Tuesday, May 24
Charlotte, NC
3:00 p.m.

Wake Forest University

39-17-1

8
vs
11

NC State

34-20

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
NC State
0
0
0
0
6
0
5
0
0
11
8
3
Wake Forest
1
0
0
3
0
1
3
0
0
8
13
0
Seth Keener
Photo by: (Scott Kinser)

Wake Forest Falls in First Game of ACC Tournament Against NC State

5/24/2022 8:08:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Seth Keener struck out a career-high seven batters in 4.2 innings, while Brock Wilken notched an RBI-single, triple, home run, three RBIs and three runs scored.

CHARLOTTE. - The Wake Forest baseball team fell to NC State, 11-8, in its first game of the 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Tuesday afternoon at Truist Field in Charlotte.

The Deacs (39-17-1) jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the Wolfpack (34-20) as Seth Keener retired the first eight batters he faced, striking out half of them.

Offensively, the Deacs pushed across the game's first run in the bottom of the first before Brock Wilken fired an RBI-single and Danny Corona tallied a two-out, two-run double to right center field in the bottom of the fourth.

Six runs in the top of the fifth gave NC State its first lead of the game. The Deacs responded with a Jake Reinisch RBI-single to make it a one-run ballgame (6-5). In the next half inning, the Wolfpack added five runs to increase their advantage to 11-5.

Wake Forest didn't go down quietly, opening the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff double from Michael Turconi before Nick Kurtz also doubled to push the redshirt junior across. Wilken blasted a two-run home run immediately after Kurtz's 14th two-bagger of the season to put the Deacs within three. 

After Camden Minacci tossed back-to-back three-up, three-down innings in the eighth and ninth, Wake Forest brought the tying run to plate with two outs in the final half inning of the game before eventually falling. 

Overall, Keener finished with a career-high seven strikeouts in 4.2 innings, allowing just two hits. Through four frames, the Pilot Mountain, N.C. native allowed just two base runners. 

In relief of Keener, Gabe Golob and Minacci both punched out a trio of Wolfpack batters. 

The first six batters in Wake Forest's lineup combined for 11 of the Demon Deacons' 13 hits, led by Wilken with an RBI-single, triple and home run. The Valrico, Fla. native's long fly was the 20th of his sophomore season as he now sits tied for fifth in program history for single-season home runs. 

This marks just the second time in program history that the Deacs have had multiple 20-plus home run hitters in the same season (2017 - Gavin Sheets, 21 and Johnny Aiello, 20).

Tommy Hawke, Kurtz and Brendan Tinsman joined Wilken with multi-hit performances. 

How It Happened

  • Seth Keener retired the side in order on just six pitches to open postseason play. 

    • Keener induced two pop ups to Nick Kurtz at first base before fanning a Wolfpack batter on just three pitches. 

  • Wake Forest got on the scoreboard first as Tommy Hawke was plated after the Deacs loaded the bases in the bottom of the first. 

  • Keener continued to deal, retiring the Wolfpack in order again with a pair of strikeouts. 

    • The Pilot Mountain, N.C. native struck out three of the first six batters he faced. 

  • Keener fanned two more in a scoreless top of the third, increasing his game total to five as Wake Forest held onto their 1-0 lead. 

    • NC State got their first hit of the ballgame with two outs. Keener responded with another inning-ending strikeout. 

  • Bennett reached base following a throwing error and advanced to second with two outs in the bottom of the third. A deep fly out to the warning track ended the scoring threat and the inning. 

  • Keener worked around a leadoff walk with a double play and his sixth strikeout of the ballgame.

  • The Deacs extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth on four hits, highlighted by an RBI-single from Brock Wilken and a two-out, two-run double from Danny Corona. 

    • Brendan Tinsman led off the inning with a single to right field before Kurtz doubled to the warning track in right center field. 

    • Wilken's 69th RBI of the season scored Tinsman, before Corona's two-bagger scored Kurtz and Wilken. 

  • NC State took a 6-4 lead in the top of the fifth on three hits and a bases-loaded walk. 

    • Keener struck out his career-best seventh batter in the top of the fifth. 

  • Tinsman notched his second base hit of the game with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but a fly out ended the inning. 

  • Gabe Golob and Reed Mascolo combined for a scoreless top of the sixth with a trio of strikeouts. 

    • Golob struck out the first batter of the frame and worked around a one-out walk with another punch out. 

