Wake Forest University
Clemson
No. 12 Clemson Edges Wake Forest, 5-4
5/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeBaseball)
DURHAM, N.C. -- Despite an outstanding pitching performance from Drew Loepprich, tenth-seeded Wake Forest fell to sixth-seeded and 12th-ranked Clemson, 5-4, on Saturday afternoon at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in the final game of pool play at the ACC Championship
With the loss, the Demon Deacons (34-25) will not advance to Sunday's ACC Championship and will await their seeding for the NCAA Tournament. The selection show airs on Monday at noon, live on ESPNU.
Wake Forest took a 4-1 lead into the seventh, but the Tigers (41-18) hit two homers in the seventh to tie it and scored what proved to be the game-winning run on a ninth-inning wild pitch.
Loepprich delivered one of his finest outings as a Deacon on Saturday, going 6.0 innings, while allowing just one run on four hits with a career-high six strikeouts.
On just three days rest, Parker Dunshee entered with the game tied in the seventh and tossed 3.0 innings, allowing one run on one hit with four strikeouts.
Ben Breazeale delivered the biggest hit of the day for the Deacons, as his two-run double in the fourth gave them a 3-1 lead. Gavin Sheets and Johnny Aiello added two hits apiece, while Will Craig went 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs.
In the first, Loepprich escaped a bases-loaded jam without any damage before the Deacs struck in the second on Kevin Conway's RBI groundout which scored Craig, who had hustled first to third on Sheets' single earlier in the frame.
The Tigers answered with a run in the fourth, but the Deacs responded quickly, scoring three runs of their own on Breazeale's two-run double and Aiello's RBI single.
Clemson tied the game in the seventh thanks to a solo shot by Mike Triller, followed by Chase Pinder's two run homer. Dunshee entered after the homer and after walking three straight, escaped a bases-loaded jam with a fly out to center.
In the ninth, Seth Beer was hit by a pitch and Chris Okey doubled to put runners on second and third and one away. Dunshee forced a foulout, but a wild pitch with two outs brought in the final run.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament selection, Wake Forest has a top-25 RPI, and has tallied 12 victories against top-25 RPI foes.
"Hopefully we're fortunate and we've given the committee enough reason to put us inI think we're playing our best baseball right now. We're certainly healthy right now, which is a big part of it," head coach Tom Walter said. "I feel like our club is a regional-caliber club and we certainly hope we get the opportunity."
