Wake Forest University
14-3
Western Carolina
8-9
Seven-Run Inning Elevates Wake Forest to Win over Western Carolina
3/15/2022 9:45:00 PM | Baseball
The Deacs' seven runs in the bottom of the third marked the third time this season Wake Forest has scored at least seven runs in an inning.
WINSTON-SALEM, NC. -- A seven-run third inning elevated the Wake Forest baseball team to a 7-5 victory over Western Carolina on Tuesday night at David F. Couch ballpark.
It marked the Deacs' (14-3, 1-2 ACC) 13th non-league win of the season as the team moved to 13-1 in non-conference play.
Trailing 3-0 in the middle of the third, the Deacons used their third inning of at least seven runs this the season to outlast the Catamounts (8-9, 0-0 SoCon), highlighted by a three-run home run from Nick Kurtz and RBI-singles from Pierce Bennett and Adam Cecere.
Kurtz now owns the team lead with five home runs to his credit this season. He is one of five Demon Deacons to have four or more homers.
Crawford Wade entered the game in the second inning and recorded eight outs while only giving up two hits to earn his first collegiate win. Gabe Golob relieved Wade at the top of the fourth inning and retired seven-straight batters. The Wade-Golob tandem combined for 5.2 innings of work on Tuesday night with four strikeouts and scattering four hits.
A Catamount rally began to unfold in the ninth before Jacob Grzebinski entered the game with the bases loaded and no outs. Grzebinski recorded a strikeout and held Western Carolina scoreless, recording his first save in the Old Gold and Black.
Pierce Bennett led the Deacs at the plate with three hits, two RBIs and one run scored. This marks the sixth time Bennett has notched at least two base hits and heads into the weekend leading Wake Forest with a .426 batting average and 23 hits.
In the eighth inning, Zach Grace made his Wake Forest debut and the lefthander induced the opening two outs of the frame.
Overall, Wake Forest has yet to give up more than five runs in a single game this season.
How It Happened
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Western Carolina took a 1-0 lead after the opening half inning with an unearned run following a pair of walks and an error.
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Reed Mascolo got the start on the mound and struck out his first batter of the game with two Catamounts on base following a pair of walks.
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Western Carolina scored on a throwing error as Wake Forest was trying to turn a double play.
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Mascolo induced an inning-ending groundout to Danny Corona at second for the third and final out.
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Pierce Bennett notched a base hit to left field with one out, but a strikeout and pop up ended the bottom of the first.
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Western Carolina increased their lead to 3-0 with two hits in the top of the second.
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Crawford Wade took over on the bump with one out and runners on first and second. The left induced a ground out before striking out a Western Carolina batter to end the frame.
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Wade tossed a hitless top of the third with two ground outs and a fly out to Tommy Hawke in center.
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The Catamounts placed a runner on first with one out following a hit batter.
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Wake Forest's bats exploded in the bottom of the third, plating seven runs on three hits and five walks, including a three-run home run from Nick Kurtz.
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James Broderick, Zach Sehgal and Tommy Hawke opened up the inning with walks to load the bases. Pierce Bennett notched a 2-RBI single to score Broderick and Sehgal.
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The Deacs took the lead as Hawke slid into home plate following a passed ball. Bennett advanced to second.
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Adam Cecere joined the party with a double to left field to score Bennett and advance Turconi to third, the last runs of the inning.
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The Catamounts cut into Wake Forest's lead (7-4) in the top of the fourth with a pair of base hits, including an RBI-double.
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Wade remained on the mound and picked up his second strikeout of the game to end the inning.
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Bennett tallied his third base hit of the game in the next half inning, but the Deacs were unable to capitalize as they took their three-run lead into the fifth.
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Gabe Golob tossed perfect fifth and sixth innings on the mound, retiring all six batters the right hander faced.
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In the top of the fifth, highlighted by a leaping catch from Hawke in center field ended the inning.
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After the Deacs were retired in order in the bottom of the sixth, Golob blanked the Catamounts for the third-straight inning in the top of the seventh as a 6-4-3 double play ended the frame.
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Turconi was walked to open up the bottom half of the seventh, but a double play cleared the bases. After another walk drawn by Kurtz, a strikeout ended the inning as Wake Forest continued to lead 7-4.
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Jacob Grzebinski replaced Eric Adler in the top of the ninth with the bases loaded and no one out. The lefthander slammed the door, forcing a pop up, strike out and fly out to clinch the two-run victory.
In The Spotlight
Crawford Wade earned the first win of his collegiate career tonight, entering the game in the top of the second and recording eight outs while only giving up two hits.
Pierce Bennett continued to find his footing at the plate as the redshirt sophomore led the Deacs on Tuesday night with three hits and two RBIs, the sixth multi-hit performance of the season and the 10th of his career.
The Baltimore, Md. native leads the Deacs with a .426 batting average and 23 hits.
Jacob Grzebinski entered the game with the bases loaded and no outs. Grzebinski recorded a strikeout and held Western Carolina scoreless while recording his first save in the Old Gold and Black.
Words from Walter
"I am really proud of Jacob Grzebinski and the way he stepped up in the ninth when we needed him. He showed a lot of composure stepping into that situation and he delivered. Both James Broderick and Zach Sehgal did a great job for us tonight, those guys haven't played a lot this season and they did a nice job stepping in.
"Our bullpen really came through for us tonight. Crawford Wade and Gabe Golob recorded 17 outs for us when we really needed them. Tomorrow is a much needed day off before we head to Georgia Tech."
On Deck
The Deacs head out for their first ACC road series of the season against nationally-ranked Georgia Tech on March 18-20 at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.
The trio of games can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wade, Crawford (1-0)
L: Lucas Hartman (0-1)
S: Grzebinski, Jacob (1)
Batting:
2B: Bryson Parks 1 ; Nate Stocum 1 ; Seth Graves 1 ; Cameron Murray 1
RBI: Zach Ketterman 1 ; Pascanel Ferreras 1 ; Seth Graves 1 ; Cameron Murray 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zach Ketterman 1 ; Nate Stocum 1 ; Seth Graves 1 ; Cameron Murray 1 ; Immanuel Wilder 1
HBP: Zach Ketterman 1 ; Bryson Parks 2 ; Drew Needham 1 ; Immanuel Wilder 1
Batting:
2B: Cecere, Adam 1
HR: Kurtz, Nick 1
RBI: Bennett, Pierce 2 ; Cecere, Adam 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Hawke, Tommy 1 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Turconi, Michael 1 ; Cecere, Adam 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Broderick, James 1 ; Sehgal, Zach 1
HBP: Sehgal, Zach 1
