Wake Forest University
18-3, 0
Notre Dame
9-8, 0
No. 4 Wake Forest Falls in Series Finale Against Notre Dame
3/19/2023 4:16:00 PM | Baseball
The Deacs claimed its second ACC series victory of the season after sweeping a Saturday doubleheader inside The Couch.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – After claiming its second ACC series victory of the season with a sweep in a Saturday doubleheader, the No. 4 Wake Forest baseball team fell to Notre Dame, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon inside David F. Couch Ballpark.
Wake Forest (18-3, 4-2 ACC) has won its first two ACC series of the season after taking two out of three at Duke last weekend in Durham.
Trailing 3-0, Marek Houston scored on a passed ball in the eighth after doubling and advancing to third on a throwing error by Notre Dame (9-8, 2-4 ACC). Later in the inning, the Deacs brought the tying run to the plate with one out before a double play ended the frame.
Josh Hartle made his fifth start of the season, striking out seven batters across 5.1 innings with two earned runs and one walk conceded.
The sophomore, who came into the weekend as the ACC's leader in the category, is now just eight strikeouts away from setting a new career high.
Michael Massey was nails out of the bullpen, fanning six of the 10 batters he faced in 2.2 hitless innings.
Cole Roland registered the final three outs on the mound in the top of the ninth, retiring Notre Dame in order with two strikeouts and a groundout.
How It Happened
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Josh Hartle started off with a perfect 1-2-3 first frame, highlighted by two strikeouts.
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Notre Dame scored the game's first run with a leadoff double and an RBI-single with one out in the top of the second. Hartle responded with a groundout and strikeout to end the frame.
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Another RBI-single with two outs in the top of the third extended Notre Dame's advantage to 2-0.
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Hartle fanned his fifth batter of the game to end the frame and strand a runner at third.
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Hartle fanned two more batters in a scoreless top of the fourth as the lefthander kept the Fighting Irish off the scoreboard.
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Pierce Bennett pushed through Wake Forest's first base hit of the game with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but a strikeout and pop up in foul territory ended the frame.
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Hartle sent the Irish down in order with back-to-back fly outs and a ground out in the top of the fifth to keep the Notre Dame advantage at 2-0.
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Notre Dame added to its lead (3-0) in the top of the sixth, pushing across a run on a fielder's choice with runners on the corners.
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After a strikeout, Michael Massey worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam with a fly out to Adam Cecere to left.
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The Deacs put a pair on base in the bottom of the sixth as Marek Houston and Pierce Bennett tallied base knocks. A strikeout ended the scoring opportunity.
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Massey notched a 1-2-3 top of the seventh with a pair of punchouts and a groundout.
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Wilken made a diving play on a hard-hit ball to third before Nick Kurtz made a great pick at first to retire the Notre Dame batter.
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Massey returned in the top of the eighth and struck out the side. He fanned six of the first 10 batters he faced.
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Wake Forest got on the board (3-1) in the bottom of the inning as Houston reached third after a double to left center field and a throwing error. The freshman came around to score on a dropped third strike. A double play ended the frame.
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Cole Roland tossed a perfect 1-2-3 top of the ninth with two strikeouts and a ground out.
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Notre Dame retired Wake Forest in order in the bottom half of the inning to claim the series finale, 3-1.
Words From Walter
"Disappointing loss for sure. I don't ever feel like three runs should beat us at our park. Give credit to the Notre Dame pitching staff for throwing the ball well. Josh Hartle battled and gave us a chance. The bullpen was good. Michael Massey and Cole Roland were fantastic. We just couldn't get anything going offensively, which is disappointing. Two of the three runs came after the ball got to the backstop on us. A couple Free 90s cost us two of the three runs they scored. If we're in a 1-1 game, or even a 2-1 game, different story. We just had too many free 90s today and didn't get free 90s offensively. We certainly feel like we're a better offense than what we showed today."
On Deck
The Deacs continue its seven-game homestand with a midweek matchup against Elon on Tuesday, March 21 at 6 p.m.
Fans can tune into a broadcast stream on ACC Network Extra as well as a live radio stream from The Couch.
Wake Forest will then welcome Miami for its third conference series of the 2023 season on March 24-Match 26 at The Couch. All three games will be broadcasted on ACC Network Extra.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jack Findlay (3-0)
L: Hartle, Josh (4-1)
S: Will Mercer (1)
Batting:
2B: Brooks Coetzee 1 ; Carter Putz 1
RBI: Brooks Coetzee 1 ; Jack Penney 1 ; Jack Zyska 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brooks Coetzee 1 ; Carter Putz 1 ; DM Jefferson 1
SB: Jack Penney 1
Batting:
2B: Houston, Marek 1
RBI: Hawke, Tommy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Houston, Marek 1
