Wake Forest University
Longwood
Wake Forest Opens Seven-Game Homestand with Doubleheader Against Longwood
4/29/2022 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons will play a twin bill tomorrow against the Lancers at The Couch, beginning at 1 p.m.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest baseball team returns to David F. Couch Ballpark for the first time in 11 days to open a seven-game home stand against Longwood in a Saturday doubleheader.
Originally scheduled for a two-game set on Saturday and Sunday, the Deacs and Lancers will hit the diamond at 1 p.m. for the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday, April 30. Game two will begin approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
Both games will be available on ACC Network Extra. Additionally, Fans can also tune into an audio streaming broadcast through the Wake Forest Athletics app.
Stay tuned to the Demon Deacons social media accounts (@WakeBaseball) for all in-game updates and information.
Tickets and Promotions
With ticket demand at an all-time high this season, avoid the lines and purchase your tickets in advance at GoDeacs.com/tickets.
Admission starts at only $5 for general admission access, while reserved seats are available for remaining midweek contests for as low as $10 for adults and $8 for youth. A limited number of other premium options are also available and can be purchased online, including Premium High Top Tables for $20 per seat or Premium Chairbacks behind home plate for $25. Fans may upgrade their experience by purchasing single-game access to the All-American Club for only $15 per ticket. The fan-favorite $5 Midweek Deacon Brew promo continues as fans can enjoy Deacon Brew at in-stadium concession stands for only $5.
Promotions
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Strike Out Cancer
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The first 250 fans will receive a Strike Out Cancer Rally Towel
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Last Time Out
The Wake Forest baseball team won their 19th non-conference game of the season with a 17-9 victory over Gardner-Webb on Wednesday night at John Henry Moss Stadium.
The Demon Deacons used their 16th game with double-digit runs and their fourth game with at least 20 hits to claim the lone matchup against the Bulldogs.
Timely hitting fueled Wake Forest's offense, tallying a .470 average (8-of-17) and 10 RBIs with two outs.
Additionally, the middle of the lineup produced in a huge way as Brendan Tinsman, Adam Cecere and Pierce Bennett registered three RBIs apiece.
With the game tied after the first full inning, the Demon Deacons tallied nine unanswered runs and back-to-back shutdown innings on the mound from Seth Keener to take hold of a 10-1 heading into the fourth.
10 Deacs had hit in the midweek win, led by Kyle Joye with a career-high four hits and four RBIs. Joye launched his third home run of the season in the top of the third.
Tinsman joined Joye with a round-tripper, his 17th of the season. Tinsman came into Wednesday fourth in ACC in home runs and will enter Wake Forest's top 10 single season home run list with his next long fly.
Opponent & Series History
Saturday's double header marks just the second and third all-time matchups between the two schools. In the lone contest between the Deacs and Lancers in 1986, Wake Forest posted a 14-12 win in Winston-Salem.
Top Notes
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Head coach Tom Walter, the second-winningest coach in program history, won his 350th game at the helm of the Wake Forest baseball program with the 16-11 series finale victory against Duke on Sunday.
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Wake Forest has won three ACC series this season, taking Friday and Saturday contests at Georgia Tech and Boston College while sweeping Duke for their first home conference series win of 2022.
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With their 15-10 win in the series opener against the Eagles, the 2022 Demon Deacons reeled in its 20th victory in just 26 games, the second fastest since 2000 and the fastest in the head coach Tom Walter era.
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Wake Forest's 29 wins are the most in the ACC's Atlantic division and ranks third overall in the conference.
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The Deacs have picked up five wins against top-15 opponents, four coming in ACC play.
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Overall, Wake Forest has outscored their opponents 473-354 this season with a team batting average of .316 with a .426 on-base percentage and slugging percentage of .530.
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Sophomore Rhett Lowder heads into the weekend second in the ACC in victories (seven) and third in the conference in ERA.
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The Friday night starter holds an ERA of 2.21 with 65 strikeouts (sixth in the ACC) compared to just 17 walks.
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After tallying the third-most strikeouts by a freshman (78) in Wake Forest history last season, Lowder needs just seven more punchouts to reach 150 career Ks.
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In seven of his 10 starts this season, Lowder has pitched at least six innings while allowing no more than three earned runs in any appearance.
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Against NJIT on Feb. 25, Lowder fanned a career-high 11 batters.
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Lowder started strong, retiring the first 10 batters he faced to earn his seventh win of the season last weekend against Duke. The righthander tossed a career-high tying seven innings, allowing just two earned runs while striking out three and walking no one.
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Against Clemson, Lowder posted his best performance of his career, tossing a career-long eight scoreless innings with a career-high tying 11 strikeouts.
