No. 1 Wake Forest Faces UNC Wilmington in Final Road Game of Regular Season

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The top-ranked Wake Forest baseball team faces UNC Wilmington in its final road game of the regular season on Tuesday, May 16.

The Demon Deacons (42-8, 20-6 ACC) head into the final week of the regular season fresh off its ninth ACC series victory of the year.

Wake Forest clinched the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship title with a 7-3 win over Florida State on Saturday afternoon.

This marks Wake Forest's fourth ACC regular-season title in program history, with the last coming in 1963 (1955, 1962, 1963).

Additionally, the 2023 Deacs are just the second team in program history to reach the mark in the regular season (2002) and are now just one win away from setting the program record for most regular season wins.

First pitch between the Deacs and Seahawks is slated for 5 p.m. and can be streamed on FloSports with a paid subscription. Additionally, fans can also tune into an audio streaming broadcast through the Wake Forest Athletics app.

Stay tuned to the Demon Deacons social media accounts (@WakeBaseball) for all in-game updates and information.

DEACS IN THE POLLS

No. 1- D1Baseball
No. 1- USA Today Coaches Poll
No. 1- NCBWA
No. 1- Collegiate Baseball
No. 1- Perfect Game
No. 1- Baseball America

WAKE FOREST HONORS

Adam Cecere
- ACC Player of the Week (Feb. 27)
Josh Hartle
- Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List
- Perfect Game Midseason All-American
- D1Baseball Midseason All-American
- Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week (March 6)
Tommy Hawke
- Perfect Game Midseason All-American
Nick Kurtz
- ACC Player of the Week (April 24)
- Perfect Game Midseason All-American
- D1Baseball Midseason All-American
- ACC Player of the Week (Feb. 20)
- D1 Baseball Player of the Week (Feb. 20)
- Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week (Feb. 20)
- Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
- D1Baseball First Team Preseason All-America
- Perfect Game Second Team Preseason All-America
- Baseball America Third Team Preseason All-America
- Perfect Game Preseason All-ACC
Rhett Lowder
- 2023 ACC Pitcher of the Week (May 8)
- 2023 ACC Pitcher of the Week (April 17)
- Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List
- D1Baseball Midseason All-American
- Perfect Game Midseason All-American
- 2023 ACC Pitcher of the Week (March 27)
- 2023 Perfect Game Pitcher of the Week (March 27)
- Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
- Collegiate Baseball First Team Preseason All-America
- D1Baseball First Team Preseason All-America
- NCBWA First Team Preseason All-America
- Perfect Game First Team Preseason All-America
- Baseball America First Team Preseason All-America
- D1Baseball Preseason ACC Pitcher of the Year
- Perfect Game Preseason ACC Pitcher of the Year
- Perfect Game Preseason All-ACC
Teddy McGraw
- Perfect Game Third Team Preseason All-America
- Prospects Live Third Team Preseason All-America
- Perfect Game Preseason All-ACC
Camden Minacci
- D1Baseball Third Team Preseason All-America
- Perfect Game Third Team Preseason All-America
Sean Sullivan
- Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List
- Perfect Game Midseason All-American
- D1Baseball Midseason All-American
- ACC Player of the Week (Feb. 27)
- Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week (Feb. 27)
- ACC Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 20)
- Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week (Feb. 20)
Brock Wilken
- Perfect Game Midseason All-American
- Collegiate Baseball Second Team Preseason All-America
- NCBWA Second Team Preseason All-America
- Perfect Game Second Team Preseason All-America
- Prospects Live Second Team Preseason All-America
- Baseball America Third Team Preseason All-America
- Perfect Game Preseason All-ACC

OPPONENT/SERIES HISTORY

This marks the 32nd meeting between the Demon Deacons and Seahawks as Wake Forest holds a 16-15 advantage.
In the first matchup between the two teams since 2015 on Feb. 28, the Demon Deacons picked up a 8-6 win to move to 10-0 on the season.

