Tuesday, April 25
Winston-Salem, N.C.
6:00 p.m.
Wake Forest University
35-6
11
vs
1
Coastal Carolina
26-12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Coastal Carolina
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
5
0
Wake Forest
2
0
2
0
5
0
2
11
12
0
Wilken Breaks Wake Forest Career Home Run Record in 11-1 Win Over No. 5 Coastal Carolina
4/25/2023 10:46:00 PM | Baseball
Brock Wilken made history on Tuesday night as the Valrico, Fla. native broke Wake Forest’s career home run record with his 59th collegiate long fly in the third inning. Wilken broke a 20-year record set by Jamie D'Antona in 2003.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Highlighted by a record-breaking home run from Brock Wilken, the second-ranked Wake Forest baseball team posted its sixth top-25 win on Tuesday night, defeating No. 5 Coastal Carolina, 11-1, in seven innings in front of the second-largest regular season crowd ever inside David F. Couch Ballpark.
Wilken made history on Tuesday night as the Valrico, Fla. native broke Wake Forest's (35-6, 16-4 ACC) career home run record with his 59th collegiate long fly in the third inning. Wilken broke a 20-year record set by Jamie D'Antona in 2003.
Wilken is also at the top of Wake Forest's record book for the most home runs by a freshman, tying D'Antona's mark in 2001.
The win also improved the Deacs' home record to 22-1 this season. Since the start of 2022, Wake Forest holds a 48-8-1 record at The Couch and has outscored opponents by a margin of 532-184.
Additionally, dating back to last year, the Deacs hold a 43-4 record against non-ACC teams in the regular season.
Wake Forest leads the nation in wins and winning percentage. Additionally, the Deacs lead the ACC in conference wins.
Seth Keener was strong on the mound, earning his sixth win of the season. Keener tossed five innings and allowed just one run and five hits while striking out six and walking no one.
Michael Massey finished the job in the sixth and seventh innings, striking out five while allowing no hits in his pair of scoreless frames.
Overall, the pair of arms combined to hold Coastal Carolina to its lowest-scoring game of the season. The Chanticleers came into the midweek contest as the second-highest scoring offense in the nation.
Wake Forest's offense continued its momentum from its seventh ACC series win of the season at Pitt last week, posting its 19th double-digit scoring game thanks to 12 hits.
The Deacs loaded the bases in the first, second, third, fifth and seventh innings while scoring multiple runs in four different frames.
Wake Forest found the scoreboard in the opening frame, its 25th game this season scoring in the first inning, thanks to an RBI-single from Pierce Bennett and a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Justin Johnson.
Wilken's record-breaking home run was followed by a bases-loaded walk drawn by Tommy Hawke to push its lead to 4-0.
After Coastal Carolina scored in the top of the fifth, Wake Forest's offense responded with a five-run frame, its 15th inning with at least five runs this season.
Bennett Lee crossed home thanks to a wild pitch with the bases loaded before Nick Kurtz fired a grand slam over the right center field wall. This marked the third-straight game Wake Forest has hit a grand slam.
After Massey blanked the Chanticleers in back-to-back innings, Johnson's two-RBI double to center field ended the game in the bottom of the seventh.
Over its last 25 innings, Wake Forest has outscored opponents by a margin 51-6.
How It Happened
"A great win. Seth Keener was fantastic tonight. I was really pleased with how Seth threw the baseball. The big inning for Seth was that third inning after we had bases loaded and nobody out and didn't score. It kind of felt like a shutdown inning when he got that zero. He gave up a leadoff hit on a changeup then got the next three guys out in order. He kept his pitch count down. 70 was our limit for him. For us to get five innings out of him on 72 pitches against that offense is a great outing. He made that one bad pitch on the home run, but other than that Seth was really special tonight. Six strikeouts and no walks.
"Congrats to Brock Wilken on breaking the record. What an incredible accomplishment that is. Jamie D'Antona is one of the best hitters in program history. I'm just so happy for Brock.
