Wake Forest won their home opener against Charlotte to even their record at 3-3 going into our game Friday
write up
Wake Forest Baseball Beats Charlotte, 4-3, In 10 Innings Demon Deacons even their record at 3-3
Feb. 21, 2006
Box Score
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. --- Wake Forest redshirt sophomore
Eric Williams picked up an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Demon Deacons a 4-3 victory over Charlotte Tuesday afternoon. With the victory, Wake Forest evens its record at 3-3, while the 49ers fall to 4-2.
Senior
Casey Sterk started the 10th inning rally with a one-out walk. He promptly stole second base and then scampered to third when Kris Rochelle's throw evaded second base. Williams got ahead in the count, 2-1, and pulled Charlotte closer Erik Walker's offering through the drawn-in infield giving the Deacons a victory in their 2006 Hooks Stadium debut.
The Demon Deacons grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning, their first run in the opening frame this season, without a base hit. Junior
Brian Shust reached base after being hit by a pitch, then swiped second and third base before racing home on Rochelle's passed ball.
Charlotte tied the game, 1-1, in the top of the second inning off Wake Forest starter
Brad Kledzik. Chris Taylor opened with a single and Rochelle followed with a walk. Kledzik then induced Chris Lane into a ground out. After walking Alan Parks, Adam Floyd drove in Taylor with a sacrifice fly. Kledzik evaded any further damage with a strikeout.
The Deacons regained the lead on
Dustin Hood's infield RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, but Kledzik ran into trouble in the top of the fifth inning. He had retired six of the last seven Charlotte batters he faced over the third and fourth inning, but Floyd singled to right field and Cory Lane followed with an infield single in the fifth. Aaron Bray singled to right field, scoring Floyd, but when Shust bobbled the ball in right field, Bray thought about heading to second base and was eventually retired after a run down. Mike Ambrose gave Charlotte a 3-2 lead with an RBI single and moved into scoring position with one out on a Kledzik wild pitch, but the Fairfax Station, Va. native punched out Spencer Steedley and got Taylor to ground out.
In all, Kledzik went 5.0 innings and allowed two earned runs on seven hits. He fanned a career-best seven and walked a pair in the no decision.
The Charlotte lead was short-lived as the Deacons tied the score in their half of the fifth. Williams, who went 1-for-3 on the day with a pair of RBI, added sacrifice fly. Sophomore
Andy Goff led off the frame with a triple down the right field line. After Sterk popped out, Williams flied out to deep center to tie the game, 3-3.
The Wake Forest bullpen did the rest. The trio of senior
Kyle Young, sophomore
Eric Niesen and sophomore
Ben Hunter tossed 5.0 scoreless innings. In fact, the trio allowed just one hit and struck out seven. Young fanned two in 2.0 innings and Niesen recorded one strikeout in a perfect inning of work. Hunter (1-0) picked up the victory going 2.0 innings with four strikeouts.
Walker (0-1) was charged with the loss. The right-hander allowed one earned run on one hit in 2.0 innings. He fanned five and walked two.
The Wake Forest and Charlotte pitching staffs combined to strikeout 26 batters. The Deacons' whiffed 14 49ers alone-- the most since February 25 of 2005 against Cincinnati.
Junior All-American
Matt Antonelli went 2-for-3 with a double and run scored. Hood, Williams, Goff and Sterk were the only Deacons with hits.
The Demon Deacons return to action this weekend at the Pepsi Classic in Gainesville, Fla. Wake Forest will open the tournament with
Ohio State on Friday at 2 p.m., then face No. 12 Missouri on Saturday at 6:30 before playing No. 2 Florida on Sunday at 2 p.m.
