Wake Forest University
5-0
UNC Greensboro
1-3
No. 4 Wake Forest Moves to 5-0 with 20-2 Midweek Victory at UNC Greensboro
2/21/2023 8:36:00 PM | Baseball
The Deacs plated eight runs in the first inning and tossed seven shutout innings on the mound to remain perfect on the new season.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No, 4 Wake Forest baseball used an all-around team performance to defeat UNC Greensboro, 20-2, in the team's first midweek action of the season on Tuesday afternoon at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Deacs moved to 5-0 for the second-straight season and the third time since 2009 as Wake Forest has outscored their opponents 65-10 to open the new campaign. Overall, the Demon Deacons are batting .345 as a team and hold a team ERA of just 1.67 with 68 strikeouts and 11 walks.
Wake Forest's offense continued to produce early, plating eight runs in the first inning thanks to an RBI-single from Nick Kurtz, RBI-double from Adam Cecere, a hit batter with the bases loaded and an inside-the-park home run by Tommy Hawke.
Hawke's long fly marked the first inside the park home run by a Demon Deacon since Kevin Conway versus Louisville on May 19, 2016.
The Deacs went on to add four runs in the fifth, highlighted by a three-run home run by Cecere, before Brock Wilken launched his third home run of the season off the scoreboard in the seventh. Wake Forest added a trio of runs in eighth and one run in the ninth to cap off its highest scoring performance of the season.
Cecere, along with Kurtz, came into Tuesday's midweek action as the nation's leader in home runs.
Not to be outdone, the Deacs used shutdown performances on the mound from five different arms to keep UNC Greensboro's offense at bay with seven scoreless innings, five hits conceded and just two walks allowed.
Reed Mascolo retired the first six batters he faced and tallied three three-up, three-down innings through his five frames of work to earn the win. Overall, Mascolo allowed just two hits and one walk while fanning three.
Derek Crum, Joe Ariola, Chase Walter and Will Ray each tossed an inning in relief. The quartet of relievers each struck out at least one batter, with Ariola leading the way with two punchouts in the seventh.
Crum started his outing with a strikeout before inducing a pair of groundouts in the sixth. Walter, in his second appearance in the Old Gold and Black, tossed a hitless eighth before Ray clinched the win with a game-ending strikeout in his first collegiate pitching appearance in the ninth.
Overall, 12 Deacs tallied a base hit, led by Hawke with three while Wilken, Cecere, Katz and Houston added two apiece. Hawke also led Wake Forest with a game-high four runs.
Cecere drove in a team-best four runs, while Hawke and Corona each tallied three RBIs apiece.
How It Happened
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Wake Forest's offense came out hot, plating eight runs in the top half of the first inning.
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Nick Kurtz's 11th RBI of the season scored Tommy Hawke (walk) before Adam Cecere plated Pierce Bennett (bunt single) to make it 2-0.
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The Deacs loaded the bases after Bennett Lee got hit by a pitch. The next pair of runs came in after a fielding error, RBI-walk and sacrifice fly.
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Hawke capped off the inning with a three-run inside the park home run to increase Wake Forest's lead to 8-0.
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Hawke's inside the park homer was the first since Kevin Conway vs. Louisville on May 19, 2016.
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Reed Mascolo worked quickly in the bottom of the inning, tossing a 1-2-3 inning with a fly out in foul territory and back-to-back groundouts.
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A two-RBI single from Danny Corona increased Wake Forest's lead to 10-0 in the middle of the second.
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Brock Wilken started off the inning with a hot shot to left field before moving to second on a Cecere walk.
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The duo scored on Corona's base knock up the middle before a pair of fly outs ended the inning.
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Mascolo continued to deal in the second, throwing another three-up, three-down inning with a strikeout and two fly outs.
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Wake Forest added a run in the top of the third, increasing its lead to 11-0 after a wild pitch allowed Hawke to score.
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Hawke led off the third with a single before advancing to third on a throwing error.
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A double play and strikeout ended the top of the third.
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UNC Greensboro got on the scoreboard with a bloop single to center field, decreasing Wake Forest's advantage to 11-1. A 4-6-3 double play induced by Mascolo ended the inning.
