Wake Forest Homers Its Way Past Duke In 13-3 Win

Sunday, April 16

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Wake Forest

No. 1 North Carolina Completes Sweep With Sunday?s 7-1 Win Over Duke

Wake Forest Homers Its Way Past Duke In 13-3 Win

4/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Second baseman Matt Antonelli homered on the second pitch of the game and right fielder Evan Ocheltree, catcher Dan Rosaia and first baseman Brendan Enick added one home run apiece to lead Wake Forest to a 13-3 win over Duke on Sunday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field. The Blue Devils fall to 12-29 overall and 4-14 in the ACC while the Demon Deacons improve to 28-12 overall and 12-6 in conference action.

Wake Forest hit four long balls for the second consecutive game and 10 homers on the weekend to sweep the series.

The Demon Deacons jumped out to an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the opening frame for the second straight day. Antonelli blasted a leadoff homer to left on the second pitch of the game for his 11th jack of the season. With one on and two out, Ocheltree hammered a 2-0 pitch over the right field wall for his fourth home run of the series to give the Demon Deacons a three-run advantage.

After falling behind 5-0, Duke got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when first baseman Jonathan Nicolla crushed the first pitch of the frame to straightaway center for his fifth home run of the season.

The Blue Devils then scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 5-3 ballgame. After reaching second on a two-base error, center fielder Jimmy Gallagher advanced to third on a passed ball to start the inning. Three batters later, second baseman Javier Socorro lined an RBI-double to right to score Gallagher. Right fielder Tim Sherlock followed with an RBI-double down the right field line to plate Socorro.

The Demon Deacons answered with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to take a 7-3 lead. After third baseman Andy Goff hit a one-out double down the left field line, left fielder Casey Sterk laced an RBI-double to left to score Goff. Center fielder Eric Williams followed with a single up the middle to give Wake Forest runners on the corners. The Deacons then perfected a double steal with Sterk scoring on the throw to second.

Wake Forest would put five runs on the board in the top of the seventh to take a 12-3 lead. Ocheltree singled up the middle to start the inning. Rosaia then turned on a 1-0 pitch and hit a towering two-run blast to right for his fourth home run of the year. Two batters later, Sterk hit a ground-rule double to left which was followed by an RBI-single by Williams. After Antonelli flew out to center and shortstop Dustin Hood drew a walk, Allan Dykstra laced a two-run triple into the gap in left center to cap the inning.

Enick added a solo shot to center on a 1-1 offering in the top of the ninth to put the Demon Deacons up 13-3.

Wake Forest starter Justin Keadle recorded eight strikeouts and held the Blue Devils to three runs on six hits in 5.0 innings of work to improve to 4-2 on the season.

Duke starter Jonathan Anderson fell to 2-5 after allowing seven runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings. He registered six strikeouts in the loss.

Nicolla, Socorro and third baseman Adam Murray all went 2-for-4 to lead the Blue Devils at the plate.

Hood, Ocheltree and Sterk collected three hits apiece while Dykstra and Williams both added a pair of hits to lead the Deacons in the win.

The Blue Devils will travel to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech for a three-game set next weekend. The Hokies hold a 16-13 advantage over Duke in series history, including a 2-1 series win last season.

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