Frank McRae, Tommy Cole, George Miller
Deacons Arrive in Omaha
6/9/2020 8:16:00 PM | Baseball
WAKE FOREST, N.C. - Arizona and Oklahoma A&M (State) are considered two of the favorites for the 1955 College World Series which starts June 10 at Omaha Municipal Stadium.
Wake Forest, the winner of the District 3 tournament, will meet Colgate, the District 2 champion in the first game at 11 a.m. on Friday. Southern California, the District 8 champion, plays District 7 winner Northern Colorado (then known as Colorado State College of Education) at 2 p.m. District 4 champion Western Michigan will meet District 6 titlist Arizona at 6 p.m. with District 5 winner Oklahoma A&M facing Springfield College, District 1 champions, at 8 o'clock.
"If our boys play like they have lately, we have a good chance of going all the way," said head coach Taylor Sanford on the eve of Wake Forest's departure for Omaha. "I just don't believe there can be too many college baseball teams better than us. The boys are at their peak right now and will give a good account of themselves.
Wake Forest arrived back home at 12:30 am on June 6. Head coach Taylor Sanford and 19 team members will leave by chartered plane at 9 a.m. Thursday and arrive in Omaha that night. The travel party includes athletic director Pat Preston. The team will headquarter at the Paxton Hotel.
(Note: The Deacons did not arrive until 9 p.m., thus missing the official welcoming and steak dinner. Wake Forest's host organization is the Junior Chamber of Commerce which had arranged for a party of 30 Jaycees and a bad to greet the team at the airport at the scheduled arrival time of 3 p.m. The Jaycees waited until 6 p.m. before leaving. When the hungry Deacons arrived at 9 p.m., the team "scattered to various cafes" for dinner.)
The Demon Deacons finished the regular season at 20-5 and will enter the CWS with a 24-6 record. Linwood Holt leads the team with a .358 batting average while team captain and right fielder Tommy Cole has a team-high seven home runs.
NC State head coach Vic Sorrell, who played at Wake Forest, likes the Deacons chances.
"Wake Forest has a good club," Sorrell told the Raleigh News & Observer. "It can go all the way. Pitching depth is its strong point and that counts most in a tournament. Of course, the competition will be tougher than was encountered at West Virginia and Rollins but Wake Forest is a solid club.
Jack McGinley is expected to start the opener with Lowell "Lefty" Davis scheduled to pitch in the second game. McGinley pitched the series opening wins over West Virginia and Rollins and has a record of 5-2. The Blackwood, N.J. native beat WVU 5-1 and then blanked Rollins 4-0. McGinley has struck out 49 and walked just 19 in 69 innings of work this season. His ERA stands at 2.52.
Davis has compiled the best record on the staff at 9-1. He was the winning pitcher in the Rollins series clincher with a 6-2 win.
However, Davis will only be available for one day. "Davis must attend summer school to be eligible for basketball and baseball next season and school officials say he cannot be excused from any classes. Lefty won't be on the plane this morning but will fly out to pitch Saturday's game and then return to Wake Forest," wrote Mac McDuffie in the Raleigh News and Observer.
"It would be a great help to have Davis ready for relief pitcher," said Sanford to McDuffie. "We have several good pitchers, but Davis is the only one who can be counted on to go in with the bases loaded and get out of a jam. Then, too, Davis is our best pinch hitter. He is a tough man at the plate with runners on the bases."
Sanford also has sophomore right Buck Fichter and sophomore lefthander John Stokoe available. Bill Walsh was rated the No. 2 pitcher on the Wake Forest staff during the preseason but suffered an arm injury in the season-opener and he has not been able to pitch since.
Sanford announced Wake Forest's line-up which will include Harold Moore (.252) at shortstop; Luther McKeel (.282) in center; catcher Linwood Holt (.358), Tommy Cole (.339) in right field; Bill Barnes (.333) at third base, Frank McRae (.316) in left field, Jack Bryant (.190) at second base and Bob Waggoner (.129) at first base.
Also making the trip are infielders Lee Abbott and Art Bonzagni, outfielder George Miller, catchers Jim Horn and Bob Koontz, and pitcher Ralph Adams.
