May 17, 2007

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Greg Fryman tossed his second complete game of the season - the fourth of the year for the Hokies - against Wake Forest, but it wasn't enough as Virginia Tech dropped a 5-2 decision to the ACC-foe Demon Deacons in a fast-paced pitcher's duel at English Field Thursday night.

Wake Forest improved to 30-24 overall and 13-15 in the ACC behind eight strong innings from Garrett Bullock (4-1). The left-handed starter allowed two runs on five hits while striking out five, and retired the last 11 batters he faced. Reliever Josh Ellis struck out the side in the ninth to earn his eighth save. Designated hitter Willy Fox paced the Demon Deacons' offensive attack with three hits, while first baseman Allan Dykstra added his ACC-leading 17^th home run of the season.

Tech fell to 22-30 overall and 6-22 in league play with the loss. Despite going the distance and retiring 12 consecutive hitters at one point, starter Greg Fryman (Gibsonia, Pa.) lost his eighth-straight decision to drop to 2-10. He struck out four while giving up eight hits and three walks. Shortstop Warren Schaeffer (Vandergrift, Pa.) reached base three times for the Hokies while going 2-for-3 with a run scored, and is now batting .500 (14-of-28) over the past three seasons against the Demon Deacons.

As has been the case in many of their ACC losses this season, the Hokies fell behind after allowing several runs in the early innings. After walking on four pitches, Wake Forest's Dykstra scored from first when designated hitter Willy Fox stroked a double to the right-center field wall. Shortstop Dustin Hood immediately followed with an RBI-single to plate Fox.

The Demon Deacons then led off the second inning with a pair of hits to produce their third run of the game. After right fielder Evan Ocheltree knocked a double to the wall in left center, Andy Groff brought him home when he smoked a base hit up the middle.

Tech managed a run in the third thanks to Schaeffer's continued hot hitting against Wake Forest. After Bullock hit right fielder Nate Parks (Roanoke, Va.) and third baseman Bryan Thomas (Wilmington, N.C.) back-to-back, the Hokies' shortstop delivered an RBI single to plate Parks.

Groff and the Demon Deacons manufactured a run in the top of the fourth to reclaim a three-run lead. The second baseman led off with a walk before moving to second on a wild pitch by Fryman. He advanced to third after tagging up on a Dan Rosaia fly ball to right, and hustled home on a Brett Linnenkohl ground out.

Hokie backstop Anthony Sosnoskie (Front Royal, Va.) answered right back in the bottom of the fourth with a lead-off solo shot to make it 4-2. With his third home run of the season, he now has 25 RBIs on his 28 hits this season.

Dykstra added an insurance run for the Demon Deacons in the eighth when he launched a bases-empty round-tripper to deep right field.

Tech and Wake Forest are scheduled to continue their three-game, regular season-ending series on Friday at 7 p.m.