Wake Forest University
16-3, 3-2
Georgia Tech
14-5, 3-2
Wake Forest Destroys Offensive Records; Clinches Series Over No. 6 Georgia Tech with 27-7 Win
3/19/2022 10:13:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons set the program record for runs and hits in an ACC game to clinch their first conference series of the season.
ATLANTA -- Behind a record-breaking offensive performance, the Wake Forest Baseball team clinched their first Atlantic Coast Conference series of the season, defeating No. 6 Georgia Tech, 27-7, on Saturday inside Mac Nease Baseball Park.
The Deacs' (16-3, 3-2 ACC) offense exploded in their fifth conference game of the season, setting a new program record for most runs (27) and hits (28) in an ACC game to earn their first series win over a top-10 team since taking two-of-three games from No. 8 NC State in 2019.
Additionally, the 20-run margin of victory is the second-highest for an ACC game in program history as the Demon Deacons defeated Georgia Tech (14-5, 3-2 ACC) by 21 runs on April 16, 1999.
This year's squad became the first team since 2003 (sixth all-time) to score at least 20 runs in three games in a season. Additionally, this ties the most 20-run game in a single season in program history.
Nick Kurtz had a historic day at the plate as the freshman became the first Wake Forest batter since 2005 to record six hits in the game. This is also tied for the second most in program history and is the most by a freshman in school history.
Brock Wilken led the charge in Wake Forest's 12-run fifth inning with a leadoff home run and a three-run long fly as the Valrico, Fla. native became the first Demon Deacon since 2017 to hit two home runs in one inning (Nick DiPonzio on April 4).
Brendan Tinsman joined Wilken with a pair of long flies, getting Wake Forest on the scoreboard with a two-run shot in the top of the second before adding a second two-run home run to cap off the offensive eruption in the fifth.
Seth Keener made his fourth start of his sophomore campaign, tossing 3.1 innings and striking out five batters while allowing four earned runs.
Crawford Wade recorded 1.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, striking out a pair of Yellow Jackets before Teddy McGraw recorded the next nine outs in hitless fashion.
Zach Grace made his second appearance of the season, recording a pair of punchouts in the ninth.
How It Happened
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Georgia Tech plated three runs in the bottom of the first off two hits, including a two-run home run, and a pair of Demon Deacon errors to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
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Wake Forest responded with a two-run home run of their own as Brendan Tinsman knocked a long fly off the right field foul pole. Jake Reinisch was plated on the homer as the sophomore was walked with two outs.
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The Yellow Jackets added another run with two doubles in the bottom of the second.
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Seth Keener tallied his third strikeout of his start for the second out of the inning.
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A diving play on a grounder by Nick Kurt at first base ended the frame.
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Wake Forest got one run back in the top of the third as Tommy Hawke was scored on a sac fly from Brock Wilken, his 19th RBI of the season.
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Hawke led off the inning with a single to right field before Kurtz tallied a single of his own to place two Deacs on base.
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A fielder's choice and walk loaded the bases with Wilken up to bat.
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The Yellow Jackets extended their advantage to 5-3 with a leadoff home run. Keener settled in and retired the next three batters to end the frame.
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Keener struck out his fourth Yellow Jacket of his outing for the second out.
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A three-run top of the fourth pushed Wake Forest into the lead (6-5) as Nick Kurtz notched a two-RBI double to deep center field before Pierce Bennett's RBI-single plated the freshman from second.
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The Deacs placed runners on first and second with no outs as Reinisch picked up his second walk and Tinsman notched an in-field single.
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Wake Forest's rally came with two outs.
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Keener struck out a Yellow Jacket for the first out of the fourth before Crawford Wade took over the pitching duties. Wade induced a fielder's choice and a fly out to center to get out of the inning unscathed.
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Wake Forest's bats erupted for 12 runs in the fifth inning to jump out to a 18-5 lead as the Deacs tallied 10 hits and three home runs.
