Wake Forest University
Duke
Wake Forest Tops Duke to Advance Into Pool Play
5/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeBaseball)
Wake Forest used a strong pitching performance from Parker Dunshee to defeat Duke, 4-3, on Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the ACC Championship at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The win is Wake Forest's (33-23) first in ACC Championship play since 2012.
Although the Demon Deacons were outhit by Duke (33-22), 13-5, the Wake Forest pitching staff delivered in the clutch throughout the game, stranding 12 Blue Devil baserunners on the afternoon.
Dunshee (9-4), working on two days short of normal rest, was outstanding for the Deacs, striking out 10 Blue Devils while scattering nine hits and allowing three earned runs over 6.2 innings. His 10 strikeouts are a career-high against an ACC foe.
Meanwhile, Will Craig came on in the seventh and stranded two runners in the seventh, one in the eighth, and two more in the ninth to earn his seventh save of the season and preserve the win for the Deacs. In total, Craig pitched 2.1 innings, allowing four hits, no runs, and struck out three, including one to end the game.
With the win, the Demon Deacons advance to pool play and take on Louisville on Wednesday night, Virginia on Friday afternoon and Clemson on Saturday morning.
The Deacs wasted no time getting on the board, as Stuart Fairchild stepped to the plate with one on and one out in the top of the first and launched the first pitch he saw over the high wall in left field to give Wake Forest an early 2-0 lead. Fairchild finished 2-for-4, homering in the first inning for the second straight game.
Duke answered with a run of their own in the second on Evan Dougherty's two-out RBI single. The Blue Devils recorded three hits in the inning, but Dunshee stranded two runners on to keep a 2-1 Wake Forest lead after two.
The Demon Deacons manufactured a run in the third, as Jonathan Pryor led off the with a single, took second on a balk, went to third on a flyout, and finally scored on Nate Mondou's sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the frame, Dunshee once again stranded two runners, keeping the Blue Devils off the board and giving the Deacs a 3-1 lead after three.
The Blue Devils threatened in the fifth as well, putting two runners on with nobody out. However, Dunshee was up to the task, striking out the next hitter before snagging a line-drive comebacker to begin a 1-3 double play to escape the jam.
The Deacs carried the momentum into the top of the sixth, as they plated a run on a two-out RBI single by Gavin Sheets which scored Farichild, who had reached on an infield single earlier in the inning.
The Blue Devils cut the lead to one in the seventh by plating two runs on three consecutive hits. However, Craig was able to escape the jam, with a lineout to center ending the Duke threat.
In the eighth, Craig got a key strikeout with the tying run on third and one out to preserve the lead into the ninth, where he struck out pinch hitter Michael Smiciklas swinging to leave the potential tying and winning runs on base to seal the win.
Up next, Wake Forest will take on second-seeded and third-ranked Louisville on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
