Wake Forest University
2-0
Illinois
2-1
Lowder and Sullivan Fan 20 Batters; No. 5 Wake Forest Moves to 2-0 with Victory Against Illinois
2/18/2023 8:49:00 PM | Baseball
Rhett Lowder and Sean Sullivan struckout a combined 20 batters as Wake Forest moved to 2-0 on the new season.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Rhett Lowder and Sean Sullivan combined for 20 strikeouts to lead No. 5 Wake Forest baseball team to a 8-1 win over Illinois on Saturday afternoon at David F. Couch Ballpark.
The duo's strikeouts match the most strikeouts in a game by a Wake Forest pitching staff in almost two years (Coastal Carolina-Feb. 23, 2021). Lowder and Sullivan struck out multiple batters in seven innings.
Overall, the pair combined to concede just six hits and two walks all night.
Lowder earned his first win of 2023 after striking out 10 batters in five innings, the fifth double-digit strikeout performance of his career (NJIT-Feb. 25, 2022, Clemson-April 15, 2022, Louisville-May 6, 2022 and Coastal Carolina-Feb. 23, 2021).
After allowing a run in the first, Lowder settled in as the junior fanned seven straight in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Lowder finished his first outing of the new year strong, striking out the side in his final two frames.
Sullivan took over on the mound in the sixth and didn't skip a beat in his first appearance as a Demon Deacon. The Andover, Mass. native also struck out 10 batters while allowing just two hits and one walk in four scoreless innings.
Sullivan tallied at least two strikeouts in all four innings, highlighted by his trio of punchouts in the seventh and ninth.
Offensively, five unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings broke a 1-1 tie as Bennett Lee notched a two-RBI single, Adam Cecere blasted a two-run home run and Nick Kurtz hit a solo shot to right field, his third long fly of the season.
Brock Wilken added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth with a towering shot over the right field wall.
Wake Forest was patient at the plate, drawing 10 free passes with nine walks and one hit batter.
How It Happened
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Illinois took a 1-0 lead after the top of the first with a leadoff double and RBI-single.
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Rhett Lowder forced a groundout before striking out his first batter of the game with a runner on first for the second out.
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Lowder induced a fielder's choice to end the inning.
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After Wake Forest was retired in order in the bottom half of the inning, Lowder responded with a scoreless inning. The reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year retired the opening batters with a fly out and strikeout. After allowing a single, Lowder fanned another Fighting Illini batter to end the inning.
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Four free passes (three walks and a hit by pitch) tied the game at 1 after two full innings.
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Three-straight walks drawn by Jake Reinisch, Bennett Lee and Adam Cecere loaded the bases with one out. Following a strikeout, Justin Johnson picked up an RBI after being hit by a pitch.
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A close play at first base on a groundout ended Wake Forest's scoring opportunity.
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Lowder tossed his second-straight scoreless inning thanks to a 5-4-3 double play and the junior's fourth strikeout of the game.
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After conceding a leadoff single, Lowder induced a ground ball to Brock Wilken at third base to begin the double play.
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Brock Wilken reached safely with a two-out walk, Wake Forest's fifth free pass of the game, but was stranded after a deep fly out to left field as the game remained tied at one after three innings.
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Lowder continued to deal, striking out the side in the top of the fourth inning, increasing his game total to seven.
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Wake Forest was unable to take advantage of its second bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the fourth as the game remained tied.
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After a one-out walk to Cecere, Danny Corona notched Wake Forest's first base knock with a single to left center.
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A two-out base on balls to Tommy Hawke loaded the bases, but a fly out in foul territory ended the scoring threat.
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Three more strikeouts in top of the fifth marked seven-straight strikeouts from Lowder as the Ablemarle, N.C. native continued to deal.
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The perfect inning increased Lowder's 10th K of the game, the fifth double-digit strikeout outing of his career.
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Wake Forest's offense came alive in the bottom half, breaking the 1-1 tie with four runs thanks to a two-RBI single from Bennett Lee and a two-run home run from Adam Cecere.
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Kurtz and Wilken reached base after walking before Lucas Costello laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the duo up a base. Lee's first hit as a Demon Deacon plated the pair.
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Cecere hit a home run for the second-straight game just two pitches later.
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Sean Sullivan took over the pitching duties in the top of the sixth, tossing a scoreless frame with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout.
