Brian Westerholt/Sports On Film
Brian Westerholt/Sports On Film

Deacs continue to struggle on baseball field

The Wake Forest baseball team seemed to be catching their form after a tough series against Notre Dame. After that test of character, the Wake Forest baseball team defeated Davidson.

It appeared that the Deacs would be ready to face a huge three-game series against no. 12 NC State.

Unfortunately, they were swept for the first time this season, losing 11-7, 3-2 and 6-1. Had it not been for very crucial mistakes in the first game, the whole outcome of this series may have been different.

In the first game, Wake Forest totaled 11 hits and had an early 5-0 lead. Will Craig went 2-4 with a double, walk and two RBIs. He now has 43 RBIs in 25 games. Aiello and Rodriguez also had two hits a piece for Wake Forest. Offense was not the problems with Wake Forest this game.

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Of the 11 NC State runs, only three were earned. The Demon Deacon defense had a dismal five errors in the game, making it their worst defensive performance of the season.

The second game was a hard fought 3-2 loss in 10-innings. NC-State won on a walk-off after Wake Forest blew a lead in the eighth. Wake Forest had a man on second with nobody out in the 10th, but struck out and grounded out twice in a row.

The third game was one that Wake Forest would like to forget.

N.C. State pitcher, Ryan Williamson took a no-hit bid into the seventh. Craig broke up the no hitter. Stuart Fairchild then doubled, but Craig was thrown out at home on a perfect relay to the plate.

N.C. State did a good job of breaking up any potential rally Wake Forest tried to start.

This series displayed all the weaknesses of this year’s team. The first is holding on to leads. Wake Forest had a 5-0 lead in game one which they lost on account of some poor defense.

In game two, Wake Forest lost a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning which led to a loss.

Another problem with this year’s team is stranding runners. Wake Forest stranded runners in scoring position twice late in their 3-2 loss which would have won them the game.

The last major problem with this team is its defense. This problem didn’t arise until recently, since they lost a game against Notre Dame on an error.

Five errors in one game will nearly never win you a game, no matter how hot your bats are.

In the end, Wake Forest must find a way to bounce back from a disappointing end to an eight-game road streak.

Now Wake Forest will play eight of their next 11 games at home. Wake Forest now stands 20-16 overall with a disappointing 5-10 ACC record. The Deacs have been good at home (13-4) but below average on the road (6-11). After splitting with UNCG, the Deacs will open up a crucial series against Florida State. They then will play North Carolina in a three-game series. These series will be huge if Wake Forest wants to improve their ACC record before tournament play sneaks up on them.

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