May 20, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest is set for postseason play, as the Demon Deacons are in Jacksonville for the 2008 ACC Baseball Championship. Wake will be making its 35th consecutive ACC Tournament appearance. The Deacs clinched a berth in the eight-team field with their 10-3 defeat of Boston College on Thursday, May 15. The win also assured Wake Forest of seventh place in the final conference standings. As the No. 7 seed, the Deacs are slotted into the Division B bracket, along with No. 2-seeded Florida State, No. 3-seeded North Carolina and No. 6-seeded Virginia.

Wake Forest comes in having won eight of its past 10 games, including six of its last seven ACC contests. The Deacs finished the regular season 24-29 overall and 13-15 in the ACC. Wake took two of three games from Boston College last weekend in Chestnut Hill. Wake Forest opens its Tournament play on Wednesday against Florida State at 5 p.m. The Deacs will take on UNC on Friday at 8 p.m. and Virginia on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Deacon Notes
Wake Forest has won eight of its last 10 games ... Over that 10-game stretch, the Deacs have outscored opponents 81-49 ... Mike Murray is riding a 12-game hitting streak, the longest current streak on the team ... Murray has had a hit in 25 of his last 26 games since April 2 ... Andy Goff is riding a career-best 10-game hitting streak ... Goff is hitting .432 over his last 10 games ... Charlie Mellies has pitched two consecutive complete games coming into the Tournament ... Over his past three starts, Mellies is 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA ... He threw a complete game shutout of Boston College last Friday ... Ben Hunter is also 3-0 in his last three starts, posting a 2.78 ERA with 21 strikeouts ... Allan Dykstra has set the school's single-season walks record with 61 ... He currently ranks second in the country in walks ... Wake Forest is ranked fourth nationally in strength of schedule, according to WarrenNolan.com ... The Deacs have gone 5-9 against ranked opponents this season.

On Deck
Wake Forest will need to win the ACC Tournament title and gain the league's automatic berth in order to advance to the NCAA Tournament. NCAA Regional play begins on May 30 and lasts through June 1. The Deacons were participants in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, finishing third at the Round Rock (Texas) Regional.

Individual Career Stats at ACC Tournament
Andy Goff and Brett Linnenkohl have the most posteason experience of anyone on Wake Forest's 2008 roster ... Each has played in 11 ACC Tournament games ... Evan Ocheltree has enjoyed the most success at the plate, hitting .357 (5-14) in five career Tournament games ... Dustin Hood has hit .318 (7-22) in six games ... Hood was named to the 2007 All-Tournament Team ... Allan Dykstra is the only current Deacon to have homered in an ACC Tournament game ... Dykstra homered in 2006 against Clemson and in 2007 against Miami ... On the mound, veteran Charlie Mellies has the most experience with 14.0 innings over three games ... Mellies pitched a complete game against Duke in 2005 and started the 2007 title game ... Brad Kledzik has pitched in three games, posting a 3.72 ERA over 9.2 innings ... Ben Hunter is 1-0 in two career Tournament outings.

Wake at the 2007 ACC Tournament
- Wake Forest entered the 2007 ACC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and finished as the runner-up. The Deacons needed until the final day of the regular season to qualify as the last team into the field but made the most of their opportunity. Wake lost its opening game, 11-2, to top-seeded Florida State. However, the Deacs rebounded to defeat Clemson (3-2) and Miami (7-3) and take home the Division `A' bracket title. Wake Forest's Cinderella run ended in the Championship Game, as No. 2 seed North Carolina edged out the Deacons 3-2.

- The Deacons made their sixth appearance in the ACC Championship Game since 1973. Wake won Tournament titles in 1977, 1998, 1999 and 2001. The Deacs were runners-up in 1978.

- Wake Forest was just the second-ever eighth seed to play in the ACC title game. NC State was the previous team to accomplish the feat, falling to Wake Forest 17-4 in the 2001 title game.

- It was the third time in the ACC Tournament's 34-year history that the championship game was played between two North Carolina schools. It last happened in the 2001 final between Wake Forest and NC State. The only other all-North Carolina school final came in 1990, when North Carolina defeated NC State.

- Dustin Hood was named to the All-Tournament Team. Hood went 6-for-16 with three runs and two RBIs in four games. Hood scored the winning run in Wake's 3-2 walk-off defeat of Clemson.

- With a stiff wind blowing in all week, teams found it difficult to get much offense going. The first home run of the Tournament was not hit until Game 8 on Friday evening. Wake Forest managed just one home run (Allan Dykstra vs. Miami) and hit .211 for the Tournament. The Deacs were hit by 10 pitches in the Tournament, including four by Ben Terry.

- On Wednesday, Florida State erased an early Wake Forest lead with a five-run fourth inning and then cruised to a 11-2 defeat of the Deacons. Wake took an early 2-0 lead, but the top-seeded Seminoles rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a lead they would not relinquish. Dustin Hood was the only Deacon with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-5. Eric Niesen threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, not allowing a hit.

- On Friday, Brett Linnenkohl scored the game-tying run in the eighth and then had the game-winning hit in the ninth to give Wake Forest a 3-2 defeat of Clemson. Wake erased a 2-0 deficit with single runs in each of the final three innings, snapping a four-game ACC Tournament losing streak that dated back to 2005. Dustin Hood and Weldon Woodall had two hits apiece for the Deacon offense. Eric Niesen earned the win with 1.2 innings of relief.

- On Saturday, Wake Forest clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament Championship game with a 7-3 defeat of No. 25 Miami. Starter Ben Hunter was dominant in his six innings of work and the offense overcame an early 2-0 deficit with seven straight runs, including a two-run homer from Allan Dykstra. Hunter allowed two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts. Dykstra led the Deacon offense, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Andy Goff also had two hits.

- On Sunday, Wake Forest's Cinderella run came to an end as North Carolina edged the Deacons, 3-2, in the title game. The Tar Heels broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the top of the eighth to pull out the victory against closer Josh Ellis. Starter Charlie Mellies turned in a clutch performance, pitching a season-long five innings and allowing one unearned run. Evan Ocheltree had two of Wake's five hits on the day, going 2-for-3 with a run. Dustin Hood finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Deacons' Last Time Out
Wake Forest took two of three games from Boston College last weekend in Chestnut Hill. The Deacs clinched a berth in the ACC Tournament with a 10-3 win on Thursday. Wake went on to post a 2-0 shutout on Friday before falling in the regular season finale, 11-7, on Saturday.

On Thursday, starter Ben Hunter turned in a fine outing for the Deacs, picking up the win. Hunter went seven innings, surrendering two runs on three hits. He struck out eight and walked four. Hunter allowed just one runner to reach scoring position over the first six innings. Andy Goff led the offense by going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs and his second homer of the season. Mike Murray drove in three runs for the Deacs, finishing 2-for-5. Willy Fox and Ben Terry also posted multi-hit performances.

On Friday, Charlie Mellies turned in his second consecutive complete game to lead Wake Forest to a 2-0 shutout of BC. In a brisk contest that lasted just over two hours, Mellies scattered eight hits over nine innings. He struck out five and walked just one, needing only 103 pitches to finish the game. Allan Dykstra reached base in three of his four plate appearances, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.

On Saturday, the Eagles erased an early 3-0 deficit to send the Deacons to an 11-7 loss. Starter Brad Kledzik suffered the loss. He pitched six innings, allowing six runs, five earned, on nine hits. Willy Fox led the Deacs at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Andy Goff and Dustin Hood each had a pair of hits, while Allan Dykstra drove in two runs.