Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
North Carolina
Tar Heels Complete Weekend Sweep of Deacons
4/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 4, 2004
Winston-Salem, N.C. - North Carolina defeated Wake Forest 11-3 on Sunday afternoon to become the first team to sweep the Demon Deacons at Hooks Stadium since 1998.
High winds gusting up to 35 miles per hour caused havoc on both sides and contributed to overall sloppy defensive play as each team committed five errors.
North Carolina (23-6, 7-2 ACC) jumped out to a commanding 5-0 lead in the first inning. Deacon starter Kyle Young walked the first batter and plunked the second before back-to-back errors by Casey Sterk and Brad Scioletti. An RBI groundout and a single gave the Tar Heels a five-run pad.
Wake Forest (11-17, 1-8 ACC) got a run back in the third inning. After loading the bases with one out, Tar Heel third baseman Bryan Steed couldn't handle Scioletti's chopper and a run scored.
In the fourth inning, injury was added to insult as ACC Rookie of the Year candidate Matt Antonelli left the game with an injury. While tracking down a wind-blown pop-up in foul ground, Antonelli collided hard with catcher J.B. Tucker. Antonelli was taken to the training room and treated by Dr. Browning of the Wake Forest medical staff. He received stitches to close a gash on the left side of his face.
The Tar Heels extended their lead with runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. The Deacons scored two runs in the sixth on sacrifice flies by Doug Riepe and Casey Sterk.
Andrew Miller (3-2) got the win for North Carolina while Kyle Young (3-3) took the loss for Wake Forest. Young went four innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with one strikeout and two walks.
The bright spots for Wake Forest were Nick Blue's two-hit performance and relievers Sean Souders and Danny Mackey who combined to allow just one run in the game's final four innings.
Catcher Chris Ianetta led the Tar Heels with three hits and finished with eight for the series. Marshall Hubbard doubled and hit his second home run of the weekend.
Wake Forest was able to muster just three hits, the lowest team total since Feb. 21, 1998 when Rice limited the Deacons to one hit.
Wake Forest dropped its ninth consecutive game and is in the midst of its longest losing streak in 17 years. It was North Carolina's first ever regular season sweep of the Deacons in Winston-Salem.
Wake Forest will be on the road for the next nine days. The Deacons will hit the road on Wednesday night at UNC Greensboro for a 6:00 p.m. first pitch. Next weekend, Wake Forest travels to Duke.
