Wake Forest University
17-4
Liberty
14-5
Demon Deacons Reel In Fourth Top-15 Victory, Defeat Liberty 13-6
3/22/2022 8:50:00 PM | Baseball
“That’s a great team win. I’m really proud of our guys. It’s not easy to score runs at this place against that pitching staff and we did a really good job.” - head coach Tom Walter
LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The No. 24 Wake Forest baseball team earned their fourth victory against a top-15 opponent on Tuesday, defeating No. 15 Liberty, 13-6, at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
At the conclusion of the game the nationally-ranked Demon Deacons (17-4, 3-3 ACC) were just the 11th team in the nation to reach the 17-win mark. Additionally, Wake Forest moved to 4-1 in midweek contests this season, scoring 70 runs in those five games.
The Deacs jumped out to a 1-0 lead over the Flames (14-5, 2-1 ASun) in the first inning and never looked back, scoring runs in the third, fourth, seventh, eighth innings before plating five runs in the ninth to post their ninth double-digit scoring game of the season.
Overall, the top of the Demon Deacon lineup produced in a big way during the midweek showdown as Wake Forest's one through six hitters drove in 10 of Wake Forest's 13 runs and combined for 13 hits.
Wake Forest tallied 16 base hits, the most Liberty has given up all season and the Demon Deacons' 13th double-digit hit game of the season.
Nick Kurtz launched a pair of two-run home runs and now leads Wake Forest with seven long flies on the year while Pierce Bennett posted a team-high four hits, including a two-run home run, marking the second time this season the Baltimore, Md. native has tallied four base knocks.
Michael Turconi and Tommy Hawke joined Bennett with multiple-RBIs. Brock Wilken registered his sixth home run of the season with a solo shot in the top of the seventh.
The Demon Deacons relied on seven arms in the midweek victory. Reed Mascolo made his fourth start of the season, striking out a trio of batters while allowing just two earned runs in 2.2 innings.
Crawford Wade and Gabe Golob continued to produce out of the bullpen as the duo combined for 3.1 scoreless innings. Wade recorded two punchouts after taking over for Mascolo while Golob earned his first win in the Old Gold and Black, conceding just one hit.
Derek Crum, Eric Adler, Camden Minacci and Brennen Oxford forced the final nine outs of the game on the mound. Adler and Minacci each tallied a strikeout, while Oxford punched out two batters in the ninth to clinch the midweek victory.
How It Happened
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The Demon Deacons struck first, taking a 1-0 lead after the opening half of the first.
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Nick Kurtz led off the game with a double down the right field line on the second pitch.
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Pierce Bennett moved Kurtz to third with a bunt single before Michael Turconi picked up his 23rd RBI of the season, bringing home Kurtz with an RBI-groundout to second base.
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A pair of groundouts ended the Demon Deacons' first scoring threat of the game.
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Reed Mascolo made his fourth start on the mound, posting a scoreless bottom half of the first with a groundout double play and a fly out to Tommy Hawke in center field.
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After allowing a leadoff single, Mascolo induced a grounder to Michael Turconi, who flipped the ball to Danny Corona for the opening two outs.
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Brendan Tinsman reached third base in the top of the second as the catcher was hit by a pitch before a wild pitch and ground out advanced him to scoring position. A deep fly out to left field ended the frame.
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Liberty tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second with a solo home run.
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Mascolo fanned the opening batter of the game before Liberty's game-tying homer. Mascolo responded with back-to-back punchouts to end the inning.
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Wake Forest regained the lead (3-1) in the top of the third with two runs on three hits and a stolen base.
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Bennett picked up his second base hit of the game with one out in the inning before stealing second.
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Turconi brought Bennett home as the redshirt junior doubled to right field.
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The Demon Deacons' second run of the inning came thanks to an RBI-single from Adam Cecere, scoring Turconi from second with two outs.
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Liberty got one run back in the bottom of the third with a leadoff home run to left field.
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Mascolo induced back-to-back fly outs with a runner on second before Crawford Wade took over and forced an inning-ending groundout to preserve Wake Forest's one run lead.
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A two-run home run from Kurtz pushed Wake Forest's lead to 5-2 heading into the bottom half of the fourth.
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Tommy Hawke, who walked with two outs, scored on Kurtz's sixth home run of the season.
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Wade returned to the bump in the bottom of the inning, tossing a 1-2-3 frame with a strikeout, pop up and ground out as Wake Forest took their 5-2 lead into the fifth.
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The Deacs were unable to capitalize on a pair of base runners in the top of the fifth as Brock Wilken and Jake Reinisch drew walks.
