Wake Forest University
30-13
Longwood
19-23
Wake Forest Sweeps Saturday Doubleheader Versus Longwood
4/30/2022 9:06:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons outscored the Lancers 30-4 as Wake Forest tallied 35 hits, launched seven home runs and struck out 19 batters across 10 scoreless innings in the pair of Saturday wins.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Behind a complete team performance, the Wake Forest baseball team swept a Saturday doubleheader against Longwood at David F. Couch Ballpark.
The Demon Deacons (31-13) outscored the Lancers (19-24) 30-4 in the two seven-inning games as Wake Forest tallied 35 hits, launched seven home runs and struck out 19 batters across 10 scoreless innings in the pair of Saturday wins.
With the 18-3 victory in game one of the doubleheader, Wake Forest reeled in its 30th win of the season, the fastest Demon Deacon squad to reach the 30-win mark since 2017. Overall, it is tied for the fourth-fastest since 2000 and the fastest in the Coach Walter era.
The combination of five home runs, a 10-run fifth inning and another strong start from Rhett Lowder on the mound allowed Wake Forest to take control of the opening contest.
Lowder earned his eighth win of the season, tossing five innings with six strikeouts while allowing two runs and no walks.
Gabe Golob and Will Andrews combined for the final six outs. Golob tossed a scoreless six inning with a trio of ground outs. Andrew fanned a pair of batters to close out the victory in the top of the seventh.
Trailing 1-0 after the top of the first, the Demon Deacons scored the game's next 12 runs as Josh Hartle and Teddy McGraw combined for 11 strikeouts and just three walks across six-straight scoreless innings.
Hartle allowed just one earned run and allowed zero free passes to earn the fifth win of his freshman campaign.
McGraw blanked the Lancers over the last three innings, allowing no hits to go along with six strikeouts. In his first inning of work in the fifth, the sophomore struck out the side on just 10 pitches.
Pierce Bennett led Wake Forest at the plate in the twin bill, tallying seven hits in nine plate appearances with a home run, one double and five RBIs.
Brock Wilken launched three home runs with a team-high nine RBIs. In game one, the Valrico, Fla. native notched the fifth multi-home run game of his career. The sophomore hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to end the game, the 100th hit of his career.
Michael Turconi joined Wilken with multiple long flies as the redshirt junior blasted a grand slam as well as a solo homer in the early contest.
Tommy Hawke joined Wilken with a combined five hits, highlighted by his first collegiate triple. Hawke also notched an extra-base hit in game two for his second run driven in of the day. Additionally, the freshman scored a team-high six runs over the two victories.
With his four hits, Jake Reinisch extended his on-base streak to 43 games.
How It Happened (Game 1)
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Rhett Lowder tossed a scoreless first, highlighted by his first strikeout of the game.
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Lowder retired the first two Longwood batters before stranding a base runner with a fly out to Tommy Hawke to end the inning.
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Brock Wilken reached base with a four-pitch walk, but a strikeout and fly out stranded the sophomore as the game remained scoreless after one full frame.
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Longwood struck first with a leadoff triple followed by an RBI-groundout. Lowder retired the next two batters with a fly out and line out to end the top of the second.
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The Deacs were unable to capitalize on a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the second.
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Pierce Bennett and Jake Reinisch tallied back-to-back singles. Bennett advanced to third on a deep fly ball and Reinisch stole second.
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A two-out walk drawn by Kyle Joye loaded the bases.
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Lowder struck out back-to-back batters to end the top of the third for his second scoreless inning to open the third.
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Wake Forest took the lead in the bottom of the third with a solo home run from Wilken and an RBI-single from Bennett.
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After Wilken's 12th home run of the season, Brendan Tinsman doubled to left field and moved to third on a groundout for the second out of the inning.
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Lowder tossed his third-straight zero with a strikeout and 4-6-3 double play as Wake Forest held onto their one-run lead (2-1).
