Wake Forest University
4-5
La Salle
4-3
Simoneit's Slam Helps No. 24 Deacs Top La Salle, 7-4
2/28/2020 7:51:00 PM | Baseball
William Simoneit's eighth-inning grand slam turned a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 lead.
Simoneit cleared the bases to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 7-3 lead, which the Demon Deacons (4-5) held onto thanks to a scoreless ninth inning from Tyler Witt.
Witt earned the win with 2.0 shutout innings, allowing just an infield single. He also recorded the last of 16 Wake Forest strikeouts, as Ryan Cusick (13), Riley Myers (1) and Bobby Hearn (1) tallied the others.
Cusick fanned 13 Explorers (4-3) over 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks.
"Hopefully we can use a game like this to come out of [our slump]," head coach Tom Walter said. "Cusick was really good tonight. He could've easily thrown a shutout tonight. There were a couple plays we didn't make behind him and a couple bad 0-2 pitches, but other than that I thought Ryan Cusick was really good."
Bobby Seymour skied a two-run homer over the right-field wall in the first inning to give the Deacs an early 2-0 advantage.
La Salle chipped away with an RBI single by Tatem Levins in the third and an RBI double from Elijah Dickerson in the fifth to tie the score at 2-2.
Shane Muntz drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth to put the Deacs ahead, 3-2, but pinch hitter Dylan Maria hit a two-run triple in the seventh which gave the Explorers a 4-3 advantage.
The eighth inning was sparked by a trio of singles from Seymour, Muntz and Brendan Tinsman, setting up Simoneit's opposite-field slam.
"We needed it just to breathe. We haven't been playing great, everybody feels that," Walter said. "This team knows what it's capable of, so we're pressing."
Seymour, Tinsman and DJ Poteet notched two hits apiece, while Muntz had a single and two walks.
Wake Forest will play Brown in a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Witt, Tyler (1-0)
L: KENNEDY, Colin (1-1)
Batting:
2B: SMITH, David 1 ; DICKERSON, Elijah 1
3B: MARIA, Dylan 1
RBI: LEVINS, Tatem 1 ; DICKERSON, Elijah 1 ; MARIA, Dylan 2
SH: SMITH, David 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SMITH, David 1 ; DICKERSON, Elijah 1 ; COOLAHAN, Connor 2
SB: CUCINOTTA, Jack 2 ; COOLAHAN, Connor 1
CS: SADALLAH, Alfonse 1
HBP: COOLAHAN, Connor 1
Batting:
HR: Seymour, Bobby 1 ; Simoneit, William 1
RBI: Seymour, Bobby 2 ; Muntz, Shane 1 ; Simoneit, William 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Turconi, Michael 1 ; Poteet, DJ 1 ; Seymour, Bobby 2 ; Muntz, Shane 1 ; Tinsman, Brendan 1 ; Simoneit, William 1
SB: Poteet, DJ 1
