Wake Forest Downs UNC Greensboro, 9-3
10/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Oct. 14, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Steven Brooks, James Harris and Chris Willson each had two RBIs and seven Demon Deacon pitchers combined to allow just three runs as Wake Forest defeated UNC Greensboro 9-3 on Thursday night at Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park.
Wake Forest broke the game open, scoring eight times in the first three innings. The Demon Deacon pitching staff also did its job, holding the Spartans scoreless for the first seven innings of the game. The Spartans got on the board with three tallies in the top of the eighth, but Wake closed the scoring with a run in the bottom of the eighth.
Willson led Wake Forest, going 2-for-2 with a double, a triple, two RBIs and a run scored. Brooks and Harris each had a hit and drove in a pair of runs. Pat Blair and Zane Yanzick each had a two-hit performance, while Ryan Lloyd hit a solo home run.
Justin Van Grouw got the start on the mound for the Demon Deacons and threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Brian Holmes also had two shutout innings with two strikeouts. John McLeod, Niko Spezial, Nate Jones and Chris Willson each turned in a scoreless inning of work. Willson closed the game, striking out the side in the ninth. Daniel Marrs returned to the mound for the Demon Deacons, giving up three runs in an inning of work.
UNC Greensboro had a scoring chance in the top of the first, putting a runner on third with one out but Van Grouw was able to get back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the jam.
Wake Forest grabbed the early lead with a run in the bottom of the first. Blair opened the inning with a sharp single to center and moved to third on a base hit by Keniry. Brooks drove home Blair with a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Demon Deacons added on to their lead with seven runs in the bottom of the third inning. Willson opened the inning with a triple to the left-center field alley. Blair was then hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners. After a fly out to center by Keniry, Brooks lined a single to center to score Willson and send Blair to third. Mac Williamson was plunked by a pitch to load the bases. Harris drove home two runs with a single through the right side and Yanzick had an RBI single to make the score 5-0. Mike Lubanski drove home Harris with a single to right field. Willson closed the scoring in the inning with a double down the right field line, driving in Yanzick and Lubanski.
UNC Greensboro got on the scoreboard with three runs in the top of the eighth. The leadoff batter reached on a walk and then moved to second on a stolen base. Marrs tried a pickoff throw to second base, but the second baseman missed the throw, allowing the runner to get to third. Another walk put runners at the corners with nobody out. Both runners came around to score on a double to the left-center field. The Spartans got another run with a two-out single to right field to make the score 8-3. Marrs was able to avoid further damage by getting a strikeout with the bases loaded.
Wake Forest responded with a run of its own in the home half of the eighth. Lloyd sent a solo homer over the wall down the right field line to put the Deacs in front 9-3.
Wake Forest will now have three more weeks of fall practice before opening up the Black & Gold World Series on Saturday, November 6. Game time is still to be determined.
For all of the latest information on Wake Forest baseball, please log on to www.WakeForestSports.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account @WFUBaseball or www.twitter.com/WFUBaseball.
