson is riding high after five straight wins, including a Wednesday win over archrival South Carolina.
The winner of this series will control its own destiny in the ACC regular season title chase.
Wake Forest has won ten straight conference series dating back to March of 2001.
Wake's last meeting against a top-ranked team was in 2000 when the Deacons took two of three from Florida State at Hooks Stadium.
The Deacs are 4-1 vs. top-five teams in 2002.

Wake Forest - Clemson: Series History

The Deacons have won eight of the last 12 meetings, including a 5-0 record in 1999 with a win in the ACC Championship game, but the all-time series is fairly one-sided with the Tigers holding a 93-35 edge since 1954.
Last season at Hooks Stadium, Clemson took two of three including a 12-inning contest on Friday. The teams traded blowout wins on Saturday and Sunday.
(more series info on pages 4 and 19)

Streaking Deacons

Wake Forest's current 11-game winning streak ties for the third longest in school history. The team's last loss came on April 6 against North Carolina.
Clemson snapped the Deacons' 11-game win streak in 2000 at Kingsmore Stadium.
The 1999 squad rattled off 15 wins including five in the ACC Tournament.
The second longest streak in school history is 12, set in 1979.

Tearing Up the ACC

Wake Forest has won ten straight ACC series since, the longest such streak in WFU history and the longest active streak in the ACC. Clemson has won six series in a row.
Since dropping three games at FSU last March, the Deacons captured series victories over Ga. Tech (twice), NC State (twice), UVa (twice), Md. (twice), UNC and FSU.

Blue Named Co-ACC Player of the Week

Junior second baseman Nick Blue picked up ACC Player of the Week recognition after hitting an amazing .750 (12-for-16) with a home run, seven RBI, nine runs and seven stolen bases.
He had a pair of four hit games against Maryland and swiped four bases on Friday, the most by a Deacon in a single game since 1988.
On Tuesday against Charlotte, Blue injured his shoulder while diving back to first base on an attempted pickoff. He was lifted for a pinch-runner and also missed Wednesday's game at Va. Tech. He is officially listed as questionable for the weekend.

Deacons Feasting on ACC Pitching

A month into the season, Wake Forest ranked near the bottom virtually all offensive categories among ACC schools. The Deacons had just 16 homers through the first 20 games.
Evidently Wake Forest was saving its best for ACC play. In 17 conference games, the Deacons are hitting .340 with 29 home runs.
Sophomore third baseman Jamie D'Antona has a league-high nine bombs and 30 RBI against ACC teams. Junior center fielder Adam Bourassa is batting .455 in the ACC to lead the league.
Five Deacons rank in the top ten in runs scored in ACC games.
Last weekend against Maryland, Wake racked up 52 runs, the most by a Deacon team in a three-game ACC series since the league adopted the format in 1990. It shattered the old record of 42, set in 1990 against the Terps.

These Guys Need Nametags

One of the most interesting things to consider about this Wake Forest team is despite the losses of five All-ACC selections from last year and seven position starters plus its top starting pitcher, 16 newcomers have quickly filled those shoes.
Amazingly, no one in the 2002 opening day lineup was in the same place in 2001. In fact, only Nick Blue and Jamie D'Antona was holdovers from last season but both were at different positions on opening day. D'Antona moved from first base to third base. Blue shifted from second base to shortstop.
With that kind of turnover, George Greer is a leading candidate for National Coach of the Year honors.

Demon Deacons Break into the Top Three

A perfect 5-0 record last week combined with series losses by Alabama and Stanford pushed Wake Forest to its highest ranking ever, number three in the Baseball America and Baseball Weekly polls.
The Deacs are one of three ACC teams in the top eight and one of five teams in the top 25.

To Be the Best, You Have to Beat the Best

One of the reasons for Wake Forest's meteoric rise in the national polls is the growing list of victories over ranked opponents.
The Deacons are 4-1 against teams ranked in the top five and 7-3 against teams ranked in the top 25. Moreover, Wake Forest has played 17 games against teams with an RPI rating in the top 40, with a 11-6 mark. All of Wake Forest's six losses, all have come against teams with an RPI of 40 or better.

