Wake Forest University
15-3, 2-2
Georgia Tech
14-4, 3-1
Wake Forest Defeats No. 6 Georgia Tech in Series Opener, 5-3
3/18/2022 10:54:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons jumped ahead in the top of the first with a Michael Turconi three-run long fly, holding the lead for the remainder of the game behind a trio of strong performances on the mound.
ATLANTA -- The Wake Forest baseball team defeated No. 6 Georgia Tech, 5-3, in their conference road opener Friday night inside Mac Nease Baseball Park.
The series-opening win marked the second-consecutive Friday Wake Forest (15-3, 2-2 ACC) defeated a top-10 opponent as well as Georgia Tech's (14-4, 3-1 ACC) first home loss of the 2022 season.
Wake Forest jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first with a three-run home run from Michael Turconi and never looked back, holding onto a lead for the remainder of the game. His fifth round tripper of the season ties him for the team lead with Nick Kurtz.
Rhett Lowder moved to a perfect 5-0 on the season, tossing five innings with five strikeouts while allowing just two earned runs.
The Deacs continued to get great performances from their bullpen arms. Camden Minacci took over in the bottom of the sixth and pitched 3.2 scoreless frames with five strikeouts. Minacci retired the side in the sixth and eighth inning.
Eric Adler picked up his fourth save of his redshirt sophomore campaign, recording a punch out for the final out of the game.
Overall, Wake Forest's arms combined for 11 strikeouts and just three walks.
Tommy Hawke went a perfect 4-of-4 at the plate and stole a pair of bases that put him in position to score Wake Forest's fourth run of the game. His four base knocks set a new season-high for the freshman.
How It Happened
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Wake Forest jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Michael Turconi launched a three-run home run to left field.
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Nick Kurtz opened the game with a leadoff single to right field before advancing to second on a fielding error by Georgia Tech on a Pierce Bennett laser to shortstop. With Kurtz and Bennett on base, Turconi hit his fifth home run of the season, tying Kurtz for the team lead.
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With two outs, Jake Reinisch tallied the Deacs' third hit of the inning.
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Georgia Tech plated an unearned run, cutting into Wake Forest's lead (3-1) after the first full inning.
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Rhett Lowder began his fifth start of the season with a strikeout.
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With two outs, back-to-back fielding errors by the Deacs pushed Georgia Tech's first run of the game.
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Lowder ended the inning with a three-pitch strikeout with runners on first and second.
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The Deacs loaded the bases in the top of the second, but Georgia Tech induced an inning-ending double play as Wake Forest continued to lead 3-1.
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Tommy Hawke advanced to second base with one out following a single and a balk before Kurtz was walked.
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Wake Forest loaded the bases as a fielding error landed Bennett on base for the second time of the contest.
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The Yellow Jackets added another run in the bottom half of the second with a pair of hits. Lowder induced a groundout to Brock Wilken at third to preserve Wake Forest's one-run lead (3-2).
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Lowder tossed a scoreless third with his third strikeout of his start and a pair of fly outs as Wake Forest continued to lead 3-2 through three frames.
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Lowder worked around a pair of base runners with one out to keep the Yellow Jackets off the scoreboard.
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The Deacs extended their lead to three runs after the top of the fourth as Hawke was brought home by Nick Kurtz on an RBI-groundout after a single and back-to-back stolen bases from the center fielder.
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Rhett Lowder got out of a bases loaded jam with his fourth strikeout of the game in the bottom of the fourth.
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The Yellow Jackets tacked on a run with a double and RBI single with one out, cutting into the Demon Deacon lead (4-3).
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Wake Forest got a run back in the top of the sixth as Turconi was plated on an RBI-fielder's choice from Reinisch.
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Turconi led off the inning with a single to center field before Adam Cecere singled to left center to place runners on the corners with one out.
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After a pitching change, Reinisch picked up his 17th RBI of the season.
