2002 Outlook Raising the Bar After three ACC titles in four years, the Deacons have their sights on Omaha Riding a streak of four consecutive Pitching appearances last season in his first year. NCAA Tournament appearances, four “The cornerstones of the pitching consecutive 40-plus win seasons and staff are back from last year,” Greer said. three ACC titles in the last four years, “Add to that several talented newcomers Wake Forest has certainly earned the and the best reliever in college baseball right to be considered one of the nation’s and we feel pretty good about our staff.” top baseball programs. What separates Wake Forest’s pitch- Now, the Demon Deacons look to ing staff from virtually every other in the reach elite status with a trip to the country is senior closer Dave Bush. College World Series in Omaha. Bush, a preseason first team All- To achieve their goal, Wake Forest Kyle Sleeth Dave Bush American, was the ACC Tournament’s will rely on a talented, deep and experi- 10-3, 5.09 ERA 2.65 ERA, 16 SV Most Valuable Player last year, a third enced pitching staff, a core of returning team All-American and a fourth round starters from last year’s 44-18 team and First year pitching coach Michael pick of Tampa Bay last summer. a number of key newcomers who will be Holmes inherits a talented group of expe- But he elected to return for his sen- asked to fill some big shoes. rienced pitchers. Without question, this ior year to make a run for Omaha. Overseeing the construction of this area is Wake Forest’s greatest strength. Bush’s value exceeds that of most project is 15th year head coach George Three of the team’s top four starters college relievers because of his durability. Greer. The fourth winningest coach in are back from last season including jun- He came out of the bullpen 41 times last Atlantic Coast Conference history, Greer iors Ryan Braun and Ben Clayton. season including seven postseason reached the 600 career win plateau last Emerging as the team’s top starter, how- appearances totalling 16 innings with a season. ever, is sophomore Kyle Sleeth, who is 1.12 ERA and three saves. “I get excited thinking about how coming off a Freshman All-American sea- Several other pitchers will contribute this team will be together for two years. son as a rookie and an All-Star summer including sophomore Gregory Russell We only have three seniors,” Greer said. in the Cape Cod League for Cotuit. and junior Eric Maycroft. Russell saw “We have talented, young, quality pitch- Battling for the midweek assign- some action in ACC games last year and ers. We have power, speed in the field ments will be several newcomers with Maycroft gained experience in the Cape and experience behind the plate. high expectations, including freshmen last summer. “We’re going to get better every day Tim Morley, Brian Bach and junior col- The coaching staff is excited about for the next two years.” lege transfer Seth Hill. the potential of freshmen Chris Caudill Seniors Brad Comer and Ryan Lewis and Daniel Davidson. Davidson comes What’s Back in 2002 have spot-started in the past and could from an athletic family. His sister, be called into emergency duty, if neces- Margaret, was an All-ACC volleyball play- Hitting: Pitching: er at Wake Forest. 37% of starts 73% of wins sary. Otherwise, they will be the two 36% of at-bats 61% of starts most experienced arms in middle relief. Perhaps the wild card of the bunch 36% of hits 68% of innings Another key to the bullpen is sopho- is Danny Mackey, a former draftee of 39% of home runs 70% of strikeouts more Adam Hanson who made 26 Pittsburgh. He pitched just twice as a freshman but has added size and strength since last spring and has devel- oped a strong change-up. Catcher Stephen Ghutzman Ryder Mathias .308, 4 HR, 30 RBI Redshirt in 2001 Switch-hitting junior Stephen Ghutzman is the top returner behind the mask. He started 26 games last year with a .308 average and four home runs. 24 Wake Forest Baseball 2002 Outlook Ghutzman brings a strong arm and over at shortstop for the drafted and The Winston-Salem, N.C., native big game experience to the position. His departed Jamie Athas. was used primarily as a pinch-hitter last home run in the ACC Tournament Ingold, a native of Durham, N.C., is year and once homered in three consec- against Georgia Tech gave the Deacons a capable defensive player with good utive at-bats against VCU and North the lead for good, putting them in the range and a good arm. Carolina. championship game. Sophomore Doug Riepe, one of the Other possibilities