DEACS RANKED NO. 1 FOR FIRST TIME EVER

Wake Forest is the unanimous No. 1 ranked team in the nation for the first time in program history.
The Deacs are currently No. 2 in the RPI.
The Demon Deacons' .840 winning percentage is the highest in the nation.
Wake Forest started the year 13-0, joining the 1949 Deacs, who hold the program's best open to a campaign at 20-0, as the only teams in school history to win its first 13 games.

ACC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS

Wake Forest clinched the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship title with a 7-3 win over Florida State on Saturday afternoon.
This marks Wake Forest's fourth ACC regular-season title in program history, with the last coming in 1963 (1955, 1962, 1963).
ACC Regular Season Championships
- 2023
- 1963
- 1962
- 1955
Additionally, the victory helped Wake Forest win its first ever ACC Atlantic Division Championship since the league started divisions in 2006.
The Demon Deacons will head into the 2023 ACC Championships as the No. 1 overall seed and look to claim the program's first conference crown since 2001 and eighth ACC title in program history.

FASTEST TO 40 WINS

After its 14-4 midweek win against UNC Greensboro, this year's squad became the fastest team in program history and the first team in the nation this year to reach the 40-win mark.
- Fastest to 40 Wins
  - 2023: 47 games
  - 2002: 49 games
  - 1999: 53 games
  - 2001: 55 games
  - 2022: 58 games
  - 2017: 58 games
  - 2000: 59 games
  - 1998: 61 games
Additionally, this marks the eighth 40-win season in program history. The 2023 Deacs are just the second team in program history to reach the mark in the regular season (2002) and are now just one win away from setting the program record for most regular season wins.
- Wake Forest Baseball 40-Win Seasons
  - 2002 - 47 overall wins (42 regular season, five postseason)
  - 1999 - 47 overall wins (39 regular season, eight postseason)
  - 2001- 44 overall wins (37 regular season, seven postseason)
  - 2017 - 43 overall wins (38 regular season wins, five postseason)
  - 1998- 43 overall wins (36 regular season, seven postseason)
  - 2023- 42 overall wins (42 regular season)
  - 2000 - 42 overall wins, (38 regular season, three postseason)
  - 2022 - 41 overall wins (39 regular season, two postseason)

PITCHING STAFF AMONG BEST IN THE COUNTRY

Wake Forest's pitching staff continues to rank as one of the premier groups in the entire nation.
The Demon Deacon pitching staff leads the nation in hits-per-nine innings, strikeouts-per-nine innings, WHIP, strikeout-to-walk ratio and ERA, while ranking second nationally in walks-per-nine and strikeouts.

Category	National	ACC
ERA (2.52)	1	1
WHIP (1.02)	1	1
K-to-BB Ratio (4.40)	1	1
Hits-Per-Nine (6.52)	1	1
Ks-Per-Nine (11.9)	1	1
Strikeouts (577)	2	1
BBs-Per-Nine (2.69)	2	1

Wake Forest has fanned double-digit batters in 32 games this season and have held opponents to three runs or less in 31 games.
Wake Forest has held an ACC opponent to three runs or less in 18 of its 26 conference games this season.

RAKE FOREST

The Deacs lead the ACC in walks, on-base percentage and home runs. Additionally, Wake Forest ranks in the top five of every other offensive category among conference competitors.

Category	National	ACC
Walks (326)	2	1
Scoring (9.3)	6	1
HRs (99)	9	1
On-Base % (.429)	7	2
Runs (466)	7	2
Slugging % (.548)	10	2
Average (.305)	26	3
Doubles (109)	42	5
Hits (522)	42	5

13 Deacs have launched a long fly, headlined by Brock Wilken with 23, Nick Kurtz with 20, Justin Johnson with 13, Adam Cecere with nine, Pierce Bennett and Danny Corona with six, Bennett Lee with five, Tommy Hawke and Lucas Costello with four, Chris Katz with three, Kyle Joye, Marek Houston and Gio Cueto with two.
Wake Forest has reached double-digit hits in 23 games while scoring at least 10 runs in 21 contests.

