Wake Forest University
16-2
Liberty
7-9
Fast Start Propels No. 4 Wake Forest to Wednesday Win at Liberty
3/15/2023 8:39:00 PM | Baseball
The Deacs moved to 16-2 or better for just the third time in program history with the 12-5 midweek win.
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 4 Wake Forest baseball team used another fast start to defeat Liberty, 12-5, on Wednesday afternoon inside Liberty Baseball Stadium.
The midweek victory improved the Demon Deacons' overall record to 16-2, marking just the third time in program history a Wake Forest ballclub won at least 16 of its first 18 games to open a season.
Additionally, the Deacs increased its non-conference record to 39-5 record against non-ACC teams in the last two seasons. Wake Forest has outscored opponents 442-160 in those games.
To open the 2023 season, Wake Forest has scored 10 runs or more in 10 of its first 15 non-ACC matchups, while holding opponents to three runs or less in 11 contests.
Coming into this week's midweek competition, the Demon Deacon pitching staff led the nation in strikeouts-per-nine innings, while ranking first in the ACC in ERA, strikeout-walk ratio, WHIP and walks-per-nine innings.
Offensively, Wake Forest led the nation in walks with 133, seven more than the next closest team. Additionally, Wake Forest was the ACC leader in runs, on-base percentage, home runs, scoring and sacrifice flies.
Reed Mascolo opened his fourth start of the season with three-consecutive zeros while a Brock Wilken three-run home run, two-out, two-RBI single from Pierce Bennett and a pair of Liberty miscues allowed Wake Forest to take a 7-0 lead through three frames.
Fast starts have been one of the major factors to Wake Forest's early success in 2023 as the Deacs have outscored opponents 87-23 in the opening three innings this season.
Liberty found the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth but Wake Forest responded with five unanswered runs to extend its lead to 12-1. Jake Reinisch notched an RBI-single and came around to score on a Liberty wild pitch in the fifth before Adam Cecere launched Wake Forest's second three-run home run of the game in the top of the sixth.
After the Flames trimmed Wake Forest's lead to seven (12-5) after plating four runs in the bottom of the eighth, Michael Massey induced the final three outs of the game, highlighted by two punchouts, to secure Wake Forest's 14th non-conference victory of the season.
Overall, Mascolo tossed a career-long six innings, conceding just four hits, one run and one walk while striking out three batters to earn his third win of the season.
The redshirt junior retired the Flames in order in half of his innings, highlighted by back-to-back 1-2-3 innings to end his outing.
Seth Keener registered a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Mascolo, retiring the opening batters of the inning with a fly out and strikeout before working inducing an inning-ending fly out to Lucas Costello in center.
Joe Ariola struck out a pair of batters in the eighth before Chase Walter ended the inning with a fly out to strand two Flames on base.
Hawke and Bennett set the tone from the opening at-bat. Bennett led the Deacs with a trio of base knocks and reached base four times total with a ninth-inning walk. Hawke added two hits and a walk as well.
Wilken's first-inning long fly marked the 13th home run of his junior season, moving the Valrico, Fla. native into a tie for the most home runs in the nation.
Additionally, Cecere's three-run blast marked the ninth home run of the season and moved the redshirt junior into the top-10 nationally in the category.
Overall, the Deacs notched its third game this season with double-digit runs, hits and walks at the plate.
How It Happened
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Wake Forest jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to a three-run home run by Brock Wilken, scoring Tommy Hawke (leadoff single) and Pierce Bennett (double).
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Reed Mascolo carried the momentum over to the mound in the bottom half, fanning two Liberty batters in a scoreless frame to end the first.
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Mascolo struck out the opening batter of the game before Liberty placed a pair on base with a single and walk.
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The redshirt junior responded, retiring the next two batters to strand the pair of Flames.
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A two-out rally in the top of the second extended Wake Forest's advantage to 5-0.
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Marek Houston drew a four-pitch walk before advancing to third thanks to a double down the left field line by Hawke.
