March 12, 2009

Wake Forest Notes | Follow Live Updates on Twitter | Watch on ACC Select

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest baseball team looks for its first wins in Atlantic Coast Conference play this season as it travels to No. 22 Clemson for a three-game series. Due to the threat of rain for most of the weekend, the two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, beginning at 11 a.m. and will play a single game on Saturday at 2 p.m. All three games will be shown on ACC Select.

Wake Forest enters the second weekend of conference play with a 7-5 overall record and an 0-3 mark in conference games. The Deacs split a pair of midweek games earlier in the week, winning 6-4 at Winthrop on Tuesday night, before falling 5-4 at home to Elon on Wednesday evening.

Freshman Carlos Lopez continued his hot start to the season during the past two games. He hit his seventh home run of the season against Winthrop and reached base four times against Elon, going 1-for-1 at the plate and recording a career-high three walks. Mike Murray hit .500 during the two midweek games, including hitting the game-winning home run in the ninth inning against Winthrop.

The Wake Forest bullpen pitched well during the last two games. The Demon Deacons relief corps allowed just one earned run over the 10 1/3 innings pitched during the two midweek games.

Wake opened ACC play last weekend by getting swept at home by the Virginia Cavaliers.

Clemson is 8-4 on the season, including a 1-2 mark in ACC games. The Tigers opened conference play last weekend by dropping two of three games at North Carolina. Clemson is coming off a two-game sweep of Michigan State during the midweek.

Ben Paulsen leads the Tigers with a .408 batting average. He has also hit a home run and has 11 RBIs. Jeff Schaus has a team-best three home runs and 12 RBIs on the season. The Tigers have had a strong start to the year on the mound, posting a 2.78 ERA through the first 12 games of the season.

Wake Forest will start senior righty Brad Kledzik in the series opener on Friday morning. Kledzik is 1-2 on the season with an 8.03 ERA. He suffered a loss in his last outing against Virginia, allowing six runs on 10 hits in five innings of work.

Clemson will counter with redshirt senior righthander Trey Delk. Delk enters his fourth start of the season with a 1-0 record and a 3.75 ERA. Delk has allowed five runs on 13 hits in 12 innings so far this season. His last outing came against North Carolina on March 6, when he allowed three runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings.

Wake Forest has yet to announce a starter for the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday.

Clemson will start freshman southpaw Chris Dwyer in game two on Friday. Dwyer is 1-0 on the season with a 1.72 ERA. He has been stingy in his first three outings of the season, giving up just four runs, three of them earned, in 15 2/3 innings. In his most recent outing, Dwyer gave up four runs, three earned, on four hits in four innings of work.

Junior right-handed Phil Negus will pitch the series finale for the Demon Deacons on Saturday afternoon. Negus, who will be making his second start of the week, is 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA on the season. He earned a no decision in his last start on Tuesday at Winthrop. Negus allowed four runs, three of them earned, on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Clemson has not announced a starter for the series finale on Saturday.

Clemson leads the overall series against Wake Forest 112-40 and have won six of the last 10 meetings against the Deacs. Wake took two of three games from Clemson last season, earning its first regular season series victory over the Tigers since the 1999 season.

Live stats and recaps of all three games will be available at WakeForestSports.com. Fans can also follow live updates at the official Wake Forest athletics Twitter page at www.twitter.com/wakeforestsport.

Weekend Schedule (Times Eastern and Subject to Change) - Clemson, S.C.
Friday, March 13 - 11 a.m. (Doubleheader)
Saturday, March 14 - 2 p.m.

Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday, March 13 (1st Game)
RHP Brad Kledzik (Sr., 1-2, 8.03) vs. RHP Trey Delk (R-Sr., 1-0, 3.75)

Friday, March 13 (2nd Game)
TBA vs. LHP Chris Dwyer (Fr., 1-0, 1.72)

Saturday, March 14
RHP Phil Negus (Jr., 1-0, 4.76) vs. TBA

Records
Wake Forest - 7-5, 0-3 ACC
Clemson - 8-4, 1-2 ACC

Rankings (BA/NCBWA/ESPN/Rivals)
Wake Forest - Not Ranked
Clemson - 22/21/24/22

Internet Coverage
All three games of the series will be shown live on ACC Select. Live stats for all three contests will also be available on WakeForestSports.com.