"We left eight guys on base in those first three innings and it felt like it was going to stay that way there for a while until Nick Kurtz's home run gave us some distance. I was happy we could get those two runs there in the seventh inning so we didn't have to burn Cole Roland and save him and Cam Minacci for a good App State team tomorrow. A good team win."
Standout Stats
Over its last three wins (25 innings), Wake Forest has outscored opponents by a margin 51-6. The Deacs have hit nine homers and have allowed just 14 hits with 11 strikeouts per game on the mound during that stretch.
Wake Forest has outscored opponents by double-digits in eight innings this season.
Wake Forest Scoring Summary by Inning (Wake Forest-Opponent)
Wake Forest has scored in the first inning in 25 games this season, posting a 22-3 record in those games. Additionally, the Deacs are 25-3 when they score first.
Coming into Tuesday's action, Wake Forest's +6.1 run differential per game led the nation.
Much of Wake Forest's success has been fast starts as the Deacs have outscored opponents by a mark of 161-42 in the opening three innings.
Wake Forest posted its third-straight game with an inning of at least five runs. Overall, the Deacs have pushed across at least five runs in 15 frames.
In the Spotlight
Brock Wilken made history on Tuesday night as the Valrico, Fla. native broke Wake Forest's career home run record with his 59th career long fly in the third inning.
Wilken broke a 20-year record set by Jamie D'Antona in 2003.
Wake Forest Career Home Runs
1. Brock Wilken 2021-Pres. 59
Jamie D'Antona 2001-03 58
Wilken is also at the top of Wake Forest's record book for the most home runs by a freshman, tying Jamie D'Antona's mark in 2001.
Seth Keener has posted a 6-0 record in 43.2 innings this season as one of Wake Forest's most used relievers.
The Pilot Mountain, N.C. native has accumulated a 0.92 ERA to go along with 56 strikeouts and just four earned runs allowed all season.
Over his last 10 appearances, Keener has allowed just two runs while striking out 35 batters in 27.2 innings.
On Deck
The Deacs return to the diamond on Wednesday, April 26 at 6 p.m. as Wake Forest takes on App State inside Keeter Stadium, the site of the American Legion World Series, in Shelby N.C. Tickets are free.
Wake Forest closes its week with home games against Wofford and High Point on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30.
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Wilken made history on Tuesday night as the Valrico, Fla. native broke Wake Forest's (35-6, 16-4 ACC) career home run record with his 59th collegiate long fly in the third inning. Wilken broke a 20-year record set by Jamie D'Antona in 2003.
Wilken is also at the top of Wake Forest's record book for the most home runs by a freshman, tying D'Antona's mark in 2001.
The win also improved the Deacs' home record to 22-1 this season. Since the start of 2022, Wake Forest holds a 48-8-1 record at The Couch and has outscored opponents by a margin of 532-184.
Additionally, dating back to last year, the Deacs hold a 43-4 record against non-ACC teams in the regular season.
Wake Forest leads the nation in wins and winning percentage. Additionally, the Deacs lead the ACC in conference wins.
Seth Keener was strong on the mound, earning his sixth win of the season. Keener tossed five innings and allowed just one run and five hits while striking out six and walking no one.
Michael Massey finished the job in the sixth and seventh innings, striking out five while allowing no hits in his pair of scoreless frames.
Overall, the pair of arms combined to hold Coastal Carolina to its lowest-scoring game of the season. The Chanticleers came into the midweek contest as the second-highest scoring offense in the nation.
Wake Forest's offense continued its momentum from its seventh ACC series win of the season at Pitt last week, posting its 19th double-digit scoring game thanks to 12 hits.
The Deacs loaded the bases in the first, second, third, fifth and seventh innings while scoring multiple runs in four different frames.
Wake Forest found the scoreboard in the opening frame, its 25th game this season scoring in the first inning, thanks to an RBI-single from Pierce Bennett and a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Justin Johnson.
Wilken's record-breaking home run was followed by a bases-loaded walk drawn by Tommy Hawke to push its lead to 4-0.
After Coastal Carolina scored in the top of the fifth, Wake Forest's offense responded with a five-run frame, its 15th inning with at least five runs this season.