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Brock Wilken blasted two home runs in the frame. Tinsman joined Wilken with a long fly in the inning, his second of the game.
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After Wilken's leadoff home run, the next 10 Demon Deacons reached base safely as Wake Forest scored 10 runs before a single out was recorded.
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With the bases loaded, Wake Forest tallied consecutive RBI-singles from Hawke, Kurtz, Bennett and Michael Turconi.
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Wilken became the first Demon Deacon since 2017 to hit two home runs in one inning (Nick DiPonzio on April 4). Overall, Wilken tallied four RBIs on his pair of home runs in the inning.
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Georgia Tech loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, but Wade retired the next three bases to keep the Yellow Jackets off the scoreboard.
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Wade fanned consecutive batters for the opening outs of the frame.
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The Deacs put together another two-out rally in the top half of the sixth as Reinisch notched a 2-RBI single to right field with the bases loaded to increase Wake Forest's lead to 20-5.
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Turconi singled to center field, Wilken doubled to deep left field and Cecere walked to load the bases. Turconi and Wilken scored on Reinisch's first hit of the ball game.
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Teddy McGraw tossed a hitless bottom of the sixth with a trio of ground outs.
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The Demon Deacon lead increased to 21-5 with three singles in the top of the seventh. Bennett notched his third hit and drove in his second and third run of the game to empty the bases.
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Corona and Kurtz both notched base knocks and scored on Bennett's hit.
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McGraw returned in the bottom of the seventh and tossed a perfect 1-2-3 inning on just 12 pitches.
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McGraw punched out his first Georgia Tech batter for the second out.
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Kurtz registered his fourth and fifth RBIs of the game with a double off the right field wall in the top of the eighth, pushing Wake Forest's lead to 23-5.
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Cecere (walk) and Zach Sehgal (single) scored on Kurtz's fifth hit of the day.
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Kyle Joye also reached base with a walk.
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McGraw tallied his third-straight scoreless inning in the bottom of the eighth.
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The Deacs tacked on four runs on four hits in the top of the ninth, taking a 27-5 lead into the final half inning of the game.
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An RBI-groundout from Zach Seghal scored Wilken (fielding error) for the first run of the inning.
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Chris Katz notched an RBI-single up the middle to score Pirmin Brechbuhl, who tallied his first collegiate hit.
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Will Ray was walked with the bases loaded before Jimmy Broderick scored Kyle Joye.
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Wake Forest clinched their first ACC series of 2022 by a final score of 27-7 as Zach Grace fanned a pair of Yellow Jackets in his second appearance in the Old Gold and Black.
Standout Stats
The Demon Deacon offense exploded in their second game against Georgia Tech, setting a new program record for most runs (27) and hits (28) in an ACC game.
Wake Forest's 28 hits rank tied for third in program history, while their 27 runs stand as the sixth-most runs scored in a single game:
Single-Game Runs in Program History
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30 vs. Davidson (2.24.00) W, 30-4
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30 vs. Campbell (4.23.92) W, 30-1
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30 vs. UNC Asheville (3.9.92) W, 30-7
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30 vs. Campbell (3.12.79) W, 30-5
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28 vs. Rhode Island (3.18.88) W, 28-1
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27 vs. Georgia Tech (3.19.22), W, 27-7
Single-Game Hits in Program History
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30 vs. Campbell (4.23.92) W, 30-1
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29 vs. Davidson (2.24.00) W, 30-4
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28 vs. Georgia Tech (3.19.22), W, 27-7
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28 vs. UNC Asheville (3.9.92) W, 30-7
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28 vs. E. Tenn. St. (3.28.90) W, 21-4
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28 vs. Liberty (3.25.88) W, 23-5
Additionally, the 20-run margin of victory is the second-highest in program history for an ACC game as the Demon Deacons defeated Georgia Tech by 21 runs on April 16, 1999.
