Friday, May 20
Raleigh, NC
6:30 p.m.

Wake Forest University

38-16-1, 14-14-1

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NC State

33-19, 14-14

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Josh Hartle

Complete-Team Effort Propels Deacs to Series Clincher at NC State

5/21/2022 12:17:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Strong pitching, defense and hitting performances on Saturday night helped Wake Forest clinch its fourth ACC series victory of the season.

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Wake Forest baseball team used strong pitching, defense and timely hitting to defeat NC State, 6-2, Friday night to claim its fourth conference series of the season. 

Wake Forest's (38-16-1, 14-14-1 ACC) 38 regular season wins are tied for the third most in program history. With that, the Deacs have increased their win total by 18 games from last season (38 wins to 20 wins), the largest year-to-year turnaround in program history.

After taking game one to secure a spot in the 2022 ACC Tournament, the Deacs' game two victory gives the program its first series win in Raleigh since 2002. 

For the third-straight ACC game, Wake Forest's pitching staff allowed just two runs on five Wolfpack (33-19, 14-13 ACC) hits. 

The Deacs allowed no hits in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings before Camden Minacci slammed the door in the ninth, retiring the side, highlighted by a pair of outstanding defensive plays by Pierce Bennett and Adam Cecre, to pick up his sixth save of the season. 

Josh Hartle earned his sixth win of the season, tossing five innings (four scoreless), allowing just one run. The King, N.C. native is just the 12th freshman in program history to reel in six victories in a season. 

Seth Keener pitched two scoreless innings behind Hartle's start, striking out three of the seven batters he faced in the sixth and seventh. 

Nick Kurtz and Brendan led the way for Wake Forest offensively, driving in all six runs as the duo notched two hits apiece. 

Kurtz posted a team-high four RBIs as the freshman pushed Wake Forest's lead to 2-0 in the first with an RBI single before eventually hitting a three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning to extend the Demon Deacon advantage to 6-1. 

Tinsman got the scoring started in the top of the first with an RBI-ground before adding a solo homer in the top of the third, his 21st of the season. Tinsman is now just one of five Deacs in program history with 21 home runs in a season. 

How It Happened

  • The Deacs came alive early, pushing across two runs in the top of the first with an RBI-groundout from Brendan Tinsman and an RBI-single from Nick Kurtz.

    • Tommy Hawke led the game off with a double to right field. Pierce Bennett walked to push Hawke into scoring position before a passed ball advanced the pair a base. 

    • Tinsman scored Hawke for his 59th RBI of the season before Kurtz tattooed a ball to center field to plate Bennett. 

  • Josh Hartle tossed a scoreless first with a 6-4-3 double play and an inning-ending ground out as Wake Forest took their two-run lead into the second inning. 

  • A Jake Reinisch single up the middle and a four-pitch walk to Hawke placed a pair of Deacs on base in the top of the second. 

    • Reinisch moved to second on a sacrifice bunt laid down by Danny Corona before Hawke walked. 

    • A groundout bunt ended the inning. 

  • After a leadoff single from the Wolfpack, Hartle retired the next three batters with a trio of groundouts to preserve Wake Forest's 2-0 lead. 

  • Brendan Tinsman's 21st home run of the season extended Wake Forest's lead to 3-0 in the middle of the third inning. 

    • Tinsman moved into a tie for second all time in program history for single season home runs with the 416-foot blast. 

  • NC State tacked on a run in the bottom of the fourth, trimming Wake Forest's lead to 3-1. 

    • After the Wolfpack's first run of the game, Hartle induced back-to-back groundouts to get out of the inning. 

  • Hartle responded in the bottom of the fifth as the lefty stranded a pair of base runners at the corners with an unassisted groundout to place his fourth zero on the board. 

  • Seth Keener took over on the hill in the bottom of the sixth and tossed a hitless frame, highlighted by a strikeout to end the frame. 

  • Keener continued to feel it, striking out a pair in a three-up, three-down bottom of the seventh.

    • After the sophomore fanned the first batter of the inning, Brock Wilken made a spinning play in the outfield for the second out. 

    • Keener proceeded to tally an inning-ending strikeout, his third of the game. 

  • A three-run home run from Kurtz in the top of the eighth inning extended Wake Forest's lead to 6-1. 

    • Kurtz plated Turconi (single) and Tinsman (single) on the 404-foot blast. 

    • This marked Kurtz's 13th home run of his freshman season. 

  • Camden Minacci took over with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the eighth and retired two-straight batters to get out of the jam. On the first fly out induced by Minacci, NC State tacked on a run with a sacrifice fly as Wake Forest took a 6-2 lead into the ninth. 

  • Minacci slammed the door in the bottom of the ninth, retiring the side to clinch the game two victory. 

    • Bennett and Cecere both made diving plays in the outfield to preserve Wake Forest's lead. 

Standout Stats
Wake Forest's 38 regular season wins are tied for the third most in program history with the 2000 and 2017 Demon Deacons.

Regular Season Wins in Program History

  1. 2002- 42 regular season wins (47 overall wins, five postseason wins) 

  2. 1999- 39 regular season wins (47 overall wins, eight postseason wins) 

  3. 2022- 38 regular season wins 

          2017- 38 regular season wins (43 overall wins, five postseason) 

          2000- 38 regular season wins (41 overall wins, three postseason wins) 

With that, the Deacs have increased their win total by 18 games from last season (38 wins to 20 wins), the largest year-to-year turnaround in program history.