Bennett Lee crossed home thanks to a wild pitch with the bases loaded before Nick Kurtz fired a grand slam over the right center field wall. This marked the third-straight game Wake Forest has hit a grand slam.
After Massey blanked the Chanticleers in back-to-back innings, Johnson's two-RBI double to center field ended the game in the bottom of the seventh.
Over its last 25 innings, Wake Forest has outscored opponents by a margin 51-6.
How It Happened
- Seth Keener opened his third start of the season with a 1-2-3 top of the first on just eight pitches.
- Wake Forest found the scoreboard first as Pierce Bennett dropped in an RBI-single and Justin Johnson tallied a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to give the Deacs a 2-0 lead.
- Tommy Hawke singled before walks to Lucas Costello and Brock Wilken loaded the bases.
- Keener notched a shutdown inning in the top of the second, working around a one-out single with his first strikeout and a flyout to Hawke in center field.
- Wake Forest loaded the bases as Bennett Lee (single), Marek Houston (walk), Hawke (walk) all reached safely. A pop up and ground ball double play ended the inning.
- Coastal Carolina notched a leadoff single and moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Keener stranded him with a pop up to Houston in foul territory and an inning-ending strikeout.
- The Deacs doubled its lead in the bottom of the third as Wilken launched a record-breaking home run over the left field wall and Hawke drew a free pass with the bases loaded.
- Wilken made history on Tuesday night as the Valrico, Fla. native broke Wake Forest's program record for home runs with his 59th career long fly in the third inning. Wilken broke a 20-year record set by Jamie D'Antona in 2003.
- Keener struck out the side in the top of the fourth inning.
- The Pilot Mountain, N.C. native fanned five through four scoreless frames.
- Coastal Carolina trimmed Wake Forest's lead to 4-1 in the top of the fifth with a solo home run.
- Keener stranded a pair of Chanticleer base runners by forcing a groundout up the middle.
- The right hander also picked up his sixth strikeout of the inning.
- The Deacs exploded for its 15th inning of the season with at least five runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend its lead to 9-1.
- Wake Forest loaded the bases for the fourth time of the game thanks to three-straight walks to Lee, Houston and Hawke.
- A wild pitch scored Lee before Kurtz launched a grand slam, Wake Forest's three-straight game with a long fly with the bases juiced, to cap off the inning.
- Michael Massey punched out a trio of batters in the top of the sixth for a scoreless frame.
- The right hander stranded a pair of Chanticleer base runners to keep the Demon Deacon advantage at 9-1.
- Massey returned to the mound in the top of the seventh and fanned two more batters in a scoreless frame while stranding a pair in the process.
- A Johnson two-RBI double to center field increased Wake Forest's lead to 10 (11-1) and ended the game as Wake Forest opened its week with a nationally-ranked win.
"A great win. Seth Keener was fantastic tonight. I was really pleased with how Seth threw the baseball. The big inning for Seth was that third inning after we had bases loaded and nobody out and didn't score. It kind of felt like a shutdown inning when he got that zero. He gave up a leadoff hit on a changeup then got the next three guys out in order. He kept his pitch count down. 70 was our limit for him. For us to get five innings out of him on 72 pitches against that offense is a great outing. He made that one bad pitch on the home run, but other than that Seth was really special tonight. Six strikeouts and no walks.
"Congrats to Brock Wilken on breaking the record. What an incredible accomplishment that is. Jamie D'Antona is one of the best hitters in program history. I'm just so happy for Brock.
"We left eight guys on base in those first three innings and it felt like it was going to stay that way there for a while until Nick Kurtz's home run gave us some distance. I was happy we could get those two runs there in the seventh inning so we didn't have to burn Cole Roland and save him and Cam Minacci for a good App State team tomorrow. A good team win."
Standout Stats
Over its last three wins (25 innings), Wake Forest has outscored opponents by a margin 51-6. The Deacs have hit nine homers and have allowed just 14 hits with 11 strikeouts per game on the mound during that stretch.
Wake Forest has outscored opponents by double-digits in eight innings this season.