20 Runs or More in an ACC Game
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at Georgia Tech (March 19, 2022) - W, 27-7
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vs. Pitt (April 13, 2019) - W, 20-8
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vs. Maryland (May 24, 2005) - W, 20-13*
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vs. Maryland (April 23, 2004) - W, 21-16
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at Maryland (April 27, 2001) - W, 20-3
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at Georgia Tech (April 16, 1999) - W, 22-1
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vs. Maryland (April 9, 1994) - W, 20-6
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vs. Duke (April 5, 1988) - W, 21-4
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at Georgia Tech (April 4, 1981) - L, 20-21
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vs. Clemson (April 24, 1976) - W, 22-9
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vs. Clemson (May 4, 1962) - W, 20-4*
* Denotes in ACC Tournament
Nick Kurtz had a historic day at the plate as the freshman became the first Wake Forest batter since 2015 to record six hits in the game. This is also tied for the second most in program history.
Most hits in a single game
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7, Ryan Hubbard vs. Maryland (March 16, 2003)
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6, Nick Kurtz vs. Georgia Tech (March 19, 2022)
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6, Billy Masse vs. Liberty (March 25, 1988)
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6, Brian Grief vs. Francis Marion (March 13, 1983)
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6, Ben Ingold vs. Clemson (May 14, 2005)
Brock Wilken launched two home runs in Wake Forest's 12-run fifth inning to become the first Demon Deacon since 2017 to two home runs in a single inning (Nick DiPonzio vs. Elon on April 4).
Words from Walter
"Great team win. We swung the bats really well. Nick Kurtz had a huge day. Good to see Brock Wilken swinging the bat really well, staying in the middle of the field. Those two guys got it done offensively. It was good to see Brendan Tinsman swing the bat really well. Really those three guys were the difference today.
"Seth threw the ball okay. I was really happy with the way Crawford threw out of the bullpen. He came in and got some big outs for us and made some big pitches with men on base. It was good to see Teddy McGraw back out there and get us nine outs. It sets us up obviously to hopefully get him back out there next weekend and sets our pitching back to how we want it. It's great to win a series on the road. I know Georgia Tech is going to come ready to play tomorrow. They have a really good guy on the mound and so do we. It should be a good ball game tomorrow."
On Deck
Wake Forest looks to sweep the weekend series on Sunday, March 20 at 1 p.m. The finale can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
The Deacs will be back on the road on Tuesday, March 22 against nationally-ranked Liberty at Liberty Baseball Stadium in Lynchburg, Va.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wade, Crawford (2-0)
L: Logan McGuire (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Kurtz, Nick 2 ; Wilken, Brock 1
HR: Wilken, Brock 2 ; Tinsman, Brendan 2
RBI: Kurtz, Nick 6 ; Bennett, Pierce 3 ; Ray, Will 1 ; Turconi, Michael 2 ; Broderick, James 1 ; Wilken, Brock 5 ; Reinisch, Jake 2 ; Tinsman, Brendan 4 ; Corona, Danny 1 ; Sehgal, Zach 1 ; Hawke, Tommy 1
SF: Wilken, Brock 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kurtz, Nick 2 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Turconi, Michael 2 ; Wilken, Brock 4 ; Cecere, Adam 2 ; Brechbuhl, Pirmin 1 ; Reinisch, Jake 4 ; Katz, Chris 1 ; Tinsman, Brendan 4 ; Corona, Danny 2 ; Sehgal, Zach 1 ; Hawke, Tommy 2 ; Joye, Kyle 1
HBP: Reinisch, Jake 2
Batting:
2B: Tres Gonzalez 1 ; John Anderson 1
HR: Andrew Jenkins 2 ; Jett Lovett 1
RBI: Tres Gonzalez 1 ; Andrew Jenkins 3 ; Jett Lovett 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Tres Gonzalez 1 ; Kevin Parada 1 ; Andrew Jenkins 2 ; John Giesler 1 ; Jett Lovett 1 ; John Anderson 1
CS: Colin Hall 1
