#5 Wake Forest Pulls Out 4-3 Victory Over Virginia
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April 13, 2002
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia baseball team lost a 4-3decision to the #5 ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons in front of a season-high1,665 spectators on Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium. UVa pulledout to a 3-0 lead after four innings of play, however, WFU rallied to scorefour unanswered runs including the game-winner in the top of the ninth inningto win its second consecutive one-run game in the weekend series. WakeForest was also an 8-7 winner in Friday’s contest.
Prior to the start of the contest, Virginia’s ACC championship teams of 1972and 1996 were honored before the announcement for the official naming of theplaying surface at the UVa Baseball Stadium, to be known as Davenport Field.
Virginia jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inningwhen David Stone led off with a single to shortstop before scoring a run twobatters later when Dan Street drove him in with a RBI-single to right-centerfield, giving the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead. In UVa’s next at-bat, Robert Worddrove in Matt Street, who singled to reach base, with a RBI sacrifice flydeep into right field to make it a 2-0 contest.
The Cavaliers extended their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inningwhen Mark Reynolds reached base on a catcher’s interference call, stolesecond base, and scored a run two batters later when Andrew Riesenfeldconnected on a RBI-single to left field.
After leaving six runners stranded on base through four innings of play, WakeForest finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning whenSteve LaFaivre doubled down the right field line to score Adam Bourassa andNick Blue to pull the Demon Deacons within one run of the Cavaliers at 3-2.
In the top of the fifth inning, UVa’s Stone set the all-time record forstolen bases in a career at Virginia when he successfully stole second base,breaking the record he and Bill Narleski (1984-87) were tied for at 72.Stone’s 73rd stolen base is now the new UVa record.
Wake Forest knotted the game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth inning when RyanHubbard singled up the middle and scored a run in the Demon Deacons’ nextat-bat when Bourassa hit a RBI-double down the left field line.
WFU took its first lead of the game in the top of the ninth inning when Ryan Braun walked,stole second base, and then scored from second when Jeff Ruziecki recordedthe game-winning hit with a RBI-single to center field to drive in thegame-winning run, giving the Demon Deacons a 4-3 lead. UVa had runners onsecond and third base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with asecond chance to win the game after WFU’s Ben Ingold dropped a routine pop-upto shortstop with two outs. However, Rob Newton flied out to right field toend the game as Wake Forest escaped with a one-run victory.
The Demon Deacons’ Dave Bush (5-1) earned the win after pitching 1.1 inningsand allowed zero runs on zero hits to go along with a strikeout. UVa’s ChrisMarinak (2-2) took the loss after going 1.1 innings and allowed one run onone hit.
With the loss, Virginia’s record falls to 19-17 overall, 7-7 in the ACC.Wake Forest improves to 27-6 overall, 10-3 in the conference.
The Cavaliers and Demon Deacons will return to action on Sunday, April 14thwhen UVa and WFU play the final contest of the three-game weekend series.First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Davenport Field at the UVa BaseballStadium.
— UVa —