Wake Forest Scoring Summary by Inning (Wake Forest-Opponent)
- First Inning: 69-13
- Second Inning: 37-16
- Third Inning: 55-13
- Fourth Inning: 51-15
- Fifth Inning: 65-23
- Sixth Inning: 25-10
- Seventh Inning: 33-9
- Eighth Inning: 34-16
- Ninth Inning: 11-11
Wake Forest has scored in the first inning in 25 games this season, posting a 22-3 record in those games. Additionally, the Deacs are 25-3 when they score first.
Coming into Tuesday's action, Wake Forest's +6.1 run differential per game led the nation.
Much of Wake Forest's success has been fast starts as the Deacs have outscored opponents by a mark of 161-42 in the opening three innings.
Wake Forest posted its third-straight game with an inning of at least five runs. Overall, the Deacs have pushed across at least five runs in 15 frames.
- Youngstown State (Feb. 17): Six runs (second inning)
- Youngstown State (Feb. 19): 12 runs (fourth inning)
- UNCG (Feb. 21): Eight runs (first inning)
- Mount St. Mary's (Feb. 24): Six runs (fifth inning)
- Towson (Feb. 25): Five runs (third inning)
- Towson (Feb. 25: Five runs (eighth inning)
- UNC Wilmington (Feb. 28): Five runs (first inning)
- Elon (March 21): Seven runs (first inning)
- Elon (March 21): Seven runs (fifth inning)
- App State (April 11): Five runs (fifth inning)
- Louisville (April 14): Five runs (third inning)
- Pitt (April 22): Six runs (second inning)
- Pitt (April 23): Five runs (second inning)
- Pitt (April 23): Five runs (ninth inning
- Coastal Carolina (April 25): Five runs (fifth inning)
In the Spotlight
Brock Wilken made history on Tuesday night as the Valrico, Fla. native broke Wake Forest's career home run record with his 59th career long fly in the third inning.
Wilken broke a 20-year record set by Jamie D'Antona in 2003.
Wake Forest Career Home Runs
1. Brock Wilken 2021-Pres. 59
Jamie D'Antona 2001-03 58
Wilken is also at the top of Wake Forest's record book for the most home runs by a freshman, tying Jamie D'Antona's mark in 2001.
Seth Keener has posted a 6-0 record in 43.2 innings this season as one of Wake Forest's most used relievers.
The Pilot Mountain, N.C. native has accumulated a 0.92 ERA to go along with 56 strikeouts and just four earned runs allowed all season.
Over his last 10 appearances, Keener has allowed just two runs while striking out 35 batters in 27.2 innings.
On Deck
The Deacs return to the diamond on Wednesday, April 26 at 6 p.m. as Wake Forest takes on App State inside Keeter Stadium, the site of the American Legion World Series, in Shelby N.C. Tickets are free.
Wake Forest closes its week with home games against Wofford and High Point on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30.
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Keener, Seth (6-0)
L: Kelly, John (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Beach, Zack 1
RBI: Beach, Zack 1
SH: Barthol, Blake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Beach, Zack 1
Batting:
2B: Costello, Lucas 1 ; Johnson, Justin 1
HR: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Wilken, Brock 1
RBI: Hawke, Tommy 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 4 ; Wilken, Brock 1 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Johnson, Justin 3
SF: Johnson, Justin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hawke, Tommy 2 ; Costello, Lucas 2 ; Kurtz, Nick 2 ; Wilken, Brock 2 ; Bennett, Pierce 1 ; Lee, Bennett 1 ; Houston, Marek 1
SB: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Wilken, Brock 1
HBP: Wilken, Brock 1
PO: Costello, Lucas 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF/INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF/INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF/INF
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF/C
/ BaseballFootball Media Availability (9/18/25)
Thursday, September 18
Matt Barrie SportsCenter at Wake Forest with Demond Claiborne
Wednesday, September 10
Matt Barrie SportsCenter on Wake Forest Campus (Arnold Palmer Complex)
Wednesday, September 10
Football Media Availability (9/9/25)
Wednesday, September 10