April 1, 2006

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Virginia Tech fell behind early and never quite caught up as Wake Forest downed the Hokies 7-3 in game two of their three-game series on Saturday.

Tech fell to 10-16 on the season and is now 1-10 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Demon Deacons improved to 22-7, including a 7-4 mark in the conference.

The Hokies put the first run of the game up in the top of the first inning when shortstop Warren Schaeffer (Vandergrift, Pa.) reached base on a one-out throwing by Wake starting pitcher Eric Niesen. A single by third baseman Bryan Thomas (Wilmington, N.C.) moved Schaeffer to second and he advanced to third on a two-out walk to right fielder Jose Cueto (Miami, Fla.). Catcher Matt Foley (Lansdowne, Va.) bounced a single by the first baseman to drive in Schaeffer, but Thomas was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

The Demon Deacons answered with a run in the bottom of the inning and also had a runner thrown out at the plate. Wake Forest third baseman Matt Antonelli started the inning with a single. Tech starter David Cross (Scottsdale, Ariz.) hit shortstop Dustin Hood with a pitch and then gave up a run-scoring double to first baseman Allan Dykstra. After striking out Wake designated hitter Brendan Enick, Cross got right fielder Brian Shust to ground to third baseman Thomas, who nailed Hood at the plate for the second out. A ground out ended the inning.

Wake Forest broke the tie in the third inning, loading the bases with no outs. A line single by Antonelli, a bunt single by Hood and a walk to Dykstra set the stage for a sacrifice fly off the bat of Enick and a run-scoring double by Shust that made the score 3-1. Left-hander Ryan Kennedy (Punta Gorda, Fla.) then took over the Tech pitching duties for Cross and got the Hokies out of the inning.

The Hokies got a run back in the top of the fifth when Thomas doubled in Schaeffer, who had opened the inning with a two-base hit. The Deacons dodged a bullet when reliever Kyle Young got Foley to bounce into a double play with the tying run on third.

Antonelli gave Wake Forest a 4-2 lead when he led off the bottom of the fifth with his ninth home run of the season. The Hokies then dodged a bullet of their own after a pair of walks, using a double-play and ground out to pitcher Randy Buffington (Virginia Beach, Va.) to get out of the inning.

Tech cut into the lead in the sixth inning when left fielder Billy Marn singled, moved to second on a walk to center fielder Sheldon Adams (Big Stone Gap, Va.) and took third on a fielder's choice. Marn came home on a two-out single by Schaeffer.

The Deacons went up 6-3 with a pair of runs off reliever Andrew Wells (Alexandria, Va.) in the seventh. A double by left fielder Evan Ocheltree brought home the first run of the inning, and a sacrifice fly by catcher Austin Jones accounted for the second score. Antonelli then finished out the scoring with his second homer of the day and 10^th of the year to lead off the bottom of the eighth.

Reliever Ben Hunter took over the pitching duties for Wake Forest in the eighth and earned his ninth save of the season. Kyle Young, who entered the game with nobody out in the fifth, picked up the win with three innings of two-hit relief. Young gave up just one run in improving his record to 3-0.

Cross (1-4) took the loss for the Hokies, who finished the game with nine hits. Tech got two hits each from Schaeffer, Thomas, O'Brien and Marn. Schaeffer scored two of the Hokies' three runs and drove in the other. Buffington, the third of five Tech pitchers, gave the Hokies three innings of one-hit, one-run relief.

Antonelli led WFU's 11-hit attack, going 4-for-4 with two homers, two RBIs and four runs scored. Shust added a pair of hits for the Deacons.

The two teams will conclude their three-game series at Hooks Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m.