Wake Forest University
Richmond
Offense Erupts in 17-4 Victory Over Richmond
3/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeBaseball)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest used a late offensive outburst to take down Richmond 17-4 on Sunday afternoon at David F. Couch Ballpark.
The Demon Deacons (9-3) scored 13 of their 17 runs in their last three times at bat. The 17 runs is the most scored by Wake Forest this season and the most they have scored in 362 days, when they scored 25 against Elon last March.
The Deacons also set season-highs in hits (15) and hit by pitches (4), while drawing nine walks, their second-highest total of the season.
The entire Wake Forest offense contributed to the 17-run effort, but juniors Will Craig and Ben Breazeale led they way with 10 combined RBIs.
Craig recorded his second-career multi-homer game, blasting two three-run longballs and setting a new career-high with six RBIs.
Breazeale also had a career day, establishing a new career-high with four RBIs while tying a career-high with three hits.
Sophomore Drew Loepprich continued his strong start to the season, tossing six innings of five-hit, one-run ball to earn his second win of the season. Loepprich also added five strikeouts, matching his career-high.
Wake Forest left runners in scoring position in the first two innings before finally breaking through in the third. Joey Rodriguez led off the inning with a double and Kevin Conway drew a walk. That set the stage for Craig, who crushed a 2-1 offering over the right-center fence to give the Deacs a 3-1 lead.
The Spiders (9-3) responded in the top of the next inning with a run on an RBI single, but the Deacons quickly answered in the fifth, as Breazeale brought home Stuart Fairchild on an RBI single through the right side.
Wake Forest began to pull away in the sixth with a four-run inning that included Breazeale's bases-clearing double to bring the lead to 8-1.
Richmond rallied in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to four. However, Wake Forest answered quickly, with Craig's second three-run homer of the day contributing to a five-run seventh that put the game out of reach.
The Deacs were far from done, as they added four more runs in the eighth to give themselves a 13-run advantage heading to the ninth, the largest lead they have enjoyed at any point this season.
Rodriguez finished with three hits, including a double, while Drew Freedman also added a multi-hit game.
The Deacons finish the homestand at 4-1 and sit at 9-3 overall.which is their best 12-game start since they also started 9-3 in 2012-13.
Wake Forest hits the road for a pair of midweek games at top-20 foe Coastal Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday, with first pitch set for 5 p.m. each day.
