Baseball Opens Black & Gold World Series Saturday
10/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Oct. 5, 2005
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest baseball team concludes its fall season with the annual Black & Gold World Series which opens this weekend at Hooks Stadium. The five-game series begins Saturday afternoon and runs through Thursday with Tuesday being an off-day.
"The Black & Gold World Series is a great tradition," Rembielak said. "We have had a great fall and this week is a chance for our staff to sit back and evaluate our players. It is exciting to not only measure how much improvement we have made as a team from last season, but even from the start of fall practice."
The Demon Deacons have been participating in a rigorous condition program and practice since Sept. 10. The Black & Gold World Series concludes the fall season.
Wake Forest finished the 2005 campaign with a 28-30 overall record and 12-18 in the ACC. The 2005 Demon Deacon baseball season went much deeper than simply their record.
After the Deacs went 17-33 and 4-20 in 2004, many did not know what to expect from the 2005 club.
The Deacs not only improved their overall win total by 11 games, but also capture eight more games in league play. In fact, six of Wake Forest's 12 ACC losses were by a single run. In the end, the 11-game improvement in victories was the largest over one season since 1997. That season, Wake Forest won 37 games after winning just 26 in 1996.
The Deacs also picked up their first ACC Tournament victories in three seasons. Wake Forest, which had dropped four straight tournament games from 2002-2004, recorded three victories at the 2005 ACC Tournament -- ousting Duke, Maryland and North Carolina. The Demon Deacons were the last remaining team from the state of North Carolina in the tournament.
Wake Forest won in Tallahassee over Florida State for the first time in 10 years. The Deacs snapped a 15-game losing streak at FSU with a 12-inning, 13-10 triumph on April 10.
The Demon Deacons defeated #5 Miami, 13-6, on March 19. The victory was the first for Wake Forest over a top-5 team since April 26, 2002 when the Deacs knocked off #1 Clemson.
While Wake Forest graduated seven seniors from last season, the Deacs return 19 letterwinners and welcome a highly-regarded 11-member recruiting class.
The Deacs welcome back position players junior 3B Matt Antonelli (.322/5 HR/35 RBI), sophomore SS Andy Goff (.197/2/32), redshirt junior 1B/DH Brendan Enick (.311/5/45), sophomore OF Brett Linnenkohl (.253/4/44), senior OF Casey Sterk (.250/1/24), senior INF Grant Achilles, redshirt junior C Dan Rosaia, junior OF Brian Shust, sophomore C Weldon Woodall and sophomore INF Nathan Frazier.
Wake Forest also returns eight of its 10 pitchers from a year ago, including senior RHP Kyle Young (4-1/3.06 ERA), junior RHP Charlie Mellies (3-5, 4.17), junior RHP Josh Ellis (6-4, 6.15), sophomore LHP Eric Niesen (5-2, 7.43), senior LHP Kip Byrum (3-2, 7.52), sophomore RHP Matt Hammond (3-6, 10.69) and junior LHP Sean Souders (1-0, 8.80). Wake Forest also gets back the services of senior RHP Justin Keadle and redshirt sophomore RHP Andrew Knox. Keadle missed all of 2005 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, while Knox missed most of last season with a torn labrum.
The 11 newcomers include nine freshman and two transfers. Garrett Bullock (LHP/Greenville, NC), Allan Dykstra (1B/San Diego, CA), Joel Ernst (RHP/Loveland, OH), Cory Hindel (C/Tallmadge, OH), Dustin Hood (INF/Nederland, TX), (Nederland HS), Brad Kledzik (RHP/Fairfax Station, VA), Evan Ocheltree (OF/Richmond, VA), Greg Saville (RHP/Vienna, VA) and Tyler Smith (INF/Boca Raton, FL) make up the freshman class.
The two transfers include sophomore Ben Hunter (Cincinnati, OH/Furman) and redshirt sophomore Eric Williams (Carmel, NY/Arizona State).
Black GoldJosh Ellis Justin KeadleCharlie Mellies Ben HunterEric Niesen Kyle YoungGarrett Bullock Brad KledzikKip Byrum Matt HammondSean Souders Tyler SmithJoel Ernst Andrew KnoxGrant Achilles Greg SavilleCasey Sterk Cory HindelDan Rosaia Weldon WoodallBrett Linnenkohl Matt AntonelliDustin Hood Andy GoffEric Williams Brian ShustAllan Dykstra Evan OcheltreeNathan Frazier Brendan EnickEric Kristensen Andrew Wall
GAME DAY/DATE LOCATION TIMEGame 1: Sat./Oct. 8 Hooks Stadium 11:30 a.m.Game 2: Sun./Oct. 9 Hooks Stadium 11:30 a.m.Game 3: Mon./Oct. 10 Hooks Stadium 3:15 p.m.Game 4: Wed./Oct. 12 Hooks Stadium 3:15 p.m.Game 5: Thur./Oct. 13 Hooks Stadium 3:15 p.m.
