Starting Trio Named to Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List
4/5/2023 3:05:00 PM | Baseball
Rhett Lowder, Sean Sullivan and Josh Hartle were named to the 45-player midseason list of the nation’s top amateur players from the high school and college ranks, setting a new program record and tying for the most selections in the country.
CARY, N.C. – Wake Forest baseball had a program-record three selections to the 2023 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, as announced by USA Baseball on Wednesday afternoon.
The Demon Deacons' entire weekend starting pitching rotation of Rhett Lowder, Sean Sullivan and Josh Hartle was named to the 45-player midseason list for the annual award given to the nation's top amateur players from the high school and college ranks, setting a new program record and tying for the most selections in the nation with LSU.
The trio became the third, fourth and fifth Deac since 2012 to be named to the midseason watch list.
Demon Deacons on the Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List
-
Josh Hartle (2023)
-
Rhett Lowder (2023)
-
Sean Sullivan (2023)
-
Griffin Roberts (2018)
-
Will Craig (2016)
-
Will Craig (2015)
Lowder, Sullivan and Hartle have been instrumental in Wake Forest's best start since 1950, posting 16 wins with a combined ERA of 1.63 in 122.2 innings. Lowder, Sullivan and Hartle have combined to strike out 181 batters while allowing just 22 earned runs and walking just 23 batters.
In ACC play, the trio has registered eight wins with 93 Ks while conceding just 16 earned runs and 16 walks.
The group ranks in the top three in the ACC in strikeouts and strikeout-to-walk ratio, while sitting in the top 10 among ACC foes in almost every other pitching category:
|
Lowder |
Sullivan |
Hartle |
|
|
ERA |
2nd (1.40) |
9th (1.77) |
6th (1.71) |
|
K-BB Ratio |
3rd (6.75) |
2nd (7.88) |
1st (9.14) |
|
Strikeouts |
3rd (54) |
2nd (63) |
1st (64) |
|
Ks-Per-Nine |
12th (10.80) |
1st (15.90) |
3rd (13.71) |
|
WHIP |
2nd (.89) |
1st (.73) |
7th (.95) |
|
BBs-Per-Nine |
3rd (1.60) |
5th (2.02) |
2nd (1.50) |
|
Hits-Per-Nine |
8th (6.40) |
1st (4.54) |
11th (7.07) |
|
Wins |
1st (6) |
9th (4) |
1st (6) |
Last week, all three landed in the nation's top 10 starting pitchers according to D1Baseball as Wake Forest was the only school in the nation with three arms in the top 10:
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Rhett Lowder: No. 2
-
Sean Sullivan: No. 4
-
Josh Hartle: No. 7
Scary hours. @d1baseball ✘ #GoDeacs 🎩 pic.twitter.com/By3CF87zcD
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) March 29, 2023
Overall as a pitching staff, Wake Forest is among the best in the entire nation. The Demon Deacons currently lead the country in ERA, strikeouts, strikeouts-per-nine and WHIP while leading the ACC in walks-per-nine, strikeout-to-walk ratio, shutouts and hits allowed per nine.
Wake Forest returns to The Couch for the first time since March 26 as it welcomes Big Four rival NC State for a three-game conference series on Friday, April 7-Sunday, April 9.
Friday's series opener is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch on ACC Network Extra.
On Saturday, April 8, the Wake Forest baseball team will host an Epilepsy Awareness Game inside David F. Couch Ballpark against NC State, benefiting the Epilepsy Alliance of North Carolina.
The Demon Deacons will don light lavender jerseys when they hit the diamond on Saturday. These special-edition jerseys include the epilepsy awareness ribbon on the back.
Fans will have the opportunity to bid on the special-edition, game-worn jerseys through GoDeacs.com until 11:59 p.m. on the night of the game. The starting bid for each jersey is $100.
All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Epilepsy Alliance of North Carolina. For bidding, please go here.
To learn more about the Epilepsy Alliance of North Carolina visit here. Tickets for Saturday's game can be purchased here.
The game will begin at 4 p.m. and will be broadcasted nationally on ACC Network.
The series will conclude on Sunday, April 9 at 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
2023 Golden Spikes Award Information
The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will continue maintaining a rolling list of athletes throughout the season, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before the announcement of the semifinalists on May 22.
The 2023 Golden Spikes Award timeline is as follows:
• May 22: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced and fan voting begins
• June 5: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends
• June 7: Golden Spikes Award finalists announced and fan voting begins
• June 21: Golden Spikes Award finalists' fan voting ends
• June 25: Golden Spikes Award winner announced
Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2023. Amateur baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, beginning on May 22 with the naming of the semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 7, and fan voting will once again open at GoldenSpikesAward.com before closing on June 21.
To stay up to date on the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Instagram and Twitter.
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