Deacons Close Regular Season at Duke

May 16, 2002

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#3 Wake Forest (40-8-1) at Duke

Dates: May 17-19
Stadium: Jack Coombs Field
Radio: Sunday only (98.1 FM - WBRF)
Live Stats:

#3 Deacons Visit Duke With ACC Regular Season Title Hopes on the Line

Third-ranked Wake Forest (40-8-1, 15-5 ACC) rounds on the regular season schedule this weekend at Duke.
Currently a half-game behind Clemson and North Carolina, the Deacons would lay claim to its first regular season ACC Championship since 1963 if they win more game this weekend than both Clemson (vs. FSU) and North Carolina (at Georgia Tech).

Demon Deacons Remain in the Top Three

As of May 13, 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 sixth straight week in the top five, the tenth week in a row in the top ten and the 26th 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.

Wake Forest - Duke: The Series History

The Deacons own a commanding 77-43 lead in the all-time series dating back to 1954.
Recent history is on the side of Wake Forest as well, winning 10 of the last 11 meetings between the schools. The Deacons have not lost in Durham since 1996.

Daeley Joins Wake Forest Coaching Staff

On May 12, Scott Daeley joined the Wake Forest coaching staff as an administrative assistant. Daeley had 27 doubles in 1999 for the Deacs, earning second team All-ACC honors.

Deacons Record 5th Straight 40-Win Season

Wake Forest's win on Wednesday was the team's 40th of the season, the fifth straight year the Deacons have won 40 or more contests. The Deacons had never accomplished the feat prior to 1998.

Year Overall ACC (Place)    NCAA1998 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 40-8-1  15-5 (???)     ???

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.

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.

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: The ACC Tournament

The Deacons will fly to St. Petersburg, Fla., on Monday for the ACC Tournament at Al Lang Field.
Wake Forest has won three of the last four tournaments, 1998 and 1999 in Durham, 2001 in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Last season, the Deacons defeated NC State 17-4 in the tournament's championship game.

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 will likely become the ACC's all-time saves and appearances leader this year. He needs four saves and four 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 69-0 when leading after seven innings over the last two seasons.

Sleeth Makes Push for All-ACC

At 11-0, 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 each ACC series for the Deacons this year, Sleeth has made 14 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 (11), first in strikeouts (88) and second in ERA (2.64). 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-plus seasons as a Demon Deacon, Sleeth has a career record of 21-3. Last season, he lead the team with 10 wins and defeated four NCAA Tournament teams.
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. Louisville's Lelo Prado will serve as the head coach. One of the assistant coaches for the team is Maryland's second year coach, Terry Rupp. Rupp played one season for George Greer at Davidson. The official roster will be announced on June 24.

D'Antona: 3rd 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 47 games, D'Antona has driven in 67, an average of 1.4 per game. He has helped his total over the last 11 games by belting six home runs to bring his season home run mark to 16.
Of those 16 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.

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... Ryan Johnson is hitting .398 (43-for-108) 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... Adam Bourassa has started in 49 games this season, all in center field... Jeff Ruziecki has four home runs in the team's last ten games... Brad Scioletti is the team's leading hitter in the month of May, batting .500... 11 different Deacons have homered since April 19.

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