Wake Forest Opens Six-Game Home Stand Against USC Upstate, Coastal Carolina
Demon Deacons are 12-2 against non-conference foes

April 6, 2009

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - After playing seven of its last eight games on the road, the Wake Forest baseball team opens a six-game home stand this week when it hosts USC Upstate on Tuesday, April 7, at 6 p.m., and No. 24 Coastal Carolina on Wednesday, April 8, at 6 p.m.

A live audio broadcast of both games will be available at WakeForestSports.com.

Wake Forest enters the week with a 17-12 overall record. The Demon Deacons have won seven of their last 10 games, including taking two of three games over the weekend at Virginia Tech.

The Deacs have been hot offensively in recent games, posting a .311 batting average in the last 10 contests with 15 home runs and 76 RBIs. Wake Forest has posted double-digit run totals in four of its last six games.

Redshirt senior Weldon Woodall leads Wake Forest with a .382 batting average. He also leads the team in hits (39), doubles (10), RBIs (25) and on-base percentage (.488). Woodall is hitting .438 over Wake Forest's last five games.

Three other Demon Deacons are currently hitting over .300 on the season. Dustin Hood is swinging the bat at a .319 clip, while Carlos Lopez is hitting .308 on the season. Steven Brooks is batting .303 on the year.

Freshman Zach White and sophomore Brandon Johnson have been the two most effective relievers for Wake Forest. White is 3-0 on the season with a 2.22 ERA in 13 relief appearances. Opponents are hitting .205 off of White, who has thrown 24 1/3 innings. Johnson sports a 3.07 ERA in seven appearances. He's thrown 14 2/3 innings on the season, allowing seven runs, five of them earned, on 14 hits.

USC Upstate enters Tuesday's game with a 7-22 record and a 2-13 mark in Atlantic Sun play. The Spartans were swept in a three-game series against Stetson last weekend and have lost 11 straight games. As a team, USC Upstate is hitting .260 on the season, while the pitching staff has a 7.81 ERA.

Jimmy Tanner leads the Spartans at the plate with a .369 batting average, two home runs and 23 RBIs. Eric Guillen is second on the team in RBIs with 18 and is hitting .269 on the season. Phillip Morgan leads the team with three home runs and has also driven in 14 runs on the year.

Barrett Stover has made the most appearances for USC Upstate out of the bullpen and leads the team with three saves. He has an 11.25 ERA in 15 appearances on the season. Tyler Oliver has made 14 relief outings on the season and enters the game with an 0-4 record and a 5.49 ERA.

Coastal Carolina is 24-7 on the season and 6-2 in Big South action. The Chanticleers have been ranked for most of the season and are ranked 24th in the latest Baseball America poll. Coastal Carolina has won five straight games, including a weekend sweep of Gardner-Webb. As a team, Coastal Carolina is hitting .319 on the season, while the pitching staff has compiled a 3.11 ERA.

Coastal Carolina features a balanced offense with seven players hitting over .300 on the season and seven players with at least 20 RBIs. The Chanticleers are led by David Anderson. Anderson leads the team with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs and is also hitting at a .352 clip. Tyler Bortnick leads the team in batting average at .354 with five home runs and 22 RBIs. Chance Gilmore has also hit five home runs on the season and is batting .348.

The Chanticleers also boast a talented pitching staff. Ten pitchers for Coastal Carolina have ERAs of 4.00 or under. Nick McCully leads Coastal with six saves on the season in 14 relief appearances. He has struck out 23 batters in 19 innings pitched and has an ERA of 1.42. Matt Rein has also appeared in 14 games out of the bullpen and has a 1-0 record with a 2.92 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .227 against the Chanticleer pitchers.

Wake Forest senior Brad Kledzik will start Tuesday against USC Upstate. Kledzik is 1-4 on the season with a 5.19 ERA. He leads the team with 32 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings pitched. He earned a no decision in his last appearance against UNC Greensboro on Wednesday, April 1. Kledzik allowed three unearned runs on five hits in five innings of work. He struck out six and walked just one Spartan batter.

USC Upstate will counter with left-handed pitcher Dennis McCraney. McCraney, who has appeared in nine games with two starts, is 2-0 on the year with a 7.11 ERA. He has given up 11 runs on 26 hits in 12 2/3 innings pitched. In his last outing, McCraney threw a scoreless inning of relief in the series opener against Stetson last weekend.

Freshman Michael Dimock will take the mound for the Demon Deacons against Coastal Carolina. Dimock is 3-1 on the season with a 6.16 ERA. He made two relief appearances in the series against Virginia Tech, including earning the victory in the series-clinching win on Saturday. Dimock's last start came on Tuesday, March 31, at Charlotte. The Greensboro, N.C., native earned the victory, allowing three runs on four hits in a career-high seven innings pitched.

Bobby Gagg is expected to take the mound for Coastal Carolina on Wednesday. Gagg is 3-2 on the season with a 3.79 ERA in seven starts. Opponents are hitting just .232 against him on the season in 40 1/3 innings pitched. Gagg last pitched on Wednesday, April 1, at UNC Wilmington. He earned his third win of the season, giving up just one run on eight hits in 7 2/3 innings.

Live stats and recaps of both games will be available on WakeForestSports.com.