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Wade and Gabe Golob combined for a scoreless bottom of the fifth. Wade induced a ground out to open the inning. With runners on first and second, Wade fanned a Liberty batter before Golob took over and threw just two pitches before forcing the third and final out with a fly out to Hawke in center.
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After the Deacs were retired in order in the top of the sixth, Golob worked around an one-out double with a ground out and fly out to keep Wake Forest's lead at three (5-2).
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Wilken launched a solo home run over the Liberty bullpen to increase Wake Forest's lead to 6-2 in the top of the seventh.
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The Flames cut Wake Forest's lead (6-4) in half with a pair of wild pitches with the bases loaded.
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Derek Crum started the inning on the mound, inducing a pop up to the leadoff hitter.
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Eric Adler took over with the bases loaded and struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches.
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Camden Minacci took over with two outs and the bases full. The right hander punched out a Liberty batter to end the scoring threat.
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The Deacs got those runs back in the top of the eighth as Bennett launched a two-run home run to left field, scoring Kurtz (fielder's choice).
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The long fly marked Bennett's fourth hit of the day.
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Wake Forest tacked on five runs in the ninth on six hits, increasing their lead to 13-5.
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Corona opened the scoring with a RBI-single to left field that plated Cecere, who singled to lead off the inning.
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Hawke also notched an RBI-single, pushing the ball through the right side to score Reinisch (walk) and Corona.
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With Hawke on first, Kurtz launched his second home run of the day to center field.
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Brennen Oxford hit the mound in the ninth, posting two strikeouts and a fly out to clinch the 13-6 victory.
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The Flames added a run in the inning with an RBI-double down the line.
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Standout Stats
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Wake Forest notched their ninth double-digit scoring game of the season as the top of the Demon Deacon lineup produced in a big way during the midweek showdown. Wake Forest's one through six hitters drove in 10 of Wake Forest's 13 runs and combined for 13 hits.
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Overall, Wake Forest tallied 16 base hits, the most Liberty has given up all season and the Demon Deacons' 13th double-digit hit game of the season.
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Pierce Bennett led the Deacs at the plate with four hits and two RBIs, marking the second time this season the Baltimore, Md. native has tallied four base knocks.
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The Deacs launched four home runs against the Flames, increasing their season total to 41 homers. 11 Deacs have hit a long fly this season while four Wake Forest batters have hit at least five.
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With his second home run of the game, Kurtz took over the team lead as the freshman has hit seven long flies. Brock Wilken and Michael Turconi are second with six homers.
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Words from Walter
"That's a great team win. I'm really proud of our guys. It's not easy to score runs at this place against that pitching staff and we did a really good job. We had five two-out RBIs on the day. Adam Cecere with a base hit to right. Two outs and nobody on, Tommy Hawke walks and Nick Kurtz homers. Pierce Bennett really had the swing of the day. He took it from a 6-4 game to an 8-4 game. We were huge with two outs so a huge momentum swing there.
"I'm happy with the way we threw the ball. Crawford came in and bridged an inning. Gabe came in and bridged an inning and threw the ball well. Adler got us a big strikeout. Minacci came in and got us a big strikeout. We need to clean up a few things defensively. All and all, it was a great team win in a tough place to win."
On Deck
The Deacs continue their ACC schedule with their third-consecutive conference series against a ranked foe as No. 4 Virginia heads to Winston-Salem on March 25-27 for a three-game set at David F. Couch Ballpark.
The trio of games can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
Follow The Deacs:
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Golob, Gabe (1-0)
L: CUMMING, Dylan (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Turconi, Michael 1
HR: Kurtz, Nick 2 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Wilken, Brock 1
RBI: Kurtz, Nick 4 ; Bennett, Pierce 2 ; Turconi, Michael 2 ; Wilken, Brock 1 ; Cecere, Adam 1 ; Corona, Danny 1 ; Hawke, Tommy 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Kurtz, Nick 4 ; Bennett, Pierce 2 ; Turconi, Michael 1 ; Wilken, Brock 1 ; Cecere, Adam 1 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; Corona, Danny 1 ; Hawke, Tommy 2
SB: Bennett, Pierce 1
HBP: Tinsman, Brendan 1
Batting:
2B: GULAKOWSKI, Brady 1 ; ORNDORFF, Derek 1
HR: ORNDORFF, Derek 1 ; MATHIEU, Logan 1
RBI: ORNDORFF, Derek 2 ; MATHIEU, Logan 1 ; LAZZARO, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ANDERSON, Aaron 1 ; ORNDORFF, Derek 1 ; HILLIER, Three 1 ; MATHIEU, Logan 2 ; LAZZARO, Jake 1
SB: LAZZARO, Jake 1
HBP: MATHIEU, Logan 1
