Baseball Gameday: Wake Forest vs. Notre Dame

Gameday Central \| Wake Forest vs. Notre Dame
Game 15	Saturday, March 9, 12 p.m.
Coverage	Live Stats \| ACC Network Extra
Game 16	Sunday, March 10, 1 p.m.
Coverage	Live Stats \| ACC Network Extra
Game 17	Sunday, March 10, 5 p.m.
Coverage	Live Stats \| ACC Network Extra
Location	Winston-Salem, N.C. (David F. Couch Ballpark) - Facility Info \| Tickets: $5 \| Weather
Information	Wake Forest Notes \| @WakeB aseball

Dates and times subject to change due to weather.

The Matchup
• Wake Forest opens ACC play this weekend, playing host to Notre Dame from Friday-Sunday on ACC Network Extra.

Last Time Out
• The Demon Deacons lost a pair of games at No. 16 Coastal Carolina. On Tuesday, the Deacs battled back from deficits of 5-0 and 9-6 to tie the game, but the Chanticleers earned a walk-off win in the 12th inning. Wednesday, Coastal Carolina scored nine runs over the first two innings en route to a 14-8 victory.
• Bobby Hearn, Antonio Menendez and Reese Robinson each pitched multiple innings out of the pen to lead the pitching staff.
• Bruce Steel hit a pair of home runs on Wednesday, while Patrick Frick went 5-for-11 with a homer, stolen base and five RBIs over the two games.

Wake Forest Storylines
• The Demon Deacons return an experienced group in 2019, bringing back eight of the nine position starters and two-thirds of the weekend rotation. Last year, Wake Forest had the fifth-most starts from freshmen in the country, with five rookies making more than 35 starts each. The Deacs return 88 percent of the team's hits from last year (437/499), as well as 71 percent of the innings pitched (366.1/515.1).
• Wake Forest's weekend pitching rotation has been solid early in the year. Colin Peluse, Jared Shuster and Morgan McSweeney each have ERAs under 3.75 with opponent batting averages under .250. Shuster is currently 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 18.0 innings.

Opponent & Series History
• Wake Forest leads the all-time series against Notre Dame, 12-7. The Fighting Irish claimed the series in Indiana last year, two games to one, but the Deacs earned the sweep last time the teams met in Winston-Salem in 2017.
• The Fighting Irish are off to a 4-7 start to the 2019 campaign. Last weekend, Notre Dame beat Charleston Southern twice, also falling to Ball State twice.
• Eric Gilgenbach has been Notre Dame's top power source, hitting more than half (four) of ND's seven homers. He also has five doubles and a .279 average. Two-sport athlete Cole Kmet leads the Irish on the mound with a 3.14 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.

On Deck
• Wake Forest continues its eight-game homestand on Tuesday against App State.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Patrick Frick

Bobby Hearn

Morgan McSweeney

Antonio Menendez

Colin Peluse

Reese Robinson

Jared Shuster

Bruce Steel

Wake Forest Athletics