Wake Forest University
29-22, 13-14
Miami
36-16, 16-11
Deacs Down No. 14 Miami in Thrilling Home Finale, 9-7
5/13/2019 11:26:00 PM | Baseball
Wake Forest stormed from behind with five runs in the eighth, including a go-ahead homer by Shane Muntz.
The Hurricanes (36-16, 16-11 ACC) had been 33-0 when leading after seven innings, but the Demon Deacons (29-22, 13-14 ACC) snapped that streak with an eighth-inning rally. Wake Forest put together a five-run inning, thanks to a two-run double by Bobby Seymour, a two-run go-ahead homer by Shane Muntz, and another home run from Michael Ludowig which turned a 6-4 deficit into a 9-6 lead.
Seymour (2-for-4, walk), Muntz (2-for-3, two walks) and Ludowig (3-for-4, walk) each reached base at least three times and had two RBIs apiece as the 4-5-6 hitters to lead the Deacon offense.
"It was a good win," head coach Tom Walter said. "Obviously we had some big at bats. Bobby Seymour and Shane Muntz back-to-back in the eighth with the two big at bats of the day. I'm proud of those guys for coming through in that situation when the team needed them."
The teams traded punches in the early innings. Alex Toral hit a two-run homer to put Miami up 2-0 in the second, but Brendan Tinsman hit an RBI single to get the Deacs on the board.
Willy Escala hit an RBI single for Miami in the fourth and an ensuing passed ball made the score 4-1 in favor of the Canes.
Wake Forest again answered right back in the bottom of the inning, this time with a two-run single by Michael Turconi. Ludowig added an RBI fielder's choice in the fifth to tie the game at 4-4.
Tyler Witt settled the game down in relief for the Demon Deacons, tossing shutout frames in the fifth and sixth innings before Miami scraped together runs on a wild pitch in the seventh and sac fly in the eighth. Witt earned the win and improved to 4-1 by throwing 4.0 innings, matching his career high with five strikeouts, allowing two runs on three hits and no walks.
Three straight Deacons struck big in the eighth inning. After Turconi walked and Chris Lanzilli was hit by a pitch, Seymour split the right-center gap to tie the game. Muntz then hit a 1-2 pitch over the right-field wall to give the Deacs their first lead of the game, 8-6. Ludowig left the yard on the very next pitch to push the advantage to 9-6.
Miami scored one run in the ninth, but William Fleming entered to record the last two outs of the game in the ninth to strand the potential tying run on first base and pick up his ninth save of the season.
The Deacs have a quick turnaround, traveling to Radford on Tuesday night for a 6 p.m. game on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Witt, Tyler (4-1)
L: Daniel Federman (2-4)
S: Fleming, William (9)
Batting:
2B: Michael Amditis 1
3B: Jordan Lala 1 ; Tony Jenkins 1
HR: Alex Toral 1
RBI: Alex Toral 3 ; Willy Escala 1 ; Isaac Quinones 1
SF: Alex Toral 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jordan Lala 1 ; Michael Amditis 1 ; JP Gates 1 ; Alex Toral 1 ; Chad Crosbie 1 ; Tony Jenkins 2
SB: Jordan Lala 1
Batting:
2B: Frick, Patrick 1 ; Seymour, Bobby 1
HR: Muntz, Shane 1 ; Ludowig, Michael 1
RBI: Turconi, Michael 2 ; Seymour, Bobby 2 ; Muntz, Shane 2 ; Ludowig, Michael 2 ; Tinsman, Brendan 1
SH: Steel, Bruce 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Turconi, Michael 1 ; Lanzilli, Chris 1 ; Seymour, Bobby 2 ; Muntz, Shane 2 ; Ludowig, Michael 2 ; Steel, Bruce 1
HBP: Frick, Patrick 1 ; Lanzilli, Chris 1