Wake Forest inched closer to another program record during Saturday's win, hitting their 104th and 105th home run of the season. The Deacs are now just two home runs away from holding a program record for most home runs hit in a season. 

Most Home Runs in a Season 

  • 106 (2017) 

  • 105 (2022) 

  • 91 (2021) 

  • 90 (1999)

Brendan Tinsman's third-inning blast marked the 21st home run of the season, moving him into a tie for second in program history with Bobby Seymour (2021), Gavin Sheets (2017) and Jamie D'Antona (2003) for single season home runs. Tinsman is just one of five Demon Deacons to hit at least 21 home runs in a season. 

Single-Season Home Runs

1. Billy Masse (1988) - 24

2. Brendan Tinsman (2022) - 21

    Bobby Seymour (2021) - 21 

    Gavin Sheets (2017) - 21 

    Jamie D'Antona (2003) - 21 

5. Johnny Aiello (2017) - 20 

    Jamie D'Antona (2002) - 20 

    Danny Borrell (1999) - 20 

    Chris Kowilcik (1991) - 20 

    Bill Merrifield (1982) - 20 

10. Brock Wilken (2022) - 19

This marks just the third season in program history that two Demon Deacons have landed on the list in the same year (1999, 2017, 2022) as Brock Wilken's career-high 19 home runs sit 10th all-time. 

Nick Kurtz's three-run blast to extend Wake Forest's lead to 6-1 in the top of the eighth gave the Lancaster, Pa. native sole possession of sixth place on the Demon Deacon freshman home run list. 

Freshman Single Season Home Runs

1. Brock Wilken (2021)-17

 Jamie D'Antona (2001)-17

2. Allan Dykstra (2006)-15

 Anthony Maisano (1986)-15

4. Pat Malloy (1996)-14

 Kevin Bunn (1981)-14

6. Nick Kurtz (2022)-13

Words From Walter
"That's a big-time win for us. Anytime you win a series at this place. This is as hard as a place there is to win in this league. They're a really good ballclub. I'm really proud of Josh Hartle. He was the difference today. He threw five innings and only gave up one run. If we make a play behind him, he probably doesn't give up that run. Really pleased with him. Seth Keener gets us six big outs and then Camden Minacci at the end was really good. We made some really good defensive plays. Pierce in the ninth. Cec in the ninth. Brock made the big play in the seventh, coming across the middle. Just a great team effort. 

"Nick Kurtz, a huge day for him. A three-run home run and then the two-out RBI in the first. Our big time players got it done today. It's a great win. We'll come out here tomorrow with Teddy McGraw on the mound and take our chances at another one."

On Deck
The Demon Deacons look to finish the 2022 regular season on a high note on Saturday, May 20 at 1 p.m. inside Doak Field. 

The regular season finale will be available on ACC Network Extra.

The seeding for the 2022 ACC Tournament will be set following the conclusion of this Saturday's  conference games.  The conference tournament is set to take place on Tuesday, May 24-Sunday, May 29 at Truist Field in Charlotte. 

Pool play games will be broadcasted on the Regional Sports Networks and ACC Network Extra. Semifinal matchups will be live on ACC Network before the championship is set for a ESPN2 broadcast. 

Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com, @WakeBaseball on social media for postseason schedule, news and information following Saturday's series finale against the Wolfpack.

2022 ACC Tournament Schedule

  • Pool Play

    • Tuesday, May 24-Friday, May 27

      • 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. 

      • Regional Sports Network and ACC Network Extra

  • Semifinals

    • Saturday, May 28

      • 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. 

      • ACC Network

  • Championship

    • Sunday, May 29

      • Noon

      • ESPN2

For more information on the 2022 ACC Tournament, click here. For tickets, click here.  

Follow The Deacs:

GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook


 

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NC State
W, 5-0

May 21 (Sat)

1:00 p.m.
Box ScoreRecapGame NotesPDF Box ScoreWatchListenPreviewLive stats
Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Hartle, Josh (6-6)

L: Matt Willadsen (4-4)

S: Minacci, Camden (6)

Wake Forest LogoWake Forest

Batting:

2B: Hawke, Tommy 1

HR: Tinsman, Brendan 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 1

RBI: Tinsman, Brendan 2 ; Kurtz, Nick 4

SH: Corona, Danny 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Hawke, Tommy 1 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Turconi, Michael 1 ; Tinsman, Brendan 2 ; Kurtz, Nick 1

NC State LogoNC State

Batting:

RBI: J.T. Jarrett 1

SH: J.T. Jarrett 1 ; Jacob Godman 1

SF: J.T. Jarrett 1

Base Running:

RUNS: LuJames Groover III 1 ; Tommy White 1

HBP: J.T. Jarrett 1

Game Leaders

9

Brendan Tinsman

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AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
8

Nick Kurtz

1b
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
24

Tommy Hawke

rf
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
6

Michael Turconi

ss
AB
5
R
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Players Mentioned

5

Pierce Bennett

INF
/ Baseball
3

Danny Corona

INF
/ Baseball
23

Josh Hartle

LHP
/ Baseball
24

Tommy Hawke

INF
/ Baseball
26

Seth Keener

RHP
/ Baseball
8

Nick Kurtz

OF/INF
/ Baseball
42

Teddy McGraw

RHP
/ Baseball
10

Camden Minacci

RHP
/ Baseball
41

Jake Reinisch

INF/OF
/ Baseball
3

Bobby Seymour

INF
/ Baseball
9

Brendan Tinsman

C/OF
/ Baseball
25

Brock Wilken

INF/C
/ Baseball

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