DEACS IN ACC PLAY

Wake Forest is off to a 20-6 mark in conference play and is to be believed the only team in program history to win its first nine ACC series to open a season. Additionally, Wake Forest's 20 ACC wins are the most in program history.
The Demon Deacons are +91 in run differential through the first nine series, outscoring opponents 175-84.
After taking two out of three against Duke and Notre Dame, Wake Forest posted three-straight perfect weekends against Miami (first time ever), Clemson (first time since 2012) and NC State (second-straight season). The Deacs earned its first ever series win in Louisville and became the first team since 2021 to win a series at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Wake Forest won its fourth-straight series against Pitt, outscoring the Panthers, 40-5, in its two wins.
Two weekends ago, the Deacs claimed its third series over a top-25 opponent, taking two out of three from Boston College.
Wake Forest claimed its second-straight series in Tallahassee this past weekend.

Team	Run Differential
Duke	-3 (14-17)
Notre Dame	+10 (17-7)
Miami	+17 (19-2)
Clemson	+7 (18-11)
NC State	+5 (12-7)
Louisville	+4 (16-12)
Pitt	+32 (40-8)
BC	+6 (19-13)
Florida State	+13 (20-7)
Overall	+91 (175-84)

OFFENSIVE ERUPTION IN PITT

In its 23-4 victory on Saturday at Pitt, the Deacs produced the second-highest scoring conference game in program history and its highest-scoring game since its 27-7 win at Georgia Tech on March 19, 2022. Overall, this marked the 13th time in program history Wake Forest has scored at least 20 runs in an ACC game.
- 20 Runs or More in an ACC Game
  - at Pitt (April 22, 2023) - W, 23-4
  - at Boston College (April 2, 2022) - W, 20-8
  - at Georgia Tech (March 19, 2022) - W, 27-7
  - vs. Pitt (April 13, 2019) - W, 20-8
  - vs. Maryland (May 24, 2005) - W, 20-13*
  - vs. Maryland (April 23, 2004) - W, 21-16
  - at Maryland (April 27, 2001) - W, 20-3
  - at Georgia Tech (April 16, 1999) - W, 22-1
  - vs. Maryland (April 9, 1994) - W, 20-6
  - vs. Duke (April 5, 1988) - W, 21-4
  - at Georgia Tech (April 4, 1981) - L, 20-21
  - vs. Clemson (April 24, 1976) - W, 22-9
  - vs. Clemson (May 4, 1962) - W, 20-4
The 19-run victory is the third-largest margin of victory in an ACC game, trailing Wake Forest's 21-run win at Georgia Tech on April 16, 1999 and Wake Forest's 20-run victory at Georgia Tech last season.

WEEKEND ROTATION FLOODS GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD MIDSEASON WATCH LIST

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)

WEEKEND ROTATION SHOVING

Wake Forest's starting weekend rotation of Rhett Lowder, Sean Sullivan and Josh Hartle has been lights out during the 2023 season.
The trio has posted 25 wins with a combined ERA of 1.98 in 214.1 innings.Lowder, Sullivan and Hartle have combined to strike out 288 batters while allowing just 47 earned runs and walking just 47 batters.
All three rank in top 10 among ACC foes in almost every pitching category:

	Lowder	Sullivan	Hartle
ERA	2nd	4th	3rd
K-BB Ratio	2nd	4th	1st
Strikeouts	2nd	3rd	1st
Ks-Per-Nine	10th	1st	3rd
WHIP	3rd	2nd	5th
BBs-Per-Nine	3rd	N/A	2nd
Wins	1st	11th	3rd

In Wake Forest's ACC series win over BC, the trio combined to allow just 15 hits and three earned runs in 20 innings while striking out 24 of 78 batters faced.
All three landed in the nation's top 10 starting pitchers according to D1Baseball as Wake Forest is the only school in the nation with three arms in the top 10:
- Rhett Lowder: No. 2
- Sean Sullivan: No. 4
- Josh Hartle: No. 7

RUN DