Baseball Gameday: No. 20 Wake Forest Opening Weekend

Friday, February 15

Winston-Salem, N.C.

4:00 p.m.

Wake Forest University

Sacred Heart

2/14/2019 1:50:00 PM | Baseball

The Demon Deacons welcome Sacred Heart, Illinois and Georgetown to Winston-Salem this weekend.

By: Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeBaseball)

Gameday Central \| No. 20 Wake Forest \| Opening Weekend
Game 1	Wake Forest vs. Sacred Heart \| Friday, Feb. 15, 4:00 p.m.
Coverage	Live Stats
Game 2	Wake Forest vs. Illinois \| Saturday, Feb. 16, 4:00 p.m
Coverage	Live Stats
Game 3	Wake Forest vs. Georgetown \| Sunday, Feb. 17, 2:00 p.m
Coverage	Live Stats
Neutral Games	Georgetown vs. Illinois (Friday, noon); Sacred Heart vs. Georgetown (Saturday, noon); Illinois vs. Sacred Heart (Sunday, 10 a.m.)
Location	Winston-Salem, N.C. (David F. Couch Ballpark) - Facility Info \| Tickets: $5 \| Weather
Information	Wake Forest Notes \| @WakeB aseball

The Matchup
• No. 20-ranked Wake Forest opens the season at home this weekend, taking on Sacred Heart on Friday at 4 p.m., Illinois on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Georgetown on Sunday at 2 p.m..

Wake Forest Storylines
• The Demon Deacons return an experienced group in 2019, bringing back eight of the nine position starters and two-thirds of the weekend rotation. Last year, Wake Forest had the fifth-most starts from freshmen in the country, with five rookies making more than 35 starts each. The Deacs return 88 percent of the team's hits from last year (437/499), as well as 71 percent of the innings pitched (366.1/515.1).
• Wake Forest is ranked by a pair of outlets, No. 20 by D1Baseball and No. 28 by the NCBWA. No. 20 is Wake Forest's highest preseason ranking since 2003.
• This is the first season the Deacs will have full use of the Chris Hurd Player Development Center, which was completed last month. See page three for additional details.
• Wake Forest boasts three of D1Baseball's top-100 college draft prospects for the 2019 MLB Draft, including Friday starter Morgan McSweeney (No. 58), Saturday starter Colin Peluse (No. 88), and draft-eligible sophomore outfielder DJ Poteet (No. 100).
• A pair of Deacon alumni are back on campus this weekend for their Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame inductions. Kyle Sleeth was the third-overall pick by the Tigers in 2003, and John Zeglinski was a standout in both baseball and football.

Scouting The Opponents
• Wake Forest and Sacred Heart are meeting for the first time. The Pioneers went 17-35 overall last year, 12-16 in the Northeast Conference.
• Illinois is receiving votes in several top 25 polls after going 33-20 a year ago. The Illini are led by preseason All-American Michael Massey, who hit .326 with 17 doubles and six homers last year. The teams split two games the only other time they met in 1998.
• Georgetown is coming off a 25-30 season. The Hoyas feature pitching coach Eric Niesen, a Wake Forest alum and former student assistant coach. Niesen was a third-round pick of the Mets in 2007. Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter attended Georgetown, and his son Chase is a freshman infielder for the Hoyas. The Deacs are 5-0 against Georgetown all-time.

On Deck
• Wake Forest hits the road on Tuesday, traveling to Liberty for a 3:30 p.m. game on ESPN+.