Wake Forest University
13-1
Coastal Carolina
8-4
No. 2 Wake Forest Falls at Coastal Carolina
3/7/2023 9:13:00 PM | Baseball
The top of Wake Forest’s batting order combined for nine hits, seven RBIs, nine runs scored and four walks.
CONWAY, S.C. – The No. 2 Wake Forest baseball team fell for the first time of the 2023 season, 13-11, against Coastal Carolina on Tuesday inside Springs Brooks Stadium.
The Deacs (13-1) fought its way back from a 10-5 deficit with six unanswered runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to take its first lead since plating three runs in the top of the first.
Coastal Carolina (8-4) regained the advantage in the next half inning with a two-run home run and run on a throwing error to cap off the scoring as the teams shared scoreless eighth and ninth frames.
Wake Forest struck first thanks to back-to-back home runs from Nick Kurtz and Brock Wilken as well as an RBI-triple from Justin Johnson as the Deacs jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage.
After Coastal Carolina trimmed Wake Forest's lead to one in the next half, a sixth-run second gave the Chanticleers an 8-3 lead after three full innings.
An RBI-single from Jake Reinisch as well as another home run by Wilken trimmed the Chanticleer lead to 8-5 at the halfway point of the fourth inning.
With two outs in the fifth, Marek Houston notched a pinch-hit walk and moved to second after Gio Cueto was hit by a pitch. Tommy Hawke brought Houston home from second with an RBI-single to left field.
The Deacs trimmed the Coastal Carolina lead to two in the top of the sixth with a bases-loaded walk by Johnson and a double play that scored Wilken.
Hawke led off the seventh inning with a single before a Bennett RBI-double off the left center field wall scored the sophomore from first. Kurtz fired a liner past an out-stretched Coastal Carolina outfielder's arm to score Bennett and tie the game at 10 before Wilken delivered an RBI-single to left field, scoring Kurtz and giving Wake Forest its first lead since the first inning.
Reed Mascolo made his third start of the season, tossing 2.0 innings with two strikeouts and two earned runs allowed.
Cole Roland (2.0 innings) and Seth Keener (2.1 innings) each fanned a trio of batters in relief.
Will Ray and Michael Massey also hit the mound, inducing two outs apiece. Camden Minacci forced the final out of the bottom of the eighth inning, a flyout on his first pitch thrown, after Massey fanned two batters for the opening outs of the frame.
Offensively, Wilken and Hawke led the Deacs at the plate with three hits apiece. Kurtz also notched a multi-hit performance with a 457-foot long fly and game-tying RBI-double to right field in the seventh.
Wilken mashed two home runs to overtake the nation's lead in long flies with 11. Additionally, this marked Wilken's seventh career multi-home run game.
Overall, the top of Wake Forest's batting order combined for nine hits, seven RBIs, nine runs scored and four walks.
How It Happened
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Wake Forest's offense exploded to open the game as Nick Kurtz and Brock Wilken launched back-to-back home runs before Justin Johnson tallied an RBI-triple off the center field wall to score Adam Cecere (walk) and give the Deacs a 3-0 lead after the opening frame.
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Kurtz's long fly went 457-feet and was the Preseason All-American's sixth HR of the season.
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The home run from Wilken marked the 50th of his career and his 10th this season as the Valrico, Fla. native moved into solo possession of the third-most home runs by a Demon Deacon ever.
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Johnson's three-bagger marked the first triple by a Demon Deacon this season.
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Coastal Carolina responded with a home run of their own, trimming Wake Forest's lead to 3-2 after one full inning.
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After the home run, Reed Mascolo retired three-straight Chanticleer batters to preserve Wake Forest's lead (3-2).
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To open the second, Wake Forest placed a pair of base runners with two outs after a Tommy Hawke infield single and Pierce Bennett walk, but an inning-ending strikeout stranded the pair as the Deacs took its one-run lead to the bottom half.
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The Chanticleers took its first lead of the game after a throwing error with the bases loaded pushed across two runs. A wild pitch on a strikeout and a three-run home run extended Coastal Carolina's lead to 8-3 at the end of the second.
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Wake Forest scored one run in the next half courtesy of a Jake Reinisch RBI-single to center field, scoring Wilken (walk). After a strikeout, the Deacs loaded the bases with two outs, but a groundout ended the inning.
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Cole Roland took over in relief of Mascolo in the bottom of the third, tossing a zero with a pair of strikeouts.
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Another long fly from Wilken put the Deacs within three (8-5) after four full frames.
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This marked his 11th home run of the season, the most in the nation.
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Coastal Carolina pushed its lead back to five (10-5) with a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom half of the inning.
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Roland fanned his third batter of his outing for the second out of the frame.
