Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacon Baseball Opens Practice
1/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 19, 2006
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest baseball began official team practice for the 2006 campaign at Hooks Stadium this afternoon The Demon Deacons will conduct three weeks of team practice sessions before opening its season at Charlotte in a two-game non-conference series scheduled for February 11-12.
"We are excited to get started again," said Rick Rembielak, who begins his second season as Wake Forest head coach. "We have a quality group of returning players and plenty of new faces, both of which are ready to get the season underway."
Wake Forest finished the 2005 campaign with a 28-30 overall record and 12-18 in the ACC. The season goes much deeper than simply their record.
The Deacs not only improved their overall win total by 11 games, but also captured 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 school record improvement from one season to the next was 15-games set by the 1949 team which was the runnerup at the College World Series.
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 also picked up their first win in Tallahassee over Florida State 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.
Wake's 32-player roster in 2006 includes 19 players from last year's team and 13 newcomers. The returnees include five position player starters and eight of the 10 pitchers who saw action on the hill for the Demon Deacons in 2005 among a total of 17 letterwinners.
Wake Forest will be up against another extremely difficult schedule as the Demon Deacons have four of Baseball America's Preseason Top 10 teams, including 2005 NCAA runner-up Florida. Wake Forest will not only face two other opponents among the top 25, but challenge other NCAA Regional qualifiers' like Coastal Carolina, Miami (Fla.), Ohio State, Quinnipiac and Virginia. In all, 25 of the Demon Deacons' 56 regular season games will come against teams either ranked in the top 25 or NCAA Tournament participants.
Following the two-game set with the 49ers, Wake Forest will hit the road the following weekend to face UNC Wilmington (Feb. 17-19). The Seahawks have won 40 or more games three consecutive seasons.
After the home opener at Hooks Stadium with Charlotte (Feb. 21), the Deacs will again hit the road for one of the top tournaments of the 2006 season. Wake Forest will travel to Gainesville, Fla. for The Pepsi Baseball Classic (Feb. 24-26). Wake Forest will open the tournament with defending Big 10 champion Ohio State. The Buckeyes went 40-20 in 2005 and won their third Big 10 title in four years. Ohio State has qualified for the NCAA Tournament 11 times under 18th-year head coach Bob Todd. The following day, the Deacons will play No. 10 Missouri. The Tigers went 40-23 last season, reaching their third-consecutive NCAA Regional. Missouri also returns arguably the top starting pitcher in the entire country, first team All-American Max Scherzer. The Tigers also retained the services of third team All-American selection Hunter Mense. Wake Forest will close the weekend with NCAA runner-up and host Florida. The Gators return 23 letterwinners and seven position starters from a squad that went 48-23 last season.
Following the road trip to Florida, the Deacs will return for a four-game homestand against Xavier (Feb. 28) and Wright State (Mar. 3-5). The meetings with the Musketeers and Raiders will be the first in program history.
Wake Forest will travel to Coastal Carolina (Mar. 7) before returning home for a season long nine-game homestand. The Chanticleers captured a school record 50 games before losing in the Arizona State Regional.
The Demon Deacons open the homestand with Southern Conference foe Elon (Mar. 8). The Phoenix were a thorn in the Deacons side prior to last season. Elon had captured four of five against Wake Forest before the Deacs were able to win both meetings in 2005.
Wake Forest opens ACC action at home with arch rival No. 6 North Carolina (Mar. 10-12) in a three-game series. The Tar Heels swept the Deacs in the regular season last year, but Wake Forest evoked a bit of revenge with a victory in the ACC Tournament that eliminated North Carolina. The Deacs have also defeated the Tar Heels five straight times in ACC Tournament action. North Carolina returns a wealth of talent from 2005, including projected first round draft picks Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard. The duo will most likely both be drafted within the first 10-15 selections of the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft.
After a midweek battle with Quinnipiac (Mar. 14), NCAA Participants a year ago, the Deacs will host new ACC member Boston College (Mar. 17-19) before closing the homestand with High Point (Mar. 21).
Wake Forest faces Virginia (Mar. 24-26) in its first three-game ACC series away from the friendly confines of Hooks Stadium. The Deacs swept the Cavaliers in 2005, but Virginia reached the ACC Tournament championship game and the NCAA Regionals.
The Deacs then face Davidson (Mar. 28) and Virginia Tech (Mar. 31-Apr. 2) at Hooks Stadium. Wake Forest will look to improve against both the Wildcats and Hokies. Davidson defeated the Deacs twice in 2005, while Virginia Tech took two of three to close the regular season.
The Demon Deacons hit the road for eight of the next nine games, the only home game coming against UNC Greensboro (Apr. 12). Wake Forest will play at Big South power Winthrop (Apr. 5), No. 24 NC State (Apr. 7-9), Elon (Apr. 11) and ACC rival Duke (Apr. 14-16).
The Deacons will play seven of its next eight games at home with the only road game coming against UNC Greensboro (Apr. 26). Wake Forest will face Davidson (Apr. 18) and Maryland (Apr. 21-23).
The Deacons will return to the field after eight days off with a three-game series against No. 15 Florida State (May 5-7). The Seminoles, who went 53-20 and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals, return ACC and National Player of the Year candidate Shane Robinson. Florida State took two of three from the Deacons in the regular season and eliminated Wake Forest from the ACC Tournament.
After a Tuesday affair at High Point (May 10), Wake Forest will close its ACC slate with three-game sets at Miami (May 12-14) and Clemson (May 18-20). The Hurricanes and Tigers each reached the NCAA Super Regionals. While Miami is unranked by Baseball America, they do return 15 lettermen from the 2005 team that finished 41-19-1. The Tigers, on the other hand, might just be the most talented and deepest team in the ACC. Clemson is ranked No. 2 by Baseball America. The Tigers, who were 43-23 and came within one game of the College World Series in 2005, are the highest-ranked ACC team. Clemson has made 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, tied for the third-longest streak in NCAA history, and returns all eight positions starters in the field.
-- WakeForestSports.com --
