Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: A Summer to Remember: Wilken and Adler Shined On Collegiate Baseball’s Biggest Stage
3/3/2022 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons swept the Cape Cape Baseball League’s top awards as Brock Wilken was named MVP and Eric Adler was selected as the Most Outstanding Reliever.
The future is bright for Wake Forest Baseball, and that future begins now.
The collegiate summer league results were outstanding across the board, but especially in the most prestigious league (the Cape Cod League) in the country, where a pair of Deacs grabbed most valuable player awards for their respective performances.
Brock Wilken earned the Pat Sorenti MVP Award, leading the Harwich Mariners to the playoffs while batting .302 with a .949 OPS. He clobbered six home runs and drove in 26 while leading the league in doubles and walks in 36 games played.
On the mound, it was Eric Adler who brought the hardware back to Winston-Salem, grabbing the Russ Ford Outstanding Relief Pitcher Award with the Bourne Braves. He led the Cape Cod League with seven saves, finishing the season with a 1.14 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched.
Adler fanned 22 batters and walked just three batters in 11 appearances before giving up his first earned run, becoming the first Cape Cod pitcher to post averages of 0.00 ERA, over 10 strikeouts per nine innings and less than 2.5 walks per nine innings since Marcus Stroman in 2010.
"Coming away with two MVPs is something special," Wilken said. "To have two guys come back like that is incredible. Me and Eric have done a great job of helping to lead the team where it needs to go."
The Cape Cod MVP almost didn't even have an opportunity to play in the Cape Cod League.
"It was in the fall last year when I knew he was special," Wake Forest coach Tom Walter said. "I was calling people on the Cape and telling them that he needed to be there. I couldn't get anybody to take him. Then finally Harwich took him. I got a call from their coach like two weeks into the season telling me that he'll listen to me from now on."
After seeing him in action over the summer, six other Cape Cod managers called Walter saying they should have listened.
"It was obvious early he was special," Walter said. "You are not the youngest MVP in the Cape league for no reason. Joey Cora and Carlos Pena are the next two youngest after him."
In 47 games a season ago for the Demon Deacons, Wilkin batted .279 with 17 home runs, tying a Wake Forest freshman record, and 44 RBIs.
Overall, he enjoyed the summer on the field and off.
"This summer was amazing," Wilken said. "It was the most amazing, fun summer I've ever had. I got hooked up with, by chance, the best host family. They were amazing and I get to spend this summer with them as well, which I'm stoked for. A big key in summer ball is your host family. They were awesome."
Performing under pressure is a trait that will pay dividends for Wilken at Wake Forest, especially if the Deacs make the expected turnaround in 2022.
"I learned how to really handle that pressure and be a real baseball player when it counted," he said. "You're facing everybody's Friday night guy from all over the country. You have the best of the best. Then there's 40-plus scouts watching batting practice and another 20 watching the game. It's really handling that pressure and how to handle those situations against the best. That was a big takeaway for myself, as well as learning to be a better hitter."
For Adler, the summer was an opportunity for him to focus on what makes him a dominant pitcher.
"Adler just got a lot more comfortable in his skin," Walter said. "He got confident in who he is. In pitching that is such a huge deal. If you try to do too much, that's when your delivery falls apart. When you try to do too much is when you become unsure.
"Eric had a good year with us last year, but the times he did get into trouble was when he tried to do too much. Now he's comfortable with who he is."
Adler had six saves in 17 appearances for Wake Forest last season, ending the year with a 2.00 ERA.
"The summer was awesome," he said. "I was on a great team with great coaches. I really couldn't have asked for it to be any better. I kind of found myself and found the mindset I needed to be the best I could be.
"I really saw the importance of a team that gels together and how good they can be. That team got really close from day two. We went on an 18-0 run, and that taught me a lot. I'm really looking forward to this season."
"We have a loaded bullpen," Adler said. "We can really throw anything at you. It just depends on what Coach Walter wants to do, and I trust his decision. We're going to have a lot of success on the mound."
Through nine games, Wake Forest is off to a 9-0 start, their best since 1964, with Wilken and Adler leading the way.
Wilken is currently on a nine-game hit streak heading into the third weekend of the season, batting .378 with 14 hits and 14 RBIs.
Adler has made three appearances out of Wake Forest's bullpen, picking up two saves while striking out 10 batters.
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