    • Mascolo took over following another walk and fanned the only batter he faced to end the inning. 

  • A leadoff triple from Wilken followed by an RBI-single from Jake Reinisch cut NC State's lead (6-5) in the bottom of the sixth. 

  • NC State's five-run top of the seventh increased their lead to 11-5. 

  • The Deacs responded in the bottom of the inning with doubles from Michael Turconi and Kurtz before Wilken launched a two-run home run to right field, trimming the Wolfpack's lead to three (11-8). 

    • Turconi led off the inning with his 11th double of the season before Kurtz notched his 14th two-bagger of his freshman season. 

    • WIlken's 20th home run of the season scored Kurtz and moved him into a tie for the fifth-most home runs by a Demon Deacon in a season.  

  • Camden Minacci tossed a perfect 1-2-3 top of the eighth, highlighted by a pair of punchouts. 

  • After the Deacs were held off the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame, Minacci returned in the ninth and tossed a perfect three-up, three-down frame with a fly out, pop up and groundout.

  • Wake Forest brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth as Tinsman walked and Wilken reached on a fielding error. Ultimately, a strikeout ended the game.  

Coach's Comments
"I'm really proud of our guys. We have two big innings there that we couldn't get a finger on the pulse to get us out of it. I didn't do a good enough job to get us out of it. Our guys battled back. We brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning. I'm super proud of our team. That's who they've been. We've had our backs against the wall I feel like for months now and our guys respond to it. Our guys are tough. Our guys are battle tested. We'll try to go out and play a good game Friday." - Associate Head Coach Bill Cilento

On Deck
Wake Forest returns to the diamond against Miami on Friday, May 27 at 3 p.m. to close out pool play in the first matchup of the season between the two teams. 

The game will be broadcasted live on Regional Sports Networks and ACC Network Extra. 

The winner of Pool C will advance to the semifinals and face off with the winner of Pool B at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 28.

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 5 p.m. 

      • ACC Network

  • Championship

    • Sunday, May 29

      • Noon

      • ESPN2

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

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GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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Next Event

Miami
W, 16-3

May 27 (Fri)

3:00 p.m.
Box ScoreRecapGame NotesPDF Box ScoreWatchListenPreviewLive stats
Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Canaan Silver (7-1)

L: Wade, Crawford (3-1)

S: Chris Villaman (10)

NC State

Batting:

2B: LuJames Groover III 1 ; Josh Hood 1 ; Jacob Cozart 1

3B: Dominic Pilolli 1

HR: Devonte Brown 1 ; Josh Hood 1 ; Payton Green 1

RBI: Devonte Brown 1 ; LuJames Groover III 1 ; Josh Hood 3 ; J.T. Jarrett 1 ; Dominic Pilolli 1 ; Payton Green 2 ; Jacob Cozart 2

SH: J.T. Jarrett 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Devonte Brown 2 ; LuJames Groover III 1 ; Tommy White 1 ; Josh Hood 1 ; Noah Soles 2 ; Dominic Pilolli 2 ; Payton Green 1 ; Eddie Eisert 1

HBP: Noah Soles 1

Wake Forest LogoWake Forest

Batting:

2B: Turconi, Michael 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 2 ; Corona, Danny 1

3B: Wilken, Brock 1

HR: Wilken, Brock 1

RBI: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Wilken, Brock 3 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; Corona, Danny 2

Base Running:

RUNS: Hawke, Tommy 1 ; Turconi, Michael 1 ; Tinsman, Brendan 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 2 ; Wilken, Brock 3

Game Leaders

25

Brock Wilken

3b
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
24

Tommy Hawke

rf
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
9

Brendan Tinsman

c
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
8

Nick Kurtz

1b
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1

Players Mentioned

5

Pierce Bennett

INF
/ Baseball
3

Danny Corona

INF
/ Baseball
27

Gabe Golob

RHP
/ Baseball
24

Tommy Hawke

INF
/ Baseball
26

Seth Keener

RHP
/ Baseball
8

Nick Kurtz

OF/INF
/ Baseball
40

Reed Mascolo

RHP
/ Baseball
10

Camden Minacci

RHP
/ Baseball
41

Jake Reinisch

INF/OF
/ Baseball
9

Brendan Tinsman

C/OF
/ Baseball
6

Michael Turconi

INF
/ Baseball
25

Brock Wilken

INF/C
/ Baseball

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