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Four runs off an RBI-triple from Hawke, two-run home run from Wilken and solo home run from Michael Turconi increased Wake Forest's lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
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Joye scored on Hawke's first collegiate triple as the designated hitter was hit by a pitch.
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Hawke was plated on Wilken's second long fly of the game.
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Longwood tacked on one run on back-to-back doubles in the top of the fifth, trimming Wake Forest's lead to 6-2.
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Lowder stranded a Lancer base runner with his sixth strikeout of the game to end the top of the frame.
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The Wake Forest offense added 10 runs in the bottom of the fifth, their 20th inning with at least five runs this season, to push their lead to 16-2.
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A bases-loaded walk drawn by Wilken opened the scoring before a grand slam from Turconi emptied the bases.
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Pierce Bennett launched a three-run home run to score Cecere (double) and James Broderick (pinch runner).
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Wilken ended the scoring with his fifth and sixth RBI of the game with an RBI-single to left field.
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Broderick was inserted into the game after a single by Tinsman.
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Gabe Golob tossed a scoreless top of the sixth inning with a trio of groundouts.
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After inducing a leadoff groundout, a Lancer baserunner reached on a fielding error.
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How It Happened (Game 2)
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Longwood hit the scoreboard first (1-0) with a trio of hits in the top of the first.
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Wake Forest took hold of the lead with three runs on two hits and three walks in the bottom half of the inning.
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Tommy Hawke drew a leadoff walk before Michael Turconi and Brendan Tinsman walked in back-to-back at-bats.
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With two outs in the frame, RBI singles from Pierce Bennett and Jake Reinisch emptied the bases to give Wake Forest the only lead.
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Josh Hartle retired the Lancers in order in the top of the second with a groundout, strike out and ground out.
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The Deacs tacked on three more runs in the second to take a 6-1 lead.
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After a leadoff line out, Hawke and Wilken singled before a walk to Turconi loaded the bases. Tinsman plated Hawke and Wilken with an RBI-single before a sacrifice fly scored Turconi.
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Hartle tossed his second-straight scoreless inning, picking up a strikeout for the second out.
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The lefthander induced a leadoff ground out before Longwood registered a single. Hartle retired the next two Lancers to strand him and end the top of the third.
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A Hawke RBI-double with two outs in the bottom of the third, extending Wake Forest's lead to 7-1.
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Jake Reinisch scored on Hawke's extra-base hit after a single and failed pick off attempt.
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Hartle tossed a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, fanning a pair of Longwood batters for the first and final out of the inning.
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Adam Cecere launched a solo home run in the bottom half as Wake Forest led 8-1 after four full innings.
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Teddy McGraw took over on the mound and struck out the side on just 10 pitches in the top of the fifth.
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Wake Forest was held scoreless for the first time of the ballgame in the bottom of the fifth.
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Danny Corona singled up the middle with one out. Following a fly out, Hawke walked to put a pair of Demon Deacons on base.
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McGraw notched another scoreless frame in the top of the sixth, highlighted by two more punchouts.
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Longwood loaded the bases with a pair of walks and hit batter with two outs, but McGraw got out of a jam with a groundout to keep Longwood off the scoreboard for the fifth-straight inning.
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McGraw retired the first two batters of the seventh with a strikeout and ground out before working around a two-out walk with a line out to notch Wake Forest's sixth-straight scoreless inning.
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Following an RBI-single from Corona, Wilken blasted a three-run home run to end the game in the bottom of the seventh as Wake Forest claimed game two 12-1.
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Bennett (double) and Hawke (single) scored Wilken's game-ending long fly.
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Standout Stat
With the 18-3 victory in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, Wake Forest reeled in its 30th win of the season, the fastest Demon Deacon squad to reach the 30-win mark since 2017. Overall, it is tied for the fourth-fastest since 2000 and the fastest in the Coach Walter era.
