Gold Rush: Richmond Shocks Deacons in NCAA Subregional
6/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 25, 2002
By Sam Walker
Even after a marathon day of baseball, the season ended all too abruptly for the Wake Forest baseball team. A 7-5 loss to Richmond in the seventh and deciding game on Sunday, June 2, halted what was supposed to be the season the Deacons would reach the College World Series.
Everything was apparently in place. Wake Forest had spent 27 straight weeks ranked among the nation's top 25 and seven consecutive weeks ranked in the top five. The Deacons played host to the NCAA Sub-Regional at Ernie Shore Field and were the top seed. Wake Forest also had arguably the best closer in college baseball in senior Dave Bush. But an offensive-minded Spider team that came into the NCAA Tournament with 49 regular-season victories found a way to win the close one over Wake Forest, forcing the Deacons to answer questions about the future of the program all too soon.
All season long, the Deacons built a reputation as a comeback team, but one loss in the NCAA Sub-Regional on Saturday forced the Deacons to go to the well too many times on Sunday. "Even this morning when I woke up I didn't think our season would be over," junior outfielder Ryan Johnson said. "I was trying to think positive and after that first game (Sunday) I was hoping we'd carry over some of that momentum and fight thought the heat, being tired and mental exhaustion. You don't want to be stuck Sunday having to beat a team twice because they're a great team.
"We've had a lot of games this year where we've come from behind, and we just took the approach that we were going to keep chipping away and chipping away, and we did and it just wasn't enough today. There were plenty of games this year where we were fortunate enough to come back. They shut us down, and I guess they're the better ball club today."
After blasting George Washington 12-6 in the opener, Wake Forest gave up two runs in the first and lost 3-2 to Richmond in the fourth game of the Sub-Regional. The Spiders' Tim Stauffer had six strikeouts in seven solid innings. A rain delay of 2:07 interrupted that game, and because the loss forced Wake Forest to play Navy in an elimination game later that evening, it was almost like the Deacons played three games that day. The Deacons cruised past Navy 13-1 just to get to Sunday's final.
In Sunday's first game, Richmond took a 2-0 lead in the fifth. But Ryan Johnson connected with a two-run single in the sixth to tie the score. The Deacons went up 3-2 off Nick Blue's single, but the Spiders tied the game in the ninth to force extra innings. Richmond took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 10th, but Johnson hit an RBI single to tie the game, and Jeff Ruziecki hit a 3-2 pitch over second with the infield in to force a seventh game. Bush pitched five innings in relief of Ryan Braun to pick up his eighth victory of the season. But in the elimination game, Richmond jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first and extended it to 6-0 by the end of the second.
"Momentum stops as soon as you have that break (between the first and second game)," head coach George Greer of Wake Forest said. "I've played enough baseball games and doubleheaders and seen a team win the first game 14-1 and you see a 2-1 game and loss in the second game. It's very hard to win two games against quality opponents in baseball."
The Deacons chipped away at the lead the rest of the game, cutting the lead to 6-4 in the fifth, but even Jamie D'Antona's 20th solo homer of the season in the ninth wasn't enough to overcome Richmond's early flurry.
"Obviously we're disappointed," a teary-eyed Bush said after the 7-5 loss. "We've had the talent to do it the last couple of years, and it's been the same thing that last couple of years. We just can't get over the hump when we need to. The tough loss yesterday put us behind, and the same thing happened last year. We had to play the extra game and win the extra game, and it's awfully difficult. Against a good team like Richmond we had to use one extra pitcher that we wouldn't have liked to and it caught up with us, and we kind of ran short today. Obviously we're disappointed. The biggest thing this program needs is national recognition beyond what it already has, and I feel disappointed I couldn't help this team do that. I feel like we've laid the ground work to do that in future years. They have almost the whole team back next year. I love these guys and wish them the best of luck next year."
Next year was not supposed to be an issue with which to deal until a little later. Instead, Wake Forest was eliminated on the final day of the Sub-Regional for the third consecutive season. The Deacons ended this season at 47-13-1, tied with the 1999 team for the most single-season victories in school history.
"We're where we want to be right now as far as being in the national limelight, national picture so we can recruit, Greer said. "When you have prospects who are going to look at the top 25 and then look at the top 15 and decide where they want to go based on interest, this is where we want to be. We just need to maintain this and keep knocking on that door and one day we'll step through. Our goal is to go to Omaha, and you can't have goals less than that and be successful.
"Nine players are going to play in the Cape Cod league this summer, and other players are playing summer baseball. The state of the union is very solid. We have an excellent group of people coming in who have chosen Wake Forest because we win. That's why they're coming. Otherwise they wouldn't come here."