Deacons Return to the Diamond

May 12, 2002

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#3 Wake Forest (38-8) vs. VCU, at Liberty, at West Virginia

Dates: May 12-15
Radio: None
Live Stats: WakeForestSports.com

Sunday / 1:30 / Hooks Stadium

WF: #20 Kyle Sleeth, So., RHP (10-0, 2.72 ERA)
VCU: "Staff Day"

Monday / 2:00 / Worthington Stadium

WF: #17 Seth Hill, Jr., LHP (3-1, 3.88 ERA)
LU: TBA

Tuesday / 7:00 / Hawley Field

WF: #30 Ryan Braun, Jr., RHP (1-1, 5.40 ERA)
WV: TBA

Wednesday / 7:00 / Hawley Field

WF: #34 Tim Morley, Fr., LHP (5-2, 4.81 ERA)
WV: TBA

#3 Deacons Return to the Diamond; School's Out for Summer

Third-ranked Wake Forest (38-8, 15-5 ACC) gets back in action after a 10-day break for final exams. The Deacs have seven regular season games remaining on the schedule. Following Sunday's home game against VCU, Wake Forest will hit the road for its final six -- at Liberty on Monday, at West Virginia on Tuesday and Wednesday before visiting Duke for three games to wrap up the 2002 regular season.

Wake Forest Reclaims First Place in ACC

The break provided the Deacons some much-needed time to heal from injuries. It also gave ACC rivals time to beat up on each other.
Georgia Tech's two victories over Clemson knocked the Tigers out of the top spot in the league, propelling Wake Forest into the lead.
The Deacons control their own destiny and can claim their first regular season ACC title since 1963 with three wins at Duke on May 17-19.

Demon Deacons Remain in the Top Three

As of May 9, Wake Forest remains the third-ranked team in the nation, according to Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA Writers' Poll. For the Deacons, it is the fifth straight week in the top five, the ninth week in a row in the top ten and the 25th straight week in the top 25.
The ranking is the highest in school history.

Sleeth, Bush Named Howser Semifinalists

Deacon pitchers Kyle Sleeth and Dave Bush were selected as semifinalists for the Dick Howser Award, presented to college baseball's top player as determined by the membership of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Sleeth, a sophomore, and Bush, a senior, are two of 40 semifinalists. It is the second straight year Wake has had a player in contention. Last year, Cory Sullivan was among the 20 finalists.

Bush Earns Academic All-District Honors

Dave Bush was named to the Verizon Academic All-District III team last week. Bush, a double major in sociology and psychology, carries a 3.24 GPA.

Deacons Seeking 5th Straight 40-Win Season

With two wins this week, Wake Forest will string together its fifth straight season with 40 or more wins. The Deacons had never accomplished the feat prior to 1998.

Year Overall ACC (Place) NCAA    1998    43-23   13-10 (Champs)  Sub-Regional1999    47-16   16-7 (Champs)   Super-Regional2000    41-20-1 14-10 (4th) Sub-Regional2001    44-18   16-8 (Champs)   Sub-Regional2002    38-8    15-5 (???)  ???

Wake Forest - Liberty: Series History

The Deacons lead the all-time series 16-4-1 dating back to their first meeting with the Flames in 1977.
That mark includes a 14-8 victory earlier this season on March 27 at Hooks Stadium. In that game, Seth Hill picked up his first win as a Deacon, going five innings, allowing just one run on three hits in relief of Ben Clayton.
Offensively, Ryan Braun homered and scored three times. Jamie D'Antona was 3-for-4 with with three RBI.
Liberty used eight different pitchers in the game and starter David Bechtold suffered the loss.

Wake Forest - West Virginia: Series History

The Deacons have won nine of the 11 meetings between the schools since 1955. The last game was played in 1999 at the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala., a 5-4 win for the Deacons.
The two teams have a history of meeting in the NCAA Tournament. Between 1955 and 1963, the Deacons and Moutaineers faced off six times with Wake Forest capturing five of those games.

To Be the Best, You Have to Beat the Best

One of the reasons for Wake Forest's rise in the national polls is the growing list of victories over ranked opponents. The Deacons are 5-3 against teams ranked in the top five and 8-5 against teams ranked in the top 25. All of Wake Forest's eight losses, all have come against teams with an RPI of 46 or better.

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.

Bush Featured in Sports Illustrated

In the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, Deacon closer Dave Bush was profiled by writer Albert Chen.
The feature chronicles Bush's decision to return for his senior season after getting drafted in the fourth round by Tampa Bay last June, the discovery of a life-threatening blood clot in his left leg and finally, Bush's return to dominance on the mound.
The piece was part of the publication's preview of several NCAA Championships.

On Deck: Deacons and Devils in Durham

Wake Forest will close the books on the regular season this weekend with three games at Duke.

Bush Quickly Closing In On ACC, NCAA Records

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 six saves and six 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 68-0 when leading after seven innings over the last two seasons.

Sleeth Makes Push for All-ACC

At 10-0, 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 13 starts. In each of those appearances, the sophomore from Westminster, Colo., has gone at least six innings.
On May 1 vs. Davidson, Sleeth picked up his tenth win, becoming just the third Deacon pitcher in history to record back-to-back ten win seasons (John Hendricks, Scott Siemon).
Against top-ranked Clemson, Sleeth went seven innings and allowed just one earned run with six strikeouts. It was his fifth win against ACC teams.
Sleeth is tied for first in the league in wins (10), second in strikeouts (85) and third in ERA (2.72). 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 four ranked teams -- Nebraska, Florida State, UNC and Clemson.
In its season preview, Baseball America identified Sleeth as the seventh-best sophomore nationally.
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 20-3. Last season, he lead the team with 10 wins and defeated four NCAA Tournament teams.

USA Baseball Invites Kyle Sleeth to National Team Trials

Kyle Sleeth was selected as 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.

D'Antona: 4th Nationally in RBI

After a fast start, sophomore third baseman Jamie D'Antona continues to swing a hot bat.
The preseason All-American continues to drive in runs at a record-breaking pace, ranking third in the ACC in RBI and fifth in home runs. He now has Jon Palmieri's single season RBI record in his sights.
Palmieri had 93 RBI in 1999. Through 46 games, D'Antona has driven in 66, an average of 1.4 per game. He has helped his total over the last ten 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, was named the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week for the period ending April 7th.

Unfriendly Hosts

The Deacons have not been very accomodating to visiting teams at Hooks Stadium, posting a 92-24 record at home since 1999.
This year, the Deacons are holding down the fort with a 22-3 mark, winning 40 of their last 48 ACC home games since 1998.
The team's only home losses have been against Georgia and Florida State. The Deacs were upended at nearby Ernie Shore Field by North Carolina.

A Healthy Dose of Random Stats

Nick Blue leads the Deacons with 55 runs, 34 walks and five sac bunts... Adam Bourassa is 7-for-11 (.636) this season with the bases loaded... Of Ryan Hubbard's 25 RBI, 15 of them have come with two out... Ryan Johnson is hitting .402 (41-for-102) with runners on base... Jeff Ruziecki had the team's longest hitting streak, at 13 games, from April 6 to April 27... Jamie D'Antona has driven in four or more runs seven times this year... Ben Ingold is hitting .355 against ranked teams... Adam Bourassa has started in 46 games this season, all in center field.

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, five from junior colleges.
Ryan Hubbard and Jeff Ruziecki were teammates at Huntington Beach HS and Cypress Junior College.

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