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Baseball dream season ends in disapointment
By Alex Myers
Old Gold and Black Reporter

It would be difficult to have a better season than the one that the Demon Deacon baseball team put together during the 2002 campaign. However, the team knows that it could have ended the season on a higher note by earning a trip to Omaha and playing in the College World Series — a dream that was dashed by the Richmond Spiders in an upset bid in the Regionals.

Overall, though, the season was a great success as many players had outstanding individual years and combined the team accomplished some one of the best years in school history. "We were disappointed to end the season with a loss, but that can’t overshadow the fact that they had a great season," Head Coach George Greer said. "It was a fun group to be around and a fun group to coach."

The Deacs ended the season with an impressive record of 47 wins and only 13 losses and one tie. This was good enough to earn the team a national ranking of as high as No. 3 during the season and a top-15 ranking at year’s end despite a disappointing post-season. Throughout the season the team boasted two different winning streaks of at least 10 games as they terrorized ACC opponents as well as their non-conference schedule.

The Deacs defeated every ACC school at least once on their way to a record of 17 wins and only six losses in conference play. The Deacons also made use of their home field advantage by posting a 23-3 record.

Individually, many Deacons had monster seasons, especially sophomore pitcher Kyle Sleeth. For the season, Sleeth was undefeated with a 14-0 record and a sparkling earned run average of 2.97. This was a dramatic improvement from his 5.07 ERA his freshman year. For his efforts, Sleeth earned a selection to both the American Baseball Coaches Association All-America team and the USA National Baseball Team.

Three other Deacons earned All-America status as well: Senior Dave Bush and juniors Adam Bourassa and Ryan Johnson.

Throughout the season, Bush served as the Deacon’s closer, blowing away hitters when he entered the game. Averaging a strikeout per inning Bush finished the season with an 8-1 record, 13 saves and a team leading 1.64 earned run average.

Bush concluded his Deacon career as the school’s all-time saves leader and as a two time All-American. He was a second-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays and is currently pitching for their Single A team in Dunedin, Fla.

Bourassa enjoyed a breakout season leading the Deacons in batting with a spectacular .412 average. The outfielder did a great job of setting the table for the rest of the lineup all year with his on base percentage at just a shade under .500. He also stole 26 bases while being caught stealing only five times.

Coach Greer noted that one of the highlights of the season was Bourassa’s play. "It was great watching Adam have over 100 hits and take (former Deac standout Corey Sullivan’s) place in the lineup," Greer said.

Ryan Johnson, another Deacon outfielder, had a great season as well. For the year he posted a .366 batting average with 13 homers and 77 runs batted in. He was second on the team in all three of these statistics.

The four All-American selections marked the most in school history for a single season.

Two other Deacon players who had solid years were sophomore third baseman Jamie D’Antona and junior second baseman Nick Blue. D’Antona followed up his Co-National Freshman of the Year campaign with another powerful offensive season, batting .336 and leading the team with 20 homeruns and 83 RBIs. He also led the team in total bases, slugging percentage, and walks. Blue was third on the team with a .355 average. He also swiped 21 bases.

The Diamond Deacs are already excited about the upcoming season.

"We’re going to move along, get some of the new guys and some guys, who didn’t play much, in there, and hopefully have a stronger team," Greer said. "Our goal as always will be to win the league, host the regionals, and make it to the World Series."