Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Appalachian St
Wake Forest Baseball Hammers Appalachian State, 20-12
5/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 11, 2005
BOONE, N.C. --- Sophomore Matt Antonelli went 4-for-7 with three runs scored and five RBI and senior Ryder Mathias went 4-for-5 with four runs scored, five RBI and belted two home runs in a nine-run seventh inning as Wake Forest raced past Appalachian State, 20-12, for their sixth consecutive victory and 17th straight over the Mountaineers Wednesday afternoon at Red Lackey Field. With the victory, the Deacs improve to 23-23, while Appalachian State falls to 10-36.
After the Mountaineers grabbed a 9-6 lead on a pair of two-run home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Deacs would send 12 batters to the plate, five recorded hits, and Mathias belted a pair of home runs in the inning as Wake Forest grabbed a 15-9 lead. Mathias is the first Demon Deacon to hammer two home runs in a single inning since Jeff Ruziecki blasted two home runs in the second inning of a 13-3 rout against UNC Greensboro back on April 30, 2002.
Wake Forest added five more runs in the top of the eighth inning to register 20 runs for the first time this season. The Deacs last scored 20 or more runs in a game on Apr. 23 of 2004 against Maryland (21-16).
In addition to the efforts of Antonelli and Mathias, junior Casey Sterk added four hits going 4-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored. Senior Ben Ingold went 2-for-6 with a run scored and extended his hitting streak to eight games. Senior J.B. Tucker also extended his hitting streak to 12 games after going 1-for-5 with three runs scored. Tucker had his RBI streak end at 11 games. Senior Matt Miller did score three runs, but was not able to come away with a hit as his hitting streak ended at eight games. Freshman Brett Linnenkohl went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Senior walk-on bullpen catcher Jonathan Portnoy also made his first career appearance in the field for the Deacs. Portnoy caught the ninth inning.
Freshman Eric Niesen (4-2) picked up the victory for Wake Forest. Niesen worked 4.1 innings and was charged with five earned runs on six hits. The southpaw struckout a career-best six and did not issue a walk.
The Demon Deacons grabbed a first inning lead on a Mathias' RBI single, but the Mountaineers took the lead with a four-run third inning. Appalachian State took advantage of leadoff walk, hit batsmen, error and balk for their first run. After a ground out, Appalachian State plated their second run of the inning on an infield single from Julian Brown. J.J. Rollins drove in the third run of the inning with a safety squeeze and Jordan Ivey closed the scoring with an RBI double giving the Mountaineers an 4-1 lead.
Wake Forest drew within two runs, 4-2, in the top of the fourth inning when Sterk doubled in senior Matt Miller. Sterk was thrown out trying to stretch the double into a triple.
The Mountaineers regained their three-run cushion, 5-2, in the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run from Chris Baker that just cleared the wall down the left field line.
The Demon Deacons regained the lead, 6-5, with a four-run outburst in the top of the sixth inning. Sterk laced an RBI double down the left field line, then Linnenkohl stroked a two-run single up the middle tying the score at 5-5. Antonelli put the Demon Deacons ahead with a single to left field.
Appalachian State answered right back and grabbed a 7-6 lead when Joey Robinson belted a two-run home run -- his third of the season -- in the bottom of the sixth inning. Brad Peisel added another two-run home run just three batters later pushing the Mountaineer lead to 9-6.
Freshman Matt Hammond struggled on the afternoon. The right-handed hurler worked just 2.2 innings and allowed four runs, two earned, on three hits. Hammond walked two, uncorked a pair of wild pitches, hit two batters and balked in a run.
Wake Forest returns to action this weekend with the Clemson Tigers at Hooks Stadium. The scheduled for the weekend is as follows: Fri. (3 pm), Sat. (1:30 pm) and Sun. (1 pm). All three games will be broadcast live on WBRF-FM (98.1) and the entire series will be available on the internet at WakeForestSports.com through the Yahoo subscription service. Live stats will be also available at WakeForestSports.com via Gametracker.
