Wake Forest University
Pittsburgh
Deacons Rebound with 12-4 Victory over Pitt
4/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By Jay Garneau, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeBaseball)
PITTSBURGH - The Demon Deacons drilled eight extra-base hits and took advantage of a strong start from Connor Johnstone to defeat Pitt, 12-4, at Cost Field on Saturday evening.
Stuart Fairchild, Nate Mondou and Will Craig knocked a pair of doubles apiece, and Gavin Sheets hit a three-run bomb to fuel the Wake Forest (22-15, 9-8 ACC) offense.
Fairchild totaled career-highs of four hits and five runs batted in, and was also hit by a pitch as he reached base in all five plate appearances.
Johnstone tossed a career-high 8.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits, as he improved to 2-2 with the win.
Wake Forest again jumped out to an early lead over Pitt (13-20, 5-12 ACC), as a Jonathan Pryor single and Joey Rodriguez double set up a two-run double by Craig. Then, Fairchild sent an 0-2 pitch into right-center to knock in Craig, making the score 3-0.
Mondou and Craig opened the third inning with back-to-back doubles to push the lead to 4-0, setting up for the three-run blast from Sheets over the right-field wall, putting the Deacons ahead 7-0.
The Panthers took advantage of three hits, a walk and an error in the fourth inning to cut the margin to 7-3 with just one out. Johnstone then forced a foulout and groundout to escape without further damage.
Wake Forest added an unearned run in the fifth and two more on a two-run Fairchild double in the sixth, pushing the advantage to 10-3.
Fairchild capped off his four-hit day with another double in the eighth, bringing home Justin Yurchak and Mondou to close out the Deacon scoring.
A day after finishing 3-for-25, including 0-for-22 to end the game, Wake Forest's 1-6 hitters went 13-for-27, also reaching via walk or hit-by-pitch six times.
Craig finished 2-for-3 with two walks, three RBIs and three runs scored, and Yurchak went 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored.
Pitt was forced to use eight pitchers. Starter Aaron Sandefur (1-5) took the loss after allowing six earned runs in 2.1 innings. Eric Hess (2-for-4, 3 RBIs) led the Panthers offensively.
WAKE FOREST IMPROVES TO...
• 17-0 when allowing five runs or less.
• 18-2 when out-hitting the opponent.
• 10-1 when Justin Yurchak records two hits or more.
3-4 HITTER BATTLE
• Nate Mondou and Will Craig continue to battle back-and-forth with their impressive numbers.
• They traded off doubles on Saturday, and are tied for the ACC lead with 15 each. They're also knotted up atop the league with 57 hits apiece.
• Craig holds slight leads in homers (12-9), RBIs (54-47) and runs scored (44-42).
ON DECK
• Wake Forest and Pitt will play in the rubber game of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN3. The winner of the game also claims the series.
