Wake Forest University
34-15, 0
North Carolina
30-18, 0
Wake Forest Falls in Series Opener at North Carolina
5/13/2022 4:08:00 PM | Baseball
Danny Corona led Wake Forest at the plate with his third three-hit game of the season while Rhett Lowder struck out six and walked one batter in seven innings.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Wake Forest baseball team fell in its ACC series opener against North Carolina, 3-2, on Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.
The Demon Deacons (34-15-1, 11-13-1 ACC) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second as a Jake Reinisch double and throwing error scored Adam Cecere for the game's first run before Tommy Hawke notched a two-out RBI-single to score Reinisch.
After Rhett Lowder and the Deacs held the Tar Heels (30-18, 11-14 ACC) scoreless throughout the first two frames, North Carolina made it a one-run contest in the bottom of the third with an RBI-fielder's choice.
The Demon Deacons continued to lead as Lowder tossed scoreless fourth and fifth innings before a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth ultimately pushed the Tar Heels to the game one win.
Overall, Lowder struck out six batters while allowing one walk in seven innings, holding the Tar Heels scoreless in five frames in his 13th start of the season. The Albemarle, N.C. native has pitched at least six innings in nine outings this season, while allowing three runs or less in every start.
Additionally, Lowder has not walked more than one batters in his last seven starts.
Gabe Golob pitched an inning in relief, registering a hitless eighth with a fly out and a groundout before Brendan Tinsman caught a base runner trying to steal second to end the inning.
Offensively, Danny Corona led Wake Forest with three hits, his 11th multi-hit game of the season and the third three-hit performance of Corona's freshman campaign.
How It Happened
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Tommy Hawke walked to lead off the top of the first. After a fly out, Hawke was picked off at first. With two outs, Michael Turconi reached on a fielding error before a groundout ended the inning.
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Rhett Lowder retired the Tar Heels in order in the bottom of the inning with a ground out and back-to-back strikeouts as the game remained scoreless after one full inning.
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The Deacs took a 2-0 lead after the top of the second as Adam Cecere scored following a double from Jake Reinisch and a throwing error. Tommy Hawke plated Reinisch with an two-out RBI-single through the right side.
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Reinisch advanced to third following a single from Danny Corona.
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Lowder tossed a shutdown inning in the bottom of the second, picking up his third strikeout while stranding a base runner at third as he fielded a chopper back to the mound and beat the runner to first base.
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North Carolina cut Wake Forest's lead (2-1) in half on three hits in the bottom of the third.
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Lowder stranded a pair as he fielded a liner back to the mound and threw the base runner out with runners on second and third to end the frame and preserve the Demon Deacon lead.
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Corona notched his second single of the ballgame but a fly out stranded the freshman as Wake Forest held onto their one-run lead into the bottom of the fourth.
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Lowder registered another perfect three-up, three down inning, highlighted by his fourth punch out of the game.
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Lowder also induced a pair of ground outs to first base.
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Walks to Hawke and Tinsman followed by a balk put two Deacs in scoring position with two outs in the top of the fifth, but a strikeout on a nine-pitch at-bat ended the scoring threat.
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Wake Forest held onto their one-run lead (2-1) as Lowder struck out a Tar Heel batter trying to bunt with two strikes before Tinsman fired the ball to second to catch a North Carolina base runner off the bag for the second out of the frame. On the very next pitch, Lowder induced an inning-ending fly out to Lucas Costello in center field.
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A two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth gave North Carolina their first lead (3-2) of the game. Lowder retired the next two batters, highlighted by his sixth strikeout to end the frame.
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Lowder returned in the bottom of the seventh and tossed a zero with a fly out and a pair of groundouts.
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Gabe Golob tossed a hitless bottom of the eighth, retiring the first two batters he faced. After allowing a two-out walk, Tinsman caught another Tar Heel base runner trying to steal to end the inning.
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Kyle Joye and Brock Wilken tallied singles in the top of the ninth to put the tying run in scoring position. A strikeout ended the scoring opportunity as North Carolina took game one, 3-2.
Standout Stat
Wake Forest has been patient at the plate as the Deacs have been walked 317 times, the most in the ACC and the second most in the entire nation. They added five walks to that total on Friday afternoon.
This marks the second-most by a Demon Deacon squad in program history and is just four walks away from setting another program record this season:
Most Walks In A Season
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320 (2019)
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317 (2022)
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308 (2016, 1988)
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306 (2017)
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304 (1990)
On Deck
Wake Forest returns to the diamond for game two against North Carolina on Saturday, May 14 at Boshamer Stadium.
The game is slated for a 2 p.m. start and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Shawn Rapp (3-0)
L: Lowder, Rhett (9-3)
S: Davis Palermo (4)
Batting:
2B: Reinisch, Jake 1
RBI: Hawke, Tommy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cecere, Adam 1 ; Reinisch, Jake 1
PO: Hawke, Tommy 1
Batting:
2B: Tomas Frick 1
HR: Vance Honeycutt 1
RBI: Mac Horvath 1 ; Vance Honeycutt 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Danny Serretti 1 ; Vance Honeycutt 1 ; Colby Wilkerson 1
CS: Vance Honeycutt 1
PO: Tomas Frick 1
