Wake Forest University
Elon
No. 2 Wake Forest Shuts Out Elon in 20-0 Midweek Victory
3/21/2023 10:46:00 PM | Baseball
The Deacs pushed across seven runs in two different innings while seven arms allowed just four baserunners (two hits and two walks).
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Behind two seven-run innings and four baserunners allowed by the pitching staff, the No. 2 Wake Forest baseball team earned its fourth midweek win of the season, shutting out Elon, 20-0, on Tuesday night inside David F. Couch Ballpark.
Wake Forest (19-3, 4-2 ACC) has compiled a 41-8-1 record inside David F. Couch Ballpark over the last two seasons, highlighted by its 15-1 mark this year.
With its Saturday sweep of the Fighting Irish last weekend, this year's Demon Deacon ballclub became the first team in program history to win its first 14 home games.
Overall, the Deacs have outscored opponents, 463-170, at The Couch since last year.
In addition to its winning record in conference play over the last two seasons, Wake Forest has found success in non-conference competition.
Dating back to last year, the Deacs hold a 40-5 record against non-ACC teams. Wake Forest has outscored opponents 462-160 in those games.
Wake Forest was propelled to victory by seven runs in the first inning of play. Wake Forest has scored in the first inning in 14 games this season, posting a 13-1 record in those games. Additionally, the Deacs are 14-1 when they score first.
A trio of RBI doubles by Pierce Bennett, Nick Kurtz, and Adam Cecere promptly scored three runs for the Demon Deacons before Chris Katz (three-run) and Kyle Joye (solo) smacked back-to-back home runs increasing the Wake Forest lead to 7-0.
The scoring continued in the second frame as a Justin Johnson sacrifice fly scored Lucas Costello, who tripled.
After three more runs in the third, Wake Forest increased its scoring margin in the opening three innings to 113-26 this season.
In the fifth inning, the Deacs batted around and scored a total of seven runs for the second time in the contest, highlighted by a Nick Kurtz two-run home run, his ninth of the 2023 season.
Not to be outdone, Reed Mascolo earned the fourth win of the 2023 season after throwing five innings of shutout baseball while only surrendering two total baserunners and striking out six Phoenix hitters.
Mascolo faced the minimum in three innings and didn't allow a baserunner until the top of the third. The Fairfield, Conn. native retired six straight to open his midweek start, highlighted by four-straight strikeouts.
Wake Forest relief appearances were made by Derek Crum, Chase Walter, Joe Ariola, Seth Keener, Camden Minacci, and William Ray.
Overall, the seven Wake Forest arms allowed just four baserunners (two hits and two walks) for Wake Forest's third shutout victory of the season.
How It Happened
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Reed Mascolo retired the Phoenix in order to open his fifth start of the season, inducing a groundout to open the game before striking out back-to-back batters.
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The Deacs offense exploded for seven runs on six hits, one error and one walk in the bottom of the first. Pierce Bennett, Nick Kurtz and Adam Cecere all tallied RBI-doubles before Chris Katz (three-run) and Kyle Joye (solo) launched back-to-back home runs.
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Mascolo retired Elon in order once again in the top of the second, highlighted by back-to-back punchouts to open the frame. Mascolo induced a flyout to Tommy Hawke in center field to end the inning.
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Lucas Costello tripled to left center field with one out and was plated on a sacrifice fly by Justin Johnson to increase Wake Forest's lead to 8-0 after two full frames.
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Elon produced its first base runner of the night thanks to a leadoff single to right field in the top of the third. Mascolo responded by sitting down the next trio of Phoenix batters with a strikeout, groundout and fly out to end the frame.
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The Deacs found the scoreboard once again in the bottom of the third, increasing its lead to 10-0 as Joye fired a leadoff double before being driven in on a sacrifice fly from Bennett with the bases loaded. After a Kurtz single loaded the bases again, Brock Wilken plated Marek Houston (walk) with an RBI-groundout.
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Mascolo registered his third 1-2-3 frame to open the fourth and keep Wake Forest's lead at double-digits (10-0).
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After the Deacs were kept off the scoreboard for the first time to end the inning, Mascolo tossed another zero in the top of the fifth.
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Mascolo induced a groundout to open the frame before working around a walk with his sixth strikeout and a pop up to Kurtz at first.
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The Deacs increased its lead to 17-0 after five full frames with its second seven-run inning of the contest.
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Jake Reinisch began the inning with a walk before Kurtz hit a two-run home run over the left field wall to get the scoring started.
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The Deacs loaded the bases with a Wilken single and back-to-back walks to Costello and Danny Corona before Katz was walked.
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Joye notched an RBI-groundout, scoring Wilken, before Marek Houston fired a two-RBI single up the middle.
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The Deacs loaded the bases again after Hawke was hit by a pitch and Jack Winnay walked. Wilken was hit by a pitch to score Houston and cap off Wake Forest's second seven-run inning.
