Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest to Host UNC Asheville, Travel to Charlotte
3/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 24, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest returns to action this week with a pair of non-conference games against in-state opponents. The Demon Deacons will host UNC Asheville on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and then will travel to Charlotte for a 6 p.m. matchup with the 49ers. Wake is 11-9 overall and 4-4 in the ACC following an 0-2 showing at No. 4-ranked Miami last weekend in Coral Gables, Fla. The Deacons have dropped three straight, marking their longest losing streak of the season. UNCA comes in at 11-13 overall after a Sunday doubleheader split with Brown. Charlotte enters the mid-week at 17-2 overall following a three-game home sweep of Atlantic 10 rival Saint Louis last weekend.
UNCA Insider
UNC Asheville enters having won three of its last five games. The Bulldogs took two of three from Hartford and split with Brown last week. UNC Asheville is 3-8 on the road this season. The Bulldogs played two games at ACC opponent Florida State March 4-5. FSU took both contests, winning 11-4 and 10-5. UNC Asheville will host Western Carolina on Wednesday before opening Big South play this weekend at High Point. Kevin Wiedenbacher is the team's top hitter with a .363 average. Kevin Mattison leads with five homers, while Elliott Arrington has a team-best 20 RBIs. Mattison also leads with five stolen bases. Alan DeRatt leads the pitching staff with five wins and a 0.77 ERA in five starts. Justin Schumer has four saves, while Chris Brookey has made a staff-high 10 appearances out of the bullpen.
Charlotte Insider
Charlotte has won six straight since falling to Wake Forest, 15-12, on March 12 in Winston-Salem. The 49ers are a perfect 15-0 at Robert & Mariam Hayes Stadium this season. Charlotte's only two setbacks of the year have come at Presbyterian (5-2; Feb. 26) and at Wake Forest. The 49ers will host Radford on Tuesday before wrapping up a six-game homestand on Wednesday against the Deacons. Chris Taylor leads the 49ers in hitting (.479), home runs (6) and RBIs (31). Brad McElroy has hit four homers and driven in 25 RBIs. McElroy, Aaron Bray and Shayne Moody lead the 49ers with six stolen bases. Zach Rosenbaum leads the pitching staff with a 1.23 ERA in 29.1 innings pitched. Sam Pierce has made a team-high 10 appearances out of the bullpen, and Bryan Hamilton has tallied two saves on the year.
On Deck
Wake Forest returns to conference play this weekend, hosting the league-leading Florida State Seminoles. The three-game series kicks off on Friday at 1 p.m. The Deacons will play twice during the next mid-week, traveling to UNC Wilmington on Tuesday, April 1, and hosting Coastal Carolina on Wednesday, April 2.
Last Time Out
Wake Forest is coming off a pair of losses at No. 4-ranked Miami last weekend in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes won on Friday, 17-4, and then took Sunday's game, 23-2. Saturday's game was postponed to Sunday due to rain. The second game of a doubleheader on Sunday was then cancelled due to rain. Miami led 9-1 in the bottom of the fourth before the second game was called. The statistics do not count, and the contest will not be made up.
In Friday's game, the Deacons took an early 3-0 lead but could not keep up with the Hurricanes' potent offense. Dustin Hood and Weldon Woodall had two hits apiece to lead Wake at the plate. Woodall drove in two runs with a double in the first inning. Ben Terry also had a hit and an RBI.
On Sunday, Wake Forest once again took a 2-0 lead in the first but could not plate a runner after that. The Deacons were held to two hits--a single by each Woodall and Willy Fox. Fox drove in one of Wake's runs with a sacrifice fly.