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Jake Reinisch has reached base in 41-straight games and leads Wake Forest with an on-base percentage of .489 and 41 walks.
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Reinisch leads the ACC in walks while ranking fourth in on-base percentage.
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In the series finale against Notre Dame, Reinisch launched a three-run home run and tallied a career-high four RBIs.
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Freshman Nick Kurtz has strung together a stellar freshman campaign, tallying a .343 batting average with 49 hits to go along with a team-high tying 11 doubles and 10 home runs.
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After two home runs against Clemson in the series finale, Kurtz is now tied for eighth for most home runs by a freshman in program history. He joins Brock Wilken (17 in 2021) and Brendan Tinsman (10 in 2019) as the only first-year Deacs to reach double-digit home runs since 2010. Additionally, Kurtz already ranks in the top-10 in runs scored (third) and walks (tied for fourth) by a freshman in program history.
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Camden Minacci has been the most relied upon arm coming out of the Wake Forest bullpen this season.
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In 31.2 innings, the sophomore has struck out 46 batters while only allowing six earned runs. Minacci's career-high 46 strikeouts rank second on the team, while he sports the lowest ERA (1.71) on the squad.
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Minacci has also tallied five saves, the fifth-most in the ACC, highlighted by slamming the door in three-straight games against Elon (April 6), Duke (April 8) and Duke (April 9).
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In nine of Minacci's 22 appearances this season, the righthander has blanked the opposition, allowing no hits or runs.
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Brendan Tinsman has posted a career year in his fourth season in the Old Gold and Black, posting career highs in hits (57), doubles (10), home runs (17), RBIs (50) and slugging percentage (.733).
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Tinsman has homered in eight of Wake Forest's last 12 games as the redshirt junior is fourth in the ACC and eighth in the country in long flies.
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Tinsman leads the Deacs in slugging, hits and home runs.
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The catcher heads into the weekend on a team-high 12 game hit streak. Over the course of his streak that dates back to April 9, Tinsman is batting .367 with a team-high 18 hits, eight home runs, 22 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .898.
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Tinsman's next home run will place him on Wake Forest's top-10 single season home list.
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Michael Turconi, a career .304 hitter, is on pace to have a career year as the shortstop has
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posted career bests in hits (53), triples (4), RBIs (43), slugging (.569), average (.320), on-base (.431) and stolen bases (5).
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Additionally, he needs just one more home run and walk to set a new career high.
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A trio of Deacs are on milestone watch.
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Michael Turconi is 24 hits away from 200 career base knocks while Brock Wilken is five hits away from 100.
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Friday night starter Rhett Lowder is just seven strikeouts away from 150 Ks.
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Wake Forest has one of the top offenses in the entire nation and ACC as the Deacs rank in the top five in the conference in every offensive category, highlighted by a conference-best 256 walks. Additionally, the Deacs rank in the top 10 nationally in walks (third), runs (fifth), hits (sixth), home runs (seventh), on-base percentage (seventh) average (ninth) and slugging percentage (ninth).
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The 2022 Wake Forest offense is one of the most productive offenses in program history as this year's squad owns the program record for games with 20+ runs (four) as well as 20+ run games against ACC competition (two). Against Gardner-Webb, the Deacs posted their fourth game with at least 20 hits.
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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.
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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.
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On the mound, Wake Forest's starting pitchers have combined for 180.1 innings with 175 strikeouts and just 96 earned runs allowed.
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10 Demon Deacons have notched at least 10 base hits this season, led by Brendan Tinsman with a career-high 57 base knocks. Additionally, Brendan Tinsman (17), Brock Wilken (11) and Nick Kurtz (10) have all hit double-digit HRs.
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Wake Forest has been patient at the plate as the Deacs have been walked 256 times, the most in the ACC and the third most in the entire nation.
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The Deacs have been walked at least 10 times in five games this season. In all but one of those contests, Wake Forest has notched double-digit hits, while scoring double-digit runs in three of the five instances.
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Three Deacs rank in the top 10 in the ACC in on-base percentage:
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Jake Reinisch: fourth
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Tommy Hawke: eighth
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Nick Kurtz: ninth
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On Deck
Wake Forest continues their season-ending home stand with its second game of the season against Liberty on Tuesday, May 3 at 6 p.m. at The Couch.
The Demon Deacons then welcome nationally-ranked Louisville in their final home ACC series of the season on Friday, May 6-Sunday, May 8.
On Saturday, May 7, Wake Forest will honor its nine senior and graduate student-athletes for all their contributions to the Demon Deacon baseball team.
The Deacs host High Point on Tuesday, May 10 in their final home game of the 2022 season. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.
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