By playing the opening game, Wake Forest will be the first team to step on the field at the brand new $1 million Omaha Municipal Stadium which has seating for 15,500. "The stadium is modern in every detail, with an evenly balanced field measuring 343 feet down the left and right field foul lines."
Wake Forest, the winner of the District 3 tournament, will meet Colgate, the District 2 champion in the first game at 11 a.m. on Friday. Southern California, the District 8 champion, plays District 7 winner Northern Colorado (then known as Colorado State College of Education) at 2 p.m. District 4 champion Western Michigan will meet District 6 titlist Arizona at 6 p.m. with District 5 winner Oklahoma A&M facing Springfield College, District 1 champions, at 8 o'clock.
"If our boys play like they have lately, we have a good chance of going all the way," said head coach Taylor Sanford on the eve of Wake Forest's departure for Omaha. "I just don't believe there can be too many college baseball teams better than us. The boys are at their peak right now and will give a good account of themselves.
Wake Forest arrived back home at 12:30 am on June 6. Head coach Taylor Sanford and 19 team members will leave by chartered plane at 9 a.m. Thursday and arrive in Omaha that night. The travel party includes athletic director Pat Preston. The team will headquarter at the Paxton Hotel.
(Note: The Deacons did not arrive until 9 p.m., thus missing the official welcoming and steak dinner. Wake Forest's host organization is the Junior Chamber of Commerce which had arranged for a party of 30 Jaycees and a bad to greet the team at the airport at the scheduled arrival time of 3 p.m. The Jaycees waited until 6 p.m. before leaving. When the hungry Deacons arrived at 9 p.m., the team "scattered to various cafes" for dinner.)
The Demon Deacons finished the regular season at 20-5 and will enter the CWS with a 24-6 record. Linwood Holt leads the team with a .358 batting average while team captain and right fielder Tommy Cole has a team-high seven home runs.
NC State head coach Vic Sorrell, who played at Wake Forest, likes the Deacons chances.
"Wake Forest has a good club," Sorrell told the Raleigh News & Observer. "It can go all the way. Pitching depth is its strong point and that counts most in a tournament. Of course, the competition will be tougher than was encountered at West Virginia and Rollins but Wake Forest is a solid club.
Jack McGinley is expected to start the opener with Lowell "Lefty" Davis scheduled to pitch in the second game. McGinley pitched the series opening wins over West Virginia and Rollins and has a record of 5-2. The Blackwood, N.J. native beat WVU 5-1 and then blanked Rollins 4-0. McGinley has struck out 49 and walked just 19 in 69 innings of work this season. His ERA stands at 2.52.
Davis has compiled the best record on the staff at 9-1. He was the winning pitcher in the Rollins series clincher with a 6-2 win.
However, Davis will only be available for one day. "Davis must attend summer school to be eligible for basketball and baseball next season and school officials say he cannot be excused from any classes. Lefty won't be on the plane this morning but will fly out to pitch Saturday's game and then return to Wake Forest," wrote Mac McDuffie in the Raleigh News and Observer.
"It would be a great help to have Davis ready for relief pitcher," said Sanford to McDuffie. "We have several good pitchers, but Davis is the only one who can be counted on to go in with the bases loaded and get out of a jam. Then, too, Davis is our best pinch hitter. He is a tough man at the plate with runners on the bases."
Sanford also has sophomore right Buck Fichter and sophomore lefthander John Stokoe available. Bill Walsh was rated the No. 2 pitcher on the Wake Forest staff during the preseason but suffered an arm injury in the season-opener and he has not been able to pitch since.
Sanford announced Wake Forest's line-up which will include Harold Moore (.252) at shortstop; Luther McKeel (.282) in center; catcher Linwood Holt (.358), Tommy Cole (.339) in right field; Bill Barnes (.333) at third base, Frank McRae (.316) in left field, Jack Bryant (.190) at second base and Bob Waggoner (.129) at first base.
Also making the trip are infielders Lee Abbott and Art Bonzagni, outfielder George Miller, catchers Jim Horn and Bob Koontz, and pitcher Ralph Adams.
By playing the opening game, Wake Forest will be the first team to step on the field at the brand new $1 million Omaha Municipal Stadium which has seating for 15,500. "The stadium is modern in every detail, with an evenly balanced field measuring 343 feet down the left and right field foul lines."
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