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Four runs in the top of the fifth with a fielding error and three-run home run by Cecere increased Wake Forest's lead to 15-1.
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Mascolo continued to deal in the bottom of the inning, retiring the first two batters before working around a two-out walk with ground out.
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After Wake Forest was kept off the scoreboard in the top of the sixth, Derek Crum hit the mound in relief for Mascolo. UNC Greensboro added a run on the scoreboard, but the lefthander induced an inning-ending ground out to strand a pair of Spartans.
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Wilken fired a long fly off the scoreboard in the top of the seventh to increase Wake Forest's lead to 16-2.
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Joe Ariola tossed a scoreless seventh inning, highlighted by a pair of strikeouts.
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The Deacs added three more runs in the top of the eighth thanks to three hits and four walks to increase its lead to 19-2.
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Katz began the inning with a leadoff single before coming around to score following a sacrifice fly, wild pitch and RBI-single from Kyle Joye.
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Joye advanced to second on another wild pitch before Marek Houston also walked to load the bases. Wilken drew a six-pitch walk to drive in his second run of the game.
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Andrew Noland dropped in an RBI-single to cap off Wake Forest's sixth inning with a run.
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Chase Walter took over on the mound in the bottom of the frame, tossing a hitless inning with a strikeout and two fly outs.
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Houston fired a single up the middle with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth to increase Wake Forest's lead to 20-2, the Deacs' highest-scoring performance of the season.
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Justin Johnson started the two-out rally, reaching base following a throwing error. Katz walked and Costello notched a single to center field to load the bases.
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Will Ray tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth, highlighted by his first career strikeout, to clinch the midweek victory by a final score of 20-2.
Words From Walter
"I'm really pleased with the win. UNC Greensboro always plays us tough. Our fifth game in five days this early in the year with it being our first road game so there were a lot of reasons for us to come out flat today. I was glad to see we came out early and had great at-bats. Good to see Tommy Hawke and Pierce Bennett setting the table all day. Obviously, Cec and Brock with home runs to give us some length. We pitched it really well. Overall, this was just a really good team win. We finally have two days where we can get our feet underneath us and get ready for a big weekend."
Standout Stat
Over the last two seasons, Wake Forest is 30-4 against non-ACC competition. The Deacs have outscored opponents 326-125 in those games.
In 2022, Wake Forest compiled a 24-2 mark in non-conference play during the regular season, tying for the best non-league winning percentage in the nation (Tennessee).
The Deacs moved to 5-0 for the second-straight season and the third time since 2009 as Wake Forest has outscored their opponents 65-10 to open the new campaign. Overall, the Demon Deacons are batting .345 as a team and hold a team ERA of just 1.67 with 68 strikeouts and 11 walks.
On Deck
Wake Forest heads back to The Couch for another four-game weekend against Binghamton, Mount St. Mary's and Towson on Feb. 24-26.
The Deacs will open the weekend against Binghamton on Friday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. on ACC Network Extra before playing a Saturday doubleheader against Mount St. Mary's (2 p.m.) and Towson (6 p.m.). Wake Forest will close out the weekend against Mount St. Mary's on Sunday at 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mascolo, Reed (1-0)
L: Jay Miller (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Cecere, Adam 1
HR: Hawke, Tommy 1 ; Wilken, Brock 1 ; Cecere, Adam 1
RBI: Hawke, Tommy 3 ; Joye, Kyle 1 ; Noland, Andrew 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Houston, Marek 1 ; Wilken, Brock 2 ; Cecere, Adam 4 ; Corona, Danny 3 ; Katz, Chris 1 ; Johnson, Justin 1
SF: Johnson, Justin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hawke, Tommy 4 ; Costello, Lucas 1 ; Bennett, Pierce 2 ; Joye, Kyle 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Wilken, Brock 3 ; Cecere, Adam 3 ; Lee, Bennett 1 ; Corona, Danny 1 ; Katz, Chris 2 ; Johnson, Justin 1
HBP: Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Lee, Bennett 1
Batting:
RBI: Daniel Cerda 1 ; Caleb Cozart 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zack Budzik 1 ; Dallas Callahan 1
SB: Zack Budzik 1
HBP: Grant Aycock 1
