Wake Forest Athletics
Baseball Game Notes - Wake Forest vs. Coastal Carolina
3/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 8, 2011
The Wake Forest baseball team will be looking to even the all-time series with Coastal Carolina when the Chanticleers visit Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Coastal Carolina currently holds a slim 14-13 all-time lead over the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest will also be attempting to snap a three-game skid, while Coastal comes into the game riding a four-game winning streak.
Last week started well for the Deacs when they defeated local rival UNC Greensboro 11-1 behind a great start from sophomore Justin Van Grouw and the team's best offensive performance of the season. Van Grouw went 6.2 innings, struck out four and allowed just one earned run, while sophomore Matt Conway and senior Steven Brooks both homered in the game to lead the offense.
Conway and Brooks followed that up in their next game against Fordham by both homering again. The Deacs, however, fell to the Rams 5-3 to begin the losing streak. Wake Forest finished the weekend with losses to Towson (9-6) and Radford (5-4).
Conway and sophomore pitcher Tim Cooney were bright spots during the week. The Deacons sophomore first baseman earned ACC Baseball Player of the Week honors, making him the first Deacon to earn the award since Willy Fox did so in 2007. Conway ended the week with a .500 batting average (7-for-14) with three home runs, eight RBIs and a 1.286 slugging percentage.
Cooney made the start against Radford on Sunday and shut down the Highlander offense with 14 strikeouts and no earned runs in six innings of work. The 14 strikeouts are tied for the second most in a game in Wake Forest history, four shy of Erik Hanson's record of 18 set against Virginia on Apr. 17, 1985.
Another good sign for the Demon Deacons was Carlos Lopez having a breakout game vs. the Highlanders. The junior third baseman went 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored. He now has 20 home runs in his career. In his last three games, Lopez is 5-for-12 (.417) and is slugging .833.
Next Up...
Wake Forest will begin the ACC portion of its schedule this weekend when nationally-ranked North Carolina visits Winston-Salem for a three-game series. A midweek game at Charlotte on Mar. 15 will precede a brief homestand, starting with ACC rival Miami on Mar. 18-20.
