Wake Forest University
1-0
Sacred Heart
0-1
No. 20 Wake Forest Routs Sacred Heart in 2019 Opener
2/15/2019 7:58:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first three innings and cruised to a 14-1 victory.
The win was Wake Forest's biggest on opening day since a 26-0 victory over App State in 2003.
Bobby Seymour led the Demon Deacons (1-0) with five RBIs over the first three innings, finishing 3-for-3 with a double. Morgan McSweeney was lights out on the mound, tossing 6.2 innings of shutout ball, striking out seven while conceding just two hits and a walk.
"First and foremost, it was a great start out of Morgan," head coach Tom Walter said. "That's as good as I've seen him pitch. He was pitching to contact and had all his pitches working today, so I'm really pleased with how he threw."
Offensively, Wake Forest totaled 12 hits and 11 walks, plus two hit batters. Michael Turconi reached base four times in his Wake Forest debut, finishing the day 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and two walks. Michael Ludowig added two hits and two walks, while Patrick Frick, Shane Muntz and Brendan Tinsman also reached base at least twice apiece.
In the first inning, Wake Forest loaded the bases with one out and scored just one run on a passed ball.
The following two innings, the Deacs took better advantage of the opportunities.
A Jake Mueller sacrifice fly and three-run double from Seymour pushed the lead to 5-0 in the second inning, and Seymour and Turconi added two RBIs apiece in a six-run third inning as the lead increased to 11-0. Chris Lanzilli also added a solo blast in the later innings.
That cushion allowed the Deacs to use every available position player, including Turconi, Tinsman, Drew Kendall (1-for-2), and Michael Wein (RBI) making their Wake Forest debuts.
Antonio Menendez struck out a pair in 1.1 scoreless innings, while Carter Bach added a strikeout as he tossed the ninth inning.
Wake Forest is back in action on Saturday, taking on Big Ten foe Illinois at 4 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McSweeney, Morgan (1-0)
L: TELLER, Brent (0-1)
Batting:
2B: MARKMANN, Austin 2 ; THIBAULT, Stephen 1
RBI: FALLACARO, Dan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MARKMANN, Austin 1
Batting:
2B: Seymour, Bobby 1 ; Muntz, Shane 1 ; Turconi, Michael 1
HR: Lanzilli, Chris 1
RBI: Mueller, Jake 1 ; Wein, Michael 1 ; Ludowig, Michael 1 ; Seymour, Bobby 5 ; Lanzilli, Chris 2 ; Turconi, Michael 3
SF: Mueller, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Frick, Patrick 2 ; Mueller, Jake 1 ; Ludowig, Michael 2 ; Lanzilli, Chris 1 ; Poteet, DJ 1 ; Long, Christian 1 ; Muntz, Shane 2 ; Kendall, Drew 1 ; Harvey, Logan 1 ; Turconi, Michael 2
HBP: Muntz, Shane 1 ; Tinsman, Brendan 1