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The Deacs continued to add to their lead (6-1) in the bottom of the sixth after Kurtz launched his third home run of the season over the right field wall.
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After allowing a leadoff walk and single, Sullivan struckout the next three Illinois batters to preserve Wake Forest's five-run lead in the opening frame of the seventh inning.
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Corona tallied his second base knock of the night with two outs, but a hard lineout to Illinois' shortstop ended the inning.
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Sullivan continued to deal in the eighth as the lefthander worked around a leadoff single with two more Ks and a groundout.
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The Deacs increased their lead (8-1) in the bottom half as Wilken launched a 414-foot home run that also scored Kurtz (single).
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Sullivan clinched the victory in the top of the ninth, fanning the side.
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Sullivan finished the game with 10 strikeouts in just four innings.
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Words From Walter
"Clearly the story of the day was our pitching with Rhett Lowder and Sean Sullivan. It's hard to throw a whole lot better than those two guys threw today. Any time you walk two and struck out 20, you have a pretty good chance to win against a good offensive club in Illinois. I'm really pleased with the way we pitched. I'm also really happy we were able to get Rhett that win. He was coming out after five so I'm really happy we found a way to score those runs in the bottom of the fifth and get Rhett the W. Lucas Costello comes off the bench with a great sacrifice bunt. Bennett Lee singles to center and Brock makes a great break from second and then Cec hits the two-run backside homer.
"Tomorrow is a big day of baseball. 18 innings especially after coming off the first two games of the year. Today was a really good win against a really good team and we'll have our hands full tomorrow and need to play 18 innings of good baseball. We're going to need good starts out of Massey and Hartle tomorrow."
Standout Stat
Rhett Lowder and Sean Sullivan struck out a combined 20 batters to push Wake Forest to a 2-0 start.
The duo's strikeouts match the most strikeouts in a game by a Wake Forest pitching staff in almost two years (Coastal Carolina-Feb. 23, 2021). Lowder and Sullivan struck out multiple batters in seven innings.
Overall, the pair combined to concede just six hits and two walks all night.
In The Spotlight
Reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year Rhett Lowder earned his first win of 2023 and the 16th victory of his career after striking out 10 batters in five innings, the fifth double-digit strikeout performance of his career (NJIT-Feb. 25, 2022, Clemson-April 15, 2022, Louisville-May 6, 2022 and Coastal Carolina-Feb. 23, 2021).
Lowder is now just six victories away from entering the top 10 for career wins in program history.
Wake Forest Career Wins
1. John Hendricks (1996-99)- 34
2. Kyle Sleeth (2001-03)- 31
3. Frank Humber (1986-89)- 29
4. Parker Dunshee (2014-17)- 28
5. Scott Siemon (1998-01)- 25
Mike MacDougal (1997-99)- 25
7. Marc Palmieri (1990-93)- 24
8. Eric Schmitt (1997-00)- 23
9. Warren Newton (1978-81)-22
Moe Bauer (1947-50)- 22
– Rhett Lowder (2021-Pres.)- 16
Additionally, Lowder is just 42 strikeouts away from entering the top 10 in career strikeouts by a Wake Forest pitcher.
Dating back to last season, Lowder has allowed three earned runs or less in 16 of his last 17 starts.
On Deck
The Deacs close out opening weekend with a Sunday doubleheader on Feb. 19 at David F. Couch Ballpark.
First pitch on Sunday is slated for 8:30 a.m. against the Penguins. The second game of the twin bill against the Fighting Illini is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. start.
A radio stream will be available for the first game of the doubleheader. Game two against Illinois will be broadcasted on ACC Network Extra.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lowder, Rhett (1-0)
L: Rybarczyk, Ty (0-1)
S: Sullivan, Sean (1)
Batting:
2B: Doligale, Danny 1 ; Hejza, Cal 1
RBI: Moerman, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Doligale, Danny 1
Batting:
HR: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Wilken, Brock 1 ; Cecere, Adam 1
RBI: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Wilken, Brock 2 ; Lee, Bennett 2 ; Cecere, Adam 2 ; Johnson, Justin 1
SH: Costello, Lucas 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kurtz, Nick 3 ; Wilken, Brock 2 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; Lee, Bennett 1 ; Cecere, Adam 1
HBP: Johnson, Justin 1
