Frank McRae, Bob Waggoner
Deacs Off To CWS After Sweep of Rollins
6/4/2020 7:51:00 PM | Baseball
Wake Forest 6, Rollins 2
WINTER PARK, Fla. – Wake Forest earned a berth in the College World Series in Omaha with a 6-2 win over Rollins College on June 4, 1955. The Deacons took the opening game by a 4-0 score and swept the best of three series.
The game was scoreless until the fourth inning when Tommy Cole led off with a fly ball that was dropped by Jim Moran in right for a two-base error. Frank McRae singled up the middle to score Cole.
Rollins tied the game with a single run in the top of the fifth when Bob MacHardy led off with a double and scored when Dick Williams' infield grounder rolled through the legs of a Deacon fielder for an error.
Wake Forest took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth as Luther McKeel doubled to right with two outs and scored on Linwood Holt's single to center.
The Deacons went ahead 4-1 with two runs in the sixth. Rollins starter Bill Cary allowed a single to Jack Bryant and walked Bob Waggoner with two outs. Lefty Davis then hit a slow roller to second. Second baseman Tom Hulihan's throw to first was late and MacHardy threw to the plate to catch Bryant but the ball "sailed high into the cars parked along the sidelines. Both Bryant and Waggoner scored," according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
Rollins got a run back in the top of the eighth to cut the deficit to 4-2 but the Deacons snuffed the rally with a double play. Ken Davis doubled and scored on Hal Lawler's single.
The Deacons extended their lead with two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Don Tauscher came on in relief of Cary and allowed a single to McRae before Barnes bunted for a base hit. Bryant single to center and the relay throw to the plate was wild, allowing McRae to score. George Miller pinch-hit for Waggoner and hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Barnes.
Shortstop Harold Moore set the NCAA record with nine assists in the game to go with three putouts.
Davis was perfect through the first three innings, setting down all nine batters he faced. Rollins catcher Don Finnigan broke up the perfect game with a hard single past third to lead off the fourth inning. Davis allowed nine hits while striking out two and allowing one walk.
Wake Forest finished the day with 14 hits. Bryant led the Deacons with three hits while Holt, McRae and Barnes each had a pair of hits.
A crowd of 800 was on hand to witness the game with took 1:40 to play.
Wake Forest did learn that its first opponent in Omaha will be Colgate, the District 2 champion, on June 10. Colgate beat Ithaca 7-6. Other first round pairings include Oklahoma A&M (State) vs. Springfield (Mass.), Arizona vs. Western Michigan and Colorado State vs. Southern California.
WINTER PARK, Fla. – Wake Forest earned a berth in the College World Series in Omaha with a 6-2 win over Rollins College on June 4, 1955. The Deacons took the opening game by a 4-0 score and swept the best of three series.
The game was scoreless until the fourth inning when Tommy Cole led off with a fly ball that was dropped by Jim Moran in right for a two-base error. Frank McRae singled up the middle to score Cole.
Rollins tied the game with a single run in the top of the fifth when Bob MacHardy led off with a double and scored when Dick Williams' infield grounder rolled through the legs of a Deacon fielder for an error.
Wake Forest took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth as Luther McKeel doubled to right with two outs and scored on Linwood Holt's single to center.
The Deacons went ahead 4-1 with two runs in the sixth. Rollins starter Bill Cary allowed a single to Jack Bryant and walked Bob Waggoner with two outs. Lefty Davis then hit a slow roller to second. Second baseman Tom Hulihan's throw to first was late and MacHardy threw to the plate to catch Bryant but the ball "sailed high into the cars parked along the sidelines. Both Bryant and Waggoner scored," according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
Rollins got a run back in the top of the eighth to cut the deficit to 4-2 but the Deacons snuffed the rally with a double play. Ken Davis doubled and scored on Hal Lawler's single.
The Deacons extended their lead with two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Don Tauscher came on in relief of Cary and allowed a single to McRae before Barnes bunted for a base hit. Bryant single to center and the relay throw to the plate was wild, allowing McRae to score. George Miller pinch-hit for Waggoner and hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Barnes.
Shortstop Harold Moore set the NCAA record with nine assists in the game to go with three putouts.
Davis was perfect through the first three innings, setting down all nine batters he faced. Rollins catcher Don Finnigan broke up the perfect game with a hard single past third to lead off the fourth inning. Davis allowed nine hits while striking out two and allowing one walk.
Wake Forest finished the day with 14 hits. Bryant led the Deacons with three hits while Holt, McRae and Barnes each had a pair of hits.
A crowd of 800 was on hand to witness the game with took 1:40 to play.
Wake Forest did learn that its first opponent in Omaha will be Colgate, the District 2 champion, on June 10. Colgate beat Ithaca 7-6. Other first round pairings include Oklahoma A&M (State) vs. Springfield (Mass.), Arizona vs. Western Michigan and Colorado State vs. Southern California.
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