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Derek Crum and Chase Walter combined to throw a perfect 1-2-3 sixth inning as Crum induced a groundout and fly out in foul territory behind the plate before Walter ended the frame with a groundout to Kurtz at first.
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Chris Katz notched a one-out single, but the next two Deacs were retired to end the sixth.
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Walter came back in the seventh, forcing a flyout on the first pitch of the inning. Joe Ariola took over and struck out the first batter he faced before ending the frame with a groundout.
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The Deacs extended its lead to 20-0 in the bottom half of the inning as Wilken singled to left to bring home Reinisch before a fielder's choice scored Winnay. Danny Corona ended the scoring for the Deacs with an RBI-double to right center, scoring Costello.
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Seth Keener continued the momentum on the mound with a scoreless top of the eighth.
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The righthander worked around a leadoff walk with a fly out in foul territory and back-to-back punchouts.
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The Deacs placed a pair of baserunners on with two outs as Hawke singled up the middle and Reinisch doubled down the right field line. A strikeout ended the final scoring opportunity for Wake Forest.
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Camden Minacci and Will Ray combined to slam the door in the ninth as Minacci fanned two batters before Ray induced a game-ending groundout to clinch the midweek victory.
Words From Walter
"Great win. Elon came in here having won six in a row and an RPI of 33 so it was a good win for us. The lefty that they started had given us trouble in the past so I was really pleased to see our offensive approach today. We stacked eight quality at-bats in a row right out of the gate.
"First and foremost, we got another good start out of Reed Mascolo. I was really happy with our pitching staff all day today. We got some guys a touch today that had not pitched. We got Derek Crum, Chase Walter, Joe Ariola, and Will Ray all got out there. We got the guys the work that they needed.
"We also got a chance to rest some guys. I was really pleased with the guys who had not played a whole lot -- Kyle Joye, Chris Katz and Lucas Costello. Those guys stepped right in and did a great job today. I was really happy with a good team win."
Standout Stat
Over the last two seasons, Wake Forest has compiled a 41-8-1 record inside David F. Couch Ballpark over the last two seasons, highlighted by its 15-1 mark this year.
With its Saturday sweep of the Fighting Irish last weekend, this year's Demon Deacon ballclub became the first team in program history to win its first 14 home games.
Overall, the Deacs have outscored opponents, 483-170, at The Couch since last year.
In addition to its winning record in conference play over the last two seasons, Wake Forest has found success in non-conference competition.
Dating back to last year, the Deacs hold a 40-5 record against non-ACC teams. Wake Forest has outscored opponents 462-160 in those games.
To open the 2023 season, Wake Forest has scored over 10 runs in 11 of its first 16 non-ACC matchups, while holding opponents to three runs or less in 12 contests thus far in 2023.
Wake Forest has outscored opponents by double-digits in seven innings this season.
Wake Forest Scoring Summary by Inning (Wake Forest-Opponent)
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First Inning: 55-7
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Second Inning: 26-10
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Third Inning: 32-9
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Fourth Inning: 32-7
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Fifth Inning: 37-10
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Sixth Inning: 18-2
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Seventh Inning: 18-6
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Eighth Inning: 20-13
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Ninth Inning: 2-5
Overall, the Deacs are outscoring opponents by a 232-69 mark in 2023.
Wake Forest has scored in the first inning in 14 games this season, posting a 13-1 record in those games. Additionally, the Deacs are 14-1 when they score first.
Wake Forest has been patient at the plate as the Deacs have been walked 160 times, the most in the ACC.
The Deacs have been walked at least 10 times in five games this season. In all of those contests, Wake Forest has scored double-digit runs, while notching double-digit hits four times.
| Opponent | Hits | Walks | Runs |
| Youngstown State | 12 | 14 | 18 |
| Cornell | 8 | 11 | 10 |
| Coastal Carolina | 11 | 10 | 11 |
| Liberty | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| Elon | 19 | 10 | 20 |
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 15-3 record in games he has started. The redshirt junior has given up less than two earned runs in 12 of those matchups and has struckout at least three batters in each of those 12 outings.
On Tuesday, Mascolo earned the fourth win of the 2023 season after throwing five innings of shutout baseball while only surrendering two total baserunners and striking out six Phoenix hitters.
Mascolo faced the minimum in three innings and didn't allow a baserunner until the top of the third. The Fairfield, Conn. native retired six straight to open his midweek start, highlighted by four-straight strikeouts.
On Deck
Wake Forest will host its second home ACC series of the season this upcoming weekend against the nationally-ranked Miami Hurricanes.
The series opener is slated for Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. while game two is scheduled for a 4 p.m. first pitch on Saturday, March 25.
The series will wrap up on Sunday, March 26 at Noon.
All three games can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
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