Wake Forest Sweeps ACC Baseball Weekly Awards
2/20/2023 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
Nick Kurtz and Sean Sullivan received weekly honors from the Atlantic Coast Conference for their performances in Wake Forest’s perfect 4-0 weekend.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Wake Forest sophomore preseason All-American Nick Kurtz and sophomore left handed pitcher Sean Sullivan swept the first Atlantic Coast Conference Weekly Awards, as announced by the league on Monday afternoon.
Kurtz led Wake Forest at the plate in its perfect 4-0 weekend with a team-high tying .500 batting average to go along with a team-high tying six hits, team-high tying four home runs, team-best 10 RBIs and team-best eight runs scored.
Additionally, Kurtz led the team with a 1.500 slugging percentage, seven walks and .684 on-base percentage.
In Wake Forest's season opener, Kurtz broke the game open with a grand slam in the second inning before pushing Wake Forest's advantage to 8-0 after another long fly to right field in the bottom of the fourth to tie his career high of two home runs while adding five RBIs total.
In Wake Forest's 8-1 win versus Illinois on Saturday, Kurtz hit another home run while going 2-for-4 with three runs scored and one walk. Kurtz was a catalyst in the Deacs' Sunday Sweep.
In game one against Youngstown State, Kurtz was walked three times and scored one run. In the second game of the twin bill, Kurtz went 2-for-3 with a home run (fourth of the season), three RBIs, two walks and two runs scored.
Kurtz and Adam Cecere were the only two players in the nation to launch four home runs during the opening slate of games.
Sullivan impressed in his Demon Deacon debut in Wake Forest's 8-1 victory against Illinois on Saturday as the Andover, Mass. native struck out 10 batters while allowing just two hits and one walk in four scoreless innings to earn the save.
Sullivan tallied at least two strikeouts in all four innings, highlighted by his trio of punchouts in the seventh and ninth. Additionally, Sullivan didn't allow more than one base runner in all four relief frames.
Sullivan and Rhett Lowder combined for 20 strikeouts in the game, the most strikeouts by a Wake Forest Saturday in almost two years (Coastal Carolina-Feb. 23, 2021).
As a team, Wake Forest moved to 4-0 for the second-straight season after plating 45 runs (11.25 runs per game) with 13 home runs (second in the nation) and 35 walks (third in the nation). Also, the Deacs have only conceded 8 runs (two runs per game), the fewest number of runs the Deacs have allowed in the first four games in head coach Tom Walter's tenure. Additionally, Wake Forest has struck out 60 batters, while only conceding nine walks.
The Deacs return to the diamond tomorrow at UNC Greensboro for its first midweek test of the season. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.
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