Greer Picks Up Career Win #650

On April 16 against High Point, head coach George Greer earned career victory number 650.
Greer, the fifth winningest coach in ACC history, has 550 wins in 14-plus seasons at Wake Forest.
Here is a historical perspective on what Greer has accomplished at Wake Forest.

Before Greer         Since 1988     89     Seasons      14+      4   NCAA Berths     4      4   ACC Titles      3      3  10-wins in ACC  11      3  30-win seasons  14

(Complete Greer bio on page eight)

On Deck: Two Home Games and Finals Exams

Following the series with Clemson, the Deacons return home for two home non-conference games against UNC Greensboro and Davidson before taking a 10-day break for finals.
In all, the Deacons play ten of their remaining 13 regular season games on the road.
Between April 23 and May 19, the Demon Deacons will travel 1,867 miles via bus before flying to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the ACC Tournament.

USA Baseball Invites Kyle Sleeth to National Team Trials

On Wednesday, Kyle Sleeth was named one of 19 preliminary invitees to the 2002 USA Baseball National Team Trials to be held in Tucson, Ariz., June 18-23. The USA National Team will be selected from a pool of 35-40 college players, of which an additional 16-21 have not been chosen.
"Playing at the National Team Trials is the chance of a lifetime. It's awesome," Sleeth said.
Louisville's Lelo Prado will serve as the head coach and will be assisted by Terry Alexander (Jacksonville), Sunny Golloway (Oral Roberts) and Terry Rupp (Maryland). The official team roster will be determined and announced on June 24.

Sleeth Makes Push for All-ACC

At 8-0, nobody has a better record in the ACC than Kyle Sleeth. He continues to make his case for All-ACC honors.
The Friday starter in every series for the Deacons this year, Sleeth has made 11 starts. In each of those appearances, the sophomore from Westminster, Colo., has gone at least six innings.
Last Friday against Maryland, Sleeth fired a complete game six-hit shutout with nine strikeouts. He did not let a runner into scoring position until the eighth inning.
Sleeth is tied for third in the league in wins (8), second in strikeouts (70) and fifth in ERA (2.99).
With those numbers, Sleeth should receive consideration for All-American.
After a Freshman All-America campaign in 2001 and an All-Star season for Cotuit in the Cape League this past summer, Sleeth is a premier pitcher in the premier league in the country.
Sleeth has defeated three ranked teams -- Nebraska, Florida State and North Carolina.
In its season preview, Baseball America identified Sleeth as the seventh-best sophomore nationally.
The biggest improvement for Sleeth since last year has been his control. He has improved his strikeout-to-walk ratio from 1.8 to 2.9.
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.
In one and a half seasons as a Demon Deacon, Sleeth has a career record of 18-3. Last season, he lead the team with 10 wins and defeated four NCAA Tournament teams.

D'Antona Continues Torrid Pace

After a fast start, sophomore third baseman Jamie D'Antona is showing no signs of slowing down.
The preseason All-American continues to drive in runs at a record-breaking pace and now has Jon Palmieri's single season RBI record in his sights. Palmieri had 93 RBI in 1999.
Through 41 games, D'Antona has driven in 64, an average of 1.56 per game. He has helped his total over the last five games by belting five home runs to bring his season home run mark to 15.
Of those 15 home runs, nine have come against ACC competition. D'Antona has homered against three nationally ranked teams including North Carolina (three times), Florida State and Nebraska.
D'Antona, who moved across the diamond to his natural position of third base before the season, ranks second in the ACC in runs batted in and fifth in home runs.
He was named the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week for the period ending April 7th.

Bush Has ACC, NCAA Records On the 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 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 seven saves and ten appearances to catch UNC's Thad Chrismon, the all-time leader in both categories.
To give an idea of Bush's value of the team, consider that the Deacons are 66-0 when leading after seven innings over the last two seasons.

Wake Forest Athletics

Related News

Related Videos