Fastest to 30 Wins Since 2000
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2002: 30-6 (36 games)
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2000: 30-9-1 (40 games)
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2001: 30-12 (42 games)
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2022: 30-13 (43 games)
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2017: 30-13 (43 games)
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2006: 30-13 (43 games)
With their 10 runs in the fifth inning in the first game of the doubleheader, the Deacs have now scored five runs or more in an inning 20 times this season:
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Feb. 18: Lafayette - 16 runs (fifth inning)
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Feb. 18: Lafayette - 8 runs (sixth inning)
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Feb. 22: UNCG - 6 runs (first inning)
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Feb. 22: UNCG - 6 runs (third inning)
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Feb. 22: UNCG - 6 runs (eighth inning)
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Feb. 25: NJIT - 6 runs (second inning)
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Feb. 25: NJIT - 6 runs (seventh inning)
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Feb. 26: NJIT - 5 runs (seventh inning)
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March 1: Elon - 5 runs (seventh inning)
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March 15: WCU - 7 runs (third inning)
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March 19: Georgia Tech - 12 runs (fifth inning)
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March 22: Liberty - 5 runs (ninth inning)
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March 30: Coastal Carolina - 6 runs (sixth inning)
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April 1: Boston College - 7 runs (seventh inning)
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April 2: Boston College- 6 runs (first inning)
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April 10: Duke- 6 runs (third inning)
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April 16: Clemson- 7 runs (first inning)
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April 24: Notre Dame - 5 runs (fifth inning)
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April 27: Gardner-Webb- 5 runs (third inning)
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April 30: Longwood (Game One)- 10 runs (fifth inning)
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.
Brock Wilken reached a career milestone, registering his 100th career hit with his three-run home run to end the second game of the double header.
In 90 career contests, Wilken has 100 hits with 22 doubles, 31 home runs and 98 RBIs.
Pierce Bennett led Wake Forest at the plate with seven hits in nine plate appearances against the Lancers. Over the last four games, Bennett is batting .813 (13-of-16) with two home runs and 10 RBIs with a slugging percentage of 1.313 and on-base percentage of .833.
Jake Reinisch has now reached base in every game the sophomore has played this season, extending his on-base streak on Saturday to 43 games with a pair of hits in each game.
Words from Walter
"It's always good to get two wins in one day. It's not easy to do. Our guys did a nice job today. Brock Wilken had a really great day. Three homers. It was good to see him get going. We had five two-out RBIs in that second game. I'm happy about that. I didn't think Rhett Lowder was super sharp, but obviously got us a win. Josh Hartle and Teddy McGraw were solid. Gabe Golob and Will Andrews were solid. Overall, a really good all-around team day. It was good to get some work in. I know our guys are exhausted right now with final exams and everything going on so hopefully we can use these next couple days to get ready for a really good Liberty team."
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.
Follow The Deacs:
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lowder, Rhett (8-2)
L: Saale, Dylan (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Harris, Hayden 1 ; White, Jim 1
3B: Ryan, Gregory 1
HR: Looney, Justin 1
RBI: Harris, Hayden 1 ; Dix, Eliot 1 ; Looney, Justin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ryan, Gregory 1 ; Looney, Justin 1 ; White, Jim 1
Batting:
2B: Tinsman, Brendan 1 ; Cecere, Adam 1
3B: Hawke, Tommy 1
HR: Wilken, Brock 2 ; Turconi, Michael 2 ; Bennett, Pierce 1
RBI: Hawke, Tommy 1 ; Wilken, Brock 6 ; Turconi, Michael 5 ; Bennett, Pierce 4 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; Katz, Chris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hawke, Tommy 3 ; Wilken, Brock 3 ; Turconi, Michael 2 ; Tinsman, Brendan 1 ; Broderick, James 2 ; Cecere, Adam 1 ; Corona, Danny 1 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Katz, Chris 1 ; Joye, Kyle 3
SB: Reinisch, Jake 1
HBP: Katz, Chris 1 ; Joye, Kyle 1
