Wake Forest University
11-0
Central Michigan
3-6
Three-Run Fifth Lifts Wake Forest to 4-2 Victory
3/5/2022 7:28:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacon victory marked their 11th to start the season, the best start to a season since 1961 and the longest winning streak overall since 2012.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- With the help of a strong pitching performance from freshman lefthander Josh Hartle, the Wake Forest baseball team remained undefeated with a 4-2 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday at David F. Couch Ballpark.
The Deacs improved to 11-0, the first time since 1961 Wake Forest has won 11 games in a row to start off a season. Additionally, this is the longest winning streak overall since the Deacs won 15 in a row during the 2012 season. Wake Forest and Purdue are the only teams in the nation who have 11 or more wins this season.
Wake Forest has outscored their opponents 134-35 to open the new campaign with a team batting average of .381 with a .488 on-base percentage and team ERA of just 2.60.
Hartle gave the Demon Deacons another stellar performance on the bump, tossing 6.0 strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits while also striking out four Chippewa (3-6) batters.
The Deacs were held off the scoreboard in the first four frames before pushing home three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. The first two runners reached base with a Jake Reinisch single putting runners at the corners. Two batters later, Nick Kurtz drove in Pierce Bennett from third to tie the game.
Michael Turconi gave the Deacs their first lead of the game in the next at-bat, lifting one over the leftfield wall, making it a 3-1 Wake Forest lead. Turconi scored again in the eighth to extend the Deacs lead to 4-1 on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Adam Cecere.
The combination of Camden Minacci, Derek Crum and Eric Adler allowed just one run over the final three frames, each tossing 1.0 innings. Adler earned his third save of the season.
How It Happened
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Josh Hartle tossed a 1-2-3 top of the first to open the game, highlighted by a strikeout to leadoff hitter.
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After Wake Forest was retired in the bottom of the inning, Hartle made quick work of Central Michigan in the top of the second, inducing back-to-back ground outs as well as a pop up to keep the Chippewas scoreless.
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Hartle fanned his second batter of the game in the top of the third as the game remained scoreless.
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With two outs, Central Michigan tallied their first base hit of the game. Undaunted, Hartle struck out the next batter on four pitches.
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The Deacs placed runners on first and second in the bottom half of the inning as Pierce Bennett singled to leadoff the frame and Jake Reinisch was walked. Central Michigan was able to end the scoring threat as the game remained locked at 0 through three.
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Hartle tossed his third three-up, three-down inning in the top of fourth, striking out his third batter of the contest in addition to a pair of ground outs.
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Brendan Tinsman reached base safely with a single to right field with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, but the inning ended with a fly out to the very next batter.
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The Chippewas broke the tie with a RBI single with two outs in the top half of the fifth to take a 1-0 lead.
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Hartle ended the inning with his fourth strikeout with a runner on first.
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Wake Forest responded with three runs in the bottom half, taking a 3-1 lead thanks to an RBI-groundout from Nick Kurtz and a two-run home run to left field from Michael Turconi.
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Bennett and Reinisch both reached base again in the inning as the duo knocked in back-to-back singles.
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Bennett was plated by Kurtz, while Reinisch scored on Turconi's long fly.
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Camden Minacci took over in relief of Hartle and kept Wake Forest's two-run lead safe with a pair of strikeouts.
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Central Michigan tallied a base hit with two outs. Minacci responded with a swinging strikeout to end the frame.
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Derek Crum pitched a near flawless eighth inning, getting the Chippewas to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.
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Turconi grabbed his second extra-base hit of the game to lead off the bottom half, doubling into the right center gap. He moved to third when Brock Wilken extended his hitting streak to 11 games a batter later with the looping ball falling right in front of the Central Michigan left fielder.
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Wake Forest tacked on an issuance run in the bottom of the frame as a SAC Fly from Adam Cecera scored Turconi from third, making it 4-1.
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Eric Adler closed the door in the ninth for his third save of the season. He struck out two Chippewas in the inning and with both the tying and go ahead runs on base got the final batter of the game to pop out to Kurtz in foul territory.
Words from Walter
"First off, great start from Josh Hartle. I was really happy with the way he threw the ball today. He had all three pitches working. Kept them off balance. His stuff was good tonight. Cam (Minacci) gets a big zero. Derek Crum gets a big double play ball, gets his zero. Not the typical (Eric) Adler in the ninth, but he found a way to get it done.
"A couple really good defensive plays. We had a double play turned for Derek Crum. We had a diving play by Nick Kurtz and he made the play on the pop up there at the end. We knew their number one was going to be good and we were going to have our hands full today. We certainly weren't expecting to run away with this game. We knew we'd be in a dog fight and it was good for us to do that and play under some pressure there in the last inning. Proud of our guys and the way they battled. We'll get on the bus tomorrow and go to Coastal. Hopefully we can continue to play well."
Standout Stat
The Deacs are off to one of the best starts in program history with an 11-0 record, the first time since 1961 Wake Forest has won their first 11 games. Wake Forest headed into Friday's game as one of 15 unbeaten teams in Division I. Additionally after Saturday night's win, only Wake Forest and Purdue had 11 or more wins this season. The Deacs best starts to begin a season:
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11-0: 2022, 1961, 1949
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12-0: 1949
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13-0: 1949
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14-0: 1949
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15-0: 1949
Additionally, this is the longest winning streak overall since the Deacs won 15 in a row during the 2012 season.
Wake Forest has outscored their opponents 134-35 to open the new campaign with a team batting average of .381 with a .488 on-base percentage and team ERA of just 2.60.
On Deck
The Deacs will head out on the road for the first time in 2022 on Tuesday, March 8 when Wake Forest squares off with Coastal Carolina at Springs Brooks Stadium. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hartle, Josh (3-0)
L: TAYLOR, Andrew (1-1)
S: Adler, Eric (3)
Batting:
2B: MORGAN, Robby 1
HR: CAMILLETTI, Mario 1
RBI: CAMILLETTI, Mario 1 ; SHPARDSON, Aidan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CAMILLETTI, Mario 1 ; MORGAN, Robby 1
Batting:
2B: Turconi, Michael 1 ; Tinsman, Brendan 1
HR: Turconi, Michael 1
RBI: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Turconi, Michael 2 ; Cecere, Adam 1
SF: Cecere, Adam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Turconi, Michael 2 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Reinisch, Jake 1