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Lowder fanned his fifth batter to end the bottom of the fifth inning as the right hander tossed his second scoreless frame to keep Wake Forest's lead (5-3) at two.
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Hawke notched his third base hit of the game in the top of the sixth before Kurtz was walked for the second time of the night. The Deacs continued to lead 5-3 as a fielder's choice and fly out to right field ended the top of the frame.
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Camden Minacci hit the bump in the bottom half, tossing a nine-pitch inning to retire the Yellow Jackets in order.
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Minacci induced a pop up to Kurtz in foul territory for the first out before fanning the next two Georgia Tech batters.
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Hawke tallied his season-best fourth hit of the game in the bottom of the seventh, but Wake Forest took their two-run lead (5-3) into the eighth as a strikeout ended the frame.
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Minacci once again retired the Yellow Jackets in order in the bottom of the eighth with back-to-back groundouts and a pop fly to Kurtz in shallow right field.
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For the first out of the inning, Danny Corona made a twisting throw on the run to get the leadoff batter.
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Wilken notched a two-out double as Wake Forest threatened in the bottom of the ninth. A flyout to center field ended the Demon Deacons' final offensive opportunity.
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Minacci tallied the opening outs of the bottom of the ninth with back-to-back punchouts, moving his total to five strikeouts. With a runner on first, Eric Adler entered the game and struck out a Yellow Jacket to claim the series opener, 5-3.
In The Spotlight
Rhett Lowder moved to a perfect 5-0 on the season, setting a new career high in victories. The righthander tossed five innings with five strikeouts while allowing just two earned runs.
Heading into Friday, Lowder was one of only five pitchers in the ACC with four wins on the mound.
The Deacs continued to get great performances from their bullpen arms. Camden Minacci took over in the bottom of the sixth and pitched 3.2 scoreless frames with five strikeouts. Minacci retired the side in the sixth and eighth inning.
Eric Adler recorded his fourth save of the season and the 11th of his career.
Tommy Hawke went a perfect 4-of-4 at the plate and stole a pair of bases that put him in position to score Wake Forest's fourth run of the game. His four base knocks set a new season-high for the freshman.
This marks the second time this season a Demon Deacon tallied four hits in a game (Pierce Bennett vs. Lafayette, Feb. 18).
Words from Walter
"That's a great team win. Rhett battled. He had some things go against him early. Some plays we probably could and should've made which gave them a couple runs and ran his pitch count up. I was really proud of the way he pitched in the fourth and the fifth with the game on the line, making big pitch after big pitch so really proud of Rhett. Obviously, Cam Minacci - you can't throw the ball any better than that. He was outstanding. Ric (Eric Adler) does what he does. He came in and got a big punch out for us. I am really happy with the way we threw the ball today.
"Our defense early was shaky, but the defense late in the eighth inning made two big-time plays. Danny Corona on that ball up the middle on the other side of the bag, that's a big-time play. Nick Kurtz going away from the field, back to the field and making that play. Turc (Michael Turconi) with the home run to get us up early. Tommy Hawke had a great day. He stole us a big insurance run with his legs, stealing second and third and then scoring on the ground ball. All and all, it was a very good team win."
On Deck
Wake Forest returns to the diamond for game two of the series at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Mac Nease Baseball Park. The contest can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
Sunday's series finale is set for Sunday, March 20 at 1 p.m.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lowder, Rhett (5-0)
L: Chance Huff (2-1)
S: Adler, Eric (4)
Batting:
2B: Wilken, Brock 1
HR: Turconi, Michael 1
RBI: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Turconi, Michael 3 ; Reinisch, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Turconi, Michael 2 ; Hawke, Tommy 1
SB: Hawke, Tommy 2
Batting:
2B: John Anderson 1
RBI: Tres Gonzalez 2
SH: Bradley Frye 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kevin Parada 1 ; Stephen Reid 1 ; John Anderson 1
