Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Hosts Gardner-Webb in Midweek Contest
3/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 16, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest looks to snap a five-game losing streak on Wednesday night when it returns home to face Gardner-Webb. First pitch at Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park is set for 6 p.m. (ET).
Admission to Wednesday's game and all home midweek games during the 2010 season is free of charge.
The Deacs enter Wednesday's game with a 6-11 overall record. Wake Forest was swept in the first series of conference play last weekend at No. 4 Georgia Tech. The Deacs led going to the bottom of the sixth inning on both Saturday and Sunday, but were unable to hold the lead.
Sophomore Austin Stadler led the Deacons on the weekend with a .400 batting average (4-for-10) and a run scored. Junior Steven Brooks hit .385 (5-for-13) with an RBI, a double and a run scored. Freshman Pat Blair had a team-high three RBIs with three doubles and hit .364 (4-for-11) during the three-game set against the Yellow Jackets.
Brooks leads Wake on the season with a .361 batting average and has hit two homers and nine RBIs. Brooks also paces the team with seven stolen bases. Redshirt junior Ryan Semeniuk is hitting .358 on the year with a team-high tying three home runs and 11 RBIs. Senior Mike Murray is batting at a .350 clip, is tied for the team lead with three round-trippers and leads the team with 17 RBIs.
Freshman Justin Van Grouw will make the fifth appearance of his rookie year, and his fourth start on Wednesday. Van Grouw is 0-2 on the season with a 7.82 ERA. In 12.2 innings pitched, Van Grouw has given up 13 runs, 11 of them earned, on 18 hits, while striking out 13 and walking just two. Opponents are hitting .327 against him.
Junior Ryan McGrath leads the team with nine appearances out of the bullpen and has an 0-1 record with a 9.00 ERA. Joel Ernst and Zach White have each made eight relief outings on the year. Ernst leads the team with two saves and has a 0-0 record with a 7.36 ERA. White is 0-1 on the year with a 5.40 ERA.
Gardner-Webb currently has a 7-10 record on the season, including a 1-4 mark away from home. The Runnin' Bulldogs are coming off a 9-0 shutout win against Harvard on Monday. Gardner-Webb travels to East Carolina on Tuesday, before facing the Demon Deacons on Wednesday.
Daniel Merck leads Gardner-Webb with a .418 batting average on the season and seven stolen bases. Merck also has eight doubles on the year. O.J. McFarland is hitting .391 on the year with a team-high 19 RBIs. Ty Boyles leads the team with four home runs and has also added 16 RBIs while hitting .328 on the campaign.
The Runnin' Bulldogs are scheduled to start junior LHP Brett Stackhouse. Stackhouse is 1-1 on the season with a 4.98 ERA. In 21.2 innings, Stackhouse has given up 13 runs, 12 of them earned on 28 hits, while striking out 20 and walking nine. Opponents are hitting .311 against him.
Adam Izokovich has made seven appearances out of the bullpen and has the only two saves of the season for Gardner-Webb. Izokovich is 1-1 on the year with a 1.86 ERA. Brock Wilson has a 3-1 record with a 2.76 ERA in six relief outings, while Kyle Paeplow has also entered in relief in six games and has an 0-0 record with a 5.56 ERA.
Wake Forest leads the all-time series with Gardner-Webb 5-2 and has won four straight in the series. The two teams last met in 2007 with the Demon Deacons claiming a 5-4 win.
Live stats and a recap of Wednesday's game will be available on www.WakeForestSports.com. Fans can also get in-game updates by following the Wake Forest baseball Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/WFUBaseball.