in left field include Ghutzman will see the majority of hardest working players on the team, Hubbard, Scioletti, Riepe and Bach. time but will share the responsibilities could see time at a corner infield posi- with redshirt freshman Ryder Mathias. tion. Schedule An excellent receiver, Mathias picked Junior Ryan Hubbard is another up valuable experience this summer while transfer from Cypress JC where he was a The schedule includes six teams that playing for Columbus (OH) in the Great teammate of Ruziecki. Hubbard is a nat- qualified for last year’s NCAA Super Lakes League. ural infielder with great speed. He had Regionals plus a 24-game schedule in Walk-on Jonathan Portnoy is a hard- off-season arm surgery but should seri- the Atlantic Coast Conference. working freshman from St. Louis and ously push for time upon his return. This could be one of ACC’s strongest could be considered the team’s inspira- At the semester break, Brad Scioletti years in recent memory. The Deacons tional leader. joined the Deacons from Army. One of are one of five ACC teams ranked in the the top hitters for the Black Knights preseason top 25. Infield before having his freshman year cut short Out of the conference, Wake Forest by a broken leg, Scioletti is back to full will again face one of the nation’s best health and could see time at a number of schedules. positions. This year, the Demon Deacons Freshman Grant Achilles, brother of return to Houston, Texas, to play in the former WFU infielder Todd Achilles, will Rice Invitational where they will meet provide valuable depth up the middle. New Mexico, College World Series partici- pant Nebraska and nationally-ranked Outfield Rice. The schedule also includes a trip to Jamie D’Antona Nick Blue New Orleans to play the Privateers in .364, 17 HR, 77 RBI .291, 57 H, 18 SB early March. Georgia, a College World Series The Demon Deacons will have a team in 2001, will visit Hooks Stadium new look in the infield in 2002 after the for a two-game set on March 19 and 20. departure of Corey Slavik, a four-year Before traveling to the ACC starter at third base, and Jason Tournament in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Aquilante, who spent most of his four Deacons will take a seven-day, six-game Adam Bourassa Ryan Johnson years at second. road swing through Liberty, West Virginia Cape Cod All-Star .363, 3 HR, 31 RBI Preseason All-American Jamie and Duke. D’Antona, the 2001 National Freshman Other regional powers on the slate of the Year, will move across the diamond The first question asked about the include Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, UNC to third base. He took the ACC by storm outfield is how Wake Forest will replace Greensboro and Davidson. as a rookie batting .364 with 17 home All-America center fielder Cory Sullivan. runs and 77 RBI on his way to confer- The Deacons believe Adam ence rookie of the year honors. Bourassa is the answer to that question. Junior Nick Blue returns to his famil- Bourassa comes from Kishwaukee iar ground at second base. A very sound Community College in Illinois. More defensive player, Blue contributed at the recently, Bourassa played for Yarmouth- plate in 2001 hitting .291 with 18 steals. Dennis in the Cape Cod League and was Blue was a clutch hitter in the ACC an All-Star for the Red Sox while batting Championship game, going 4-for-4. At among the league leaders. the NCAA Subregional in Knoxville, he Junior Ryan Johnson returns in right batted .353 and was named to the All- field. Johnson batted .363 overall and Tournament team. .423 in the ACC last season. He was the The new faces in the infield will be team’s best hitter in the second half with first baseman Jeff Ruziecki, a transfer a .410 average. Johnson led the team in from Cypress JC in California, where he the conference tournament last year, left as the school’s all-time leader in going 7-for-12. home runs. The left-handed Ruziecki will Wake Forest will employ a number of enjoy the short porch in right field at players in left field, often depending on Hooks Stadium. the opponent. In the fall, Ruziecki also impressed One of the candidates is sophomore with the glove. Steve LeFaivre, a very dangerous hitter at Freshman Ben Ingold will likely take the plate. 2002 Media Guide 25 Player Profiles Personal Undecided major ... chose Wake Forest over Vanderbilt and UNC ... par- ents are Tom and Marianne Bach ... born June 16, 1982 in Winston- Salem, N.C. Scouting Report A middle infielder who will provide valuable depth at his position ..