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The Deacs pushed across a run for the third-straight inning to open the fifth, trimming Coastal Carolina's lead to 10-6.
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With two outs, Marek Houston notched a pinch-hit walk and moved to second after Gio Cueto was hit by a pitch. Hawke brought Houston home from second with an RBI-single to left field.
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Seth Keener tossed a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the fifth with a pair of lineouts and a flyout to Hawke in center.
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The Deacs found the scoreboard again to open the sixth, adding a run thanks to a bases-loaded walk by Johnson and a double play that scored Wilken, bringing the Deacs within two (10-8).
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Keener ended the sixth with another scoreless frame, fanning a trio of Coastal Carolina batters in the process.
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Wake Forest regained the lead (11-10) with three runs on four hits in the top of the seventh inning.
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Hawke led off the inning with a single before a Bennett RBI-double off the left center field wall scored the sophomore from first.
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Kurtz fired a liner past an out-stretched Coastal Carolina outfielder's arm to score Bennett and tie the game at 10.
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Wilken delivered a clutch RBI-single to left field, scoring Kurtz and giving Wake Forest its first lead since the first inning.
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Coastal Carolina plated three runs of their own in the bottom half of the seventh, regaining the lead (13-11).
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Two Deacs reached safely in the top of the eighth as Hawke walked and Kurtz was hit by a pitch, but a strikeout ended the scoring threat.
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Michael Massey and Camden Minacci combined to toss a zero in the bottom of the eighth. Massey fanned two Coastal Carolina batters before Minacci induced a fly out to Bennett in right field on his first pitch.
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The Deacs were retired in order in the ninth as Coastal Carolina clinched the 13-11 win.
Words From Walter
"A disappointing loss. Nine unearned runs is going to get you beat every time, especially on the road. I loved our battle and our fight. They believed. We kept coming and we just fell a little bit short. We're going to go back home and have a good practice tomorrow and get ready for a good Duke team on Friday."
In the Spotlight
After leading the team with the fourth-highest batting average by a freshman in program history (.380) last year, Tommy Hawke has continued to be impactful at the top of Wake Forest's lineup. Through 14 games, Hawke leads the Deacs with a .537 batting average and 29 hits.
Dating back to last season, Hawke has a 44-game reached base streak and 12-game hit streak after going 3-for-5 with one RBI, one walk and one run scored today against the Chanticleers.
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 10th and 11th home runs of the season on Tuesday, Wilken has launched a long fly in eight of Wake Forest's last 10 games. The Valrico, Fla. native is leads the nation in home runs and has hit the most career home runs 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 51 home runs in his career, which gave him sole possession of the third-most home runs by a Demon Deacon ever.
Wake Forest Career Home Runs
1. Jamie D'Antona 2001-03 58
2. Jake Austin 1989-92 55
3. Brock Wilken 2021-Pres. 51
4. Allan Dykstra 2006-08 49
5. Chris Kowilcik 1989-92 47
Kevin Bunn 1981-84 47
Brick Smith 1978-81 47
8. Bill Merrifield 1981-83 45
9. Dave Lardieri 1994-97 42
On Deck
The Deacs open conference play with a three-game series against Big-Four rival Duke inside Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham on March 10-12.
Friday's series opener is slated for a 4 p.m. start. Following the first conference contest of the season, the Deacs and Blue Devils will hit the diamond in game two at 3 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping up the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
All three games will be broadcasted on ACC Network Extra.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Yablonski, Colin (1-1)
L: Ray, Will (0-1)
S: Sharkey, Teddy (3)
Batting:
2B: Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 1
3B: Johnson, Justin 1
HR: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Wilken, Brock 2
RBI: Hawke, Tommy 1 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 2 ; Wilken, Brock 3 ; Johnson, Justin 2 ; Reinisch, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hawke, Tommy 1 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 3 ; Wilken, Brock 4 ; Cecere, Adam 1 ; Houston, Marek 1
HBP: Kurtz, Nick 2 ; Cecere, Adam 1 ; Johnson, Justin 1 ; Cueto, Gio 1
Batting:
2B: Eeles, Payton 1
HR: Born, Chad 1 ; Bender, Derek 2 ; Dooley, Ty 1
RBI: Eeles, Payton 1 ; Born, Chad 2 ; Bender, Derek 5 ; Brown, Graham 1 ; Dooley, Ty 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Eeles, Payton 3 ; Born, Chad 1 ; Beach, Zack 1 ; Bender, Derek 2 ; Lucky, Nick 1 ; Brown, Graham 1 ; Garrison, Tanner 1 ; Dooley, Ty 2 ; Mihos, Dean 1
HBP: Mihos, Dean 1
