Wake Forest Demon Deacons Final '07 Rank: NR 34-29

As the regular season drew to a close Wake Forest was teetering on the bubble for a spot in the NCAA postseason tournament, but a strong second-place showing in the ACC Tournament earned them an at-large invite to hardball’s version of the “big dance”. The Deac’s went 1-2 in the Round Rock Regional, falling to host Texas in an extra inning affair to end their season at 34-29 (14-16 ACC). The 34 wins were their highest win total since 2002 when they last made the national postseason. Wake will hope their end of the season momentum and experience will translate into bigger and better things in 2008 and there is no reason to believe otherwise. The Demon Deacons return one of the most complete rosters in the country, with a number of veteran players who will be hoping to end their collegiate careers a long deep run into the post season.

While Wake Forest doesn’t have one of the most awe-inspiring lineups in college baseball, they do have one of the most experienced. Every Deacon who compiled at least 100 plate appearances last season will be back in uniform in 2008 for a total of eleven veteran bats. Yet the Wake offense will be bringing more than experience to the plate. Allan Dykstra (no, he’s not the son of Lenny) is one of the best power hitters in the country. He walloped 18 homeruns last season (tied for 16th nationally), knocked in 60 runs (finishing just out of the top 50) while batting at a nice .310 pace. However his run producing numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. Dykstra was issued 57 walks (to rank sixth in the nation) and tied for nineteenth nationally with 21 HBPs to give him a .479 on base percentage to go along with his .615 slugging percentage. If he can maintain his power numbers while bumping his batting average, Dykstra will put him at the top of a crowded list of All-American candidates at first base. Junior Willy Fox was the Deacons leading hitter for average last year, batting .332 for the season (with five homeruns and 42 RBI) and he’ll be back at third base. Fox has impressed since transferring from Arizona State, and not just at the plate. In April he was injured when he attempted to stop a burglar, receiving a cut to his leg when he thwarted the potential crook. A trio of seniors will be back in the Wake Forest outfield in 2008. Speedy Brett Linnenkohl (.292, 8, 29) led Wake in stolen bases and sacrifice hits last season, tallying ten of each. Evan Ocheltree batted .282 with seven homeruns and seven stolen bases, good for third on the team in both categories. Rounding out the outfield is Ben Terry who batted only .269 for the season, but found himself on the painful end of 26 pitches (tied for fifth nationally in HBPs) which raised his OBP to .411. Redshirt freshman Ryan Semeniuk also plays outfield and should crack the lineup somewhere after a productive summer playing with the Winchester Royals of the Valley League. He hit .303 with three home runs and 29 RBIs for the Royals and was named one of the league’s top prospects.

Missing from the Deac dugout will be the powerful tandem of Eric Niesen (3.00, 6-5, 83 Ks in 84 IPs) and Josh Ellis (3.20 5-4, 72 Ks in 50.2 Ips, 9 SVs). Both players were selected in last year’s amateur draft won’t be back in Winston-Salem. Senior Ben Hunter (4.07, 8-6) had an outstanding sophomore effort in 2006, recording 14 saves, a 1.47 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched. After a shaky start of his junior season the former Furman Paladin was converted to a starter where he got his groove back, going 5-1 in eight starts with a 2.52 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. A pair of weekend starters, Garrett Bullock and Brad Kledzik, will be back in old gold and black and a breakout season by either pitcher would go along way in Wake’s ability to take the next step as a national contender. Both pitchers are experienced, starting 15 games apiece and tossing nearly 100 innings last season, but neither had particularly jaw dropping numbers. Bullock (5.12 , 4-3) emerged as Wake Forest's No. 1 starter and was selected by the Diamondbacks in the 45th round of the amateur draft. He touts a phenomenal pickoff move and used it often, recording an ACC-leading 13 pickoffs. A big 6’5, 230 junior, Kledzik (5.01, 4-4) has been adding mph’s to his pitches and will be an intimidating presence on the mound.