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Bennett plated the pair with a two-RBI single to right field to cap off the rally.
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Mascolo tossed his second shutdown inning in the second with a fly out, strikeout and pop up as Wake Forest took its five-run lead into the third.
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The Deacs added two more runs thanks to a throwing error and wild pitch in the top of the third, increasing its lead to 7-0.
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Wilken and Cecere both walked to open the frame.Wilken was brought home after a Liberty throwing error following a sacrifice bunt from Justin Johnson. Cecere also advanced two bases to get into scoring position at third.
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After a ground out, a wild pitch plated Cecere to cap off the third-straight scoring inning for Wake Forest.
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Mascolo registered another scoreless frame as Wake Forest turned a 4-6-3 double play to end the third.
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Liberty found the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a leadoff double and RBI-single to trim Wake Forest's lead to 7-1.
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The Deacs responded with two runs of their own in the next half inning, increasing its lead to 9-1.
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Adam Cecere notched a leadoff single and stole second before coming around to score following an RBI-single from Jake Reinisch.
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Reinisch advanced to third after Gio Cueto was hit by a pitch and a fielder's choice before scoring on a wild pitch.
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Mascolo posted his fourth scoreless frame of his outing, retiring the Flames in order with a pair of fly outs and a ground out.
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A three-run home run to right field from Cecere increased Wake Forest's lead to 12-1 midway through the sixth.
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Walks to Kurtz and Wilken placed a pair of Deacs on base before Cecere's ninth round-tripper of the season.
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Wake Forest was able to load the bases with one out after Justin Johnson, Cueto and Houston, but a pop up and ground out ended the scoring threat.
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Mascolo ended his outing with his second-straight perfect frame, retiring the Flames in order with back-to-back groundouts and a pop up.
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Seth Keener hit the mound in relief of Mascolo in the bottom of the seventh after the Deacs were unable to find the scoreboard for the just second time of the contest in the top half of the frame.
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Keener sat down the opening batters of the inning with a fly out and strikeout before working around a two-out walk with a fly out to Lucas Costello in center.
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Liberty added four runs in the bottom of the eighth with two RBI-singles and two unearned runs on a fielding error to trim Wake Forest's lead to 12-5.
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Joe Ariola induced the opening outs of the frame with a pair of strikeouts.
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Chase Walter ended the eighth and stranded a pair with a fly out to Cecere in left.
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Wake Forest placed a runner on first and second in the ninth with one out thanks to a fielder's choice and walk, but a fly out and strikeout ended Wake Forest's final scoring opportunity of the contest.
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Houston led off the frame with an infield single.
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Michael Massey slammed the door in the ninth with a three-up, three-down frame with two punchouts and a fly out as Wake Forest claimed the Wednesday win, 12-7.
Words From Walter
"That was a great win on the road against a really good team and a really good program with a great winning tradition. We got on the board early. Two good at-bats to start the game from Tommy and Pierce and then Brock picked us up with a three-run homer. After Reed gets us a zero in the first, Pierce Bennett drives in two runs with two outs. I thought those were two big runs to spread the lead, get us to 5-0, and then Reed got us another shutdown inning.
"Six strong innings out of Reed. I was really happy with the way he threw. I was really happy with the way Keener and Massey threw. Chase got us a big out in that bridge situation. Joe Ariola threw the ball well. He got unlucky with some balls that found holes but I thought Joe threw it well. All and all, a great team win. Good offense. Good pitching. We'll be ready for a big weekend against Notre Dame."
Standout Stat
The midweek victory improved the Demon Deacons' overall record to 16-2, marking just the third time in program history a Wake Forest ballclub won 16 of its first 18 games to open a season.
Best Starts Through 18 Games in Program History
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18-0: 1949
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17-1: N/A
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16-2: 2023. 2002
Additionally, the Deacs increased its non-conference record to 39-5 record against non-ACC teams in the last two seasons. Wake Forest has outscored opponents 442-160 in those games.
Wake Forest has outscored opponents by double-digits in six innings this season.
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Wake Forest Scoring Summary by Inning (Wake Forest-Opponent)
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First Inning: 39-7
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Second Inning: 21-9
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Third Inning: 27-7
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Fourth Inning: 30-6
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Fifth Inning: 29-10
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Sixth Inning: 15-1
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Seventh Inning: 15-6
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Eighth Inning: 17-13
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Ninth Inning: 2-3
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Overall, the Deacs are outscoring opponents by a 195-62 mark. Coming into Wednesday's contest, Wake Forest's +7.4 run differential per game was tied for the third-highest in the nation.
In the Spotlight
Reed Mascolo has made impactful starts during midweek competition over his three seasons in a Demon Deacon uniform as Wake Forest has amassed a 14-3 record in games he has started. The redshirt junior has given up less than two earned runs in 11 of those matchups and has struckout at least three batters in each of those 11 outings.
On Wednesday, Mascolo tossed a career-long six innings, conceding just four hits, one run and one walk while striking out three batters to earn his third win of the season.
After setting career highs in hits (69). home runs (23), RBIs (77) and doubles (13) in 2022, Brock Wilken looks to cement himself as one of the best hitters in Wake Forest history this season.
With his 13th home run of the season on Wednesday night in Lynchburg, Wilken is tied for the nation's lead in HRs and has hit the most career long flies among active players in Division I baseball.
After hitting the most home runs by a Demon Deacon in their first two seasons ever, Wilken has hit 53 home runs in his career, which is the third-most by a Demon Deacon ever as the Valrico, Fla. native is just six home runs away from breaking the program record.
Wake Forest Career Home Runs
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1. Jamie D'Antona 2001-03 58
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2. Jake Austin 1989-92 55
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3. Brock Wilken 2021-Pres. 53
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4. Allan Dykstra 2006-08 49
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5. Chris Kowilcik 1989-92 47
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Kevin Bunn 1981-84 47
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Brick Smith 1978-81 47
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8. Bill Merrifield 1981-83 45
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9. Dave Lardieri 1994-97 42
Not to be outdone, Adam Cecere hit his ninth home run of the season on Wednesday afternoon to cap off Wake Forest's 10th double-digit scoring outing of the season. The three-run blast marked the 31st home run of Cecere's career.
Coming into Wednesday, Cecere ranked in the top 10 in the ACC in eight offensive categories.
| Category | ACC |
| HRs (8) | 2 |
| RBIs (26) | 3 |
| Slugging % (.930) | 3 |
| Bases (53) | 3 |
| On-base % (.539) | 4 |
| Doubles (7) | 4 |
| Runs (25) | 4 |
| Walks (17) | 6 |
| Hits (22) | 17 |
Currently, Wake Forest is the only school in the nation to have two players to rank in the top 10 in home runs this season.
On Deck
For the first time since March 5, Wake Forest returns to The Couch for its ACC home-opening series against Notre Dame on March 17-19.
Friday's series opener is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch, while the two teams will hit the diamond at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Saturday's contest will be Wake Forest's first national television broadcast as ACC Network will televise the ACC showdown. Friday and Sunday's games can be streamed on ACCNX.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mascolo, Reed (3-0)
L: GAINEY, Garrett (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Hawke, Tommy 1 ; Bennett, Pierce 1
HR: Wilken, Brock 1 ; Cecere, Adam 1
RBI: Bennett, Pierce 2 ; Wilken, Brock 3 ; Cecere, Adam 3 ; Reinisch, Jake 1
SH: Johnson, Justin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hawke, Tommy 2 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Wilken, Brock 3 ; Cecere, Adam 3 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; Houston, Marek 1
SB: Cecere, Adam 1
HBP: Cueto, Gio 1
Batting:
2B: HILLIER, Three 1
RBI: KEPLEY, Kane 1 ; TROYER, Camden 1 ; FOSTER, Cam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BETTS, Gray 1 ; CASTILLO, Victor 1 ; HILLIER, Three 1 ; KEPLEY, Kane 1 ; TROYER, Camden 1
