Demon Deacons Begin Fall Practice Schedule
9/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sept. 27, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest baseball team opened up the fall portion of its season on Tuesday afternoon at Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park with a three-hour practice in perfect conditions.
The Demon Deacons bring back several familiar faces from last season, as 30 players from the 2011 squad are on the fall roster. With seven everyday position players and a pair of weekend starting pitchers back, Wake Forest is geared to improving on its 25-31 overall record and its 15-15 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference from a year ago.
Among those returning are the Deacs' top four offensive threats from a year ago, including junior Mac Williamson (.273), senior Carlos Lopez (.270), junior Pat Blair (.258) and junior Matt Conway (.256). Williamson and Lopez also hit the most home runs in 2011 with 12 and 11 respectively.
On the mound, a pair of lefties are back for the Deacs in juniors Tim Cooney and Brian Holmes. Cooney was solid throughout the entire 2011 season and posted a 7-3 record and a 3.01 ERA in route to being named Second Team All-ACC.
As the only Deacon to start in 10 ACC contests, Cooney put together a 6-1 record and a 2.61 ERA in 72.1 innings.
Holmes was dominant during the second half of the season, and in six ACC starts, he pitched 41.1 innings and gave up just seven earned runs for a 1.52 ERA.
The Demon Deacons also welcome back outfielder Kevin Jordan who is now participating in his second fall season with the team. Jordan underwent surgery before the beginning of the 2011 season and received a kidney from head coach Tom Walter, sidelining the Deacon freshman for the season.
The Demon Deacons are scheduled to have practice Tuesday through Sunday for the next six weeks, and will conclude with the annual Black & Gold World Series.
