Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Virginia
Deacons Drop Game Two in Charlottesville, 11-7
5/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 14, 2004
Charlottesville, Va. - Wake Forest spotted 10th-ranked Virginia an eight-run first inning and spent the rest of the game chipping away at the lead but eventually succumbed, dropping game two of the weekend series 11-7 on Friday night in Charlottesville.
Offensively, the Deacons were led by seniors Doug Riepe and Brad Scioletti, who each had three hits. Riepe doubled twice and drove in a pair of runs while Scioletti reached base in four of his five plate appearances.
Trailing 8-6, Wake Forest had the tying run on base and the go-ahead run at the plate in the sixth and the eighth innings, but could not creep closer. Overall, the Deacons stranded five runners in scoring position.
Wake Forest put a major dent in the Virginia lead in the sixth inning when the Deacons batted around to push four runs across, cutting the Cavalier lead from 8-2 to 8-6.
The Wake Forest rally started with a lead off double by Ben Ingold. With one out, Scioletti was plunked. J.B Tucker drilled a double into right-center field to score Ingold. Riepe's RBI single scored Scioletti. Then, Matt Miller singled to score Tucker. Casey Sterk flied out, but Riepe advanced to third, and then scored when Nick Blue bounced a 0-2 pitch through the left side.
That prompted a pitching change and Cavalier reliever Scott Morgenthaler retired Matt Antonelli to get out of the inning. Although, the Deacons were within striking distance with three innings to play, they would never get closer.
In the first inning, Virginia sent 10 batters to the plate before the Deacons could record an out. By that time, the Cavaliers had already plated seven runs. The barrage included back-to-back home runs by Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Koshansky.
After a double and a walk, a throwing error scored another run. Virginia second baseman Kyle Werman dropped a two-run single into left center field. After the dust cleared, Virginia sent 13 runners to the plate, scored eight runs on six hits and three walks and an error.
Once Young escaped the nightmarish first inning, he settled into a groove, retiring the next eight batters and letting just one Virginia baserunner into scoring position until his departure in the fifth.
He was saddled with the loss, however, to fall to 4-5 on the season. Reliever Sean Souders kept the Deacons within shouting distance until the eighth inning.
That's when the Cavalier leadoff hitter reached on a fielding error by Blue and later came around the score. Virginia then loaded the bases for Thursday's hero, Scott Headd, who walked on five pitches to score another run. The Cavaliers then got a sacrifice fly for their 11th tally. All told, Virginia added three runs to its cushion on only one hit.
With the Deacons in a big hole after the eight-run barrage, Wake Forest responded with two runs in the top of the second inning. Riepe's double off the left field wall scored Steve LeFaivre. Miller followed with an RBI groundout to make it 8-2.
The fourth inning looked promising for the Deacons as Scioletti and Tucker led off with a pair of singles. But Virginia starter Matt Avery coaxed Riepe into a 5-4-3 double play to put the brakes on the Wake Forest rally.
It was almost the same story in the fifth inning when Casey Sterk led off with a walk. But Blue bounced into a 3-6-3 double play to clear the bases with two out.
Avery got the win to improve to 6-2, although he gave up six Deacon runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts and two walks. Casey Lambert went 1.2 innings for his sixth save of the year.
The leadoff hitters for Wake Forest reached safely in four of the game's first six innings but the Deacons took advantage only twice.
Virginia clinches the series victory in Charlottesville for the first time since 1996.
The Demon Deacons and the Cavaliers wrap up their series on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Tim Morley gets the start for Wake Forest and Joe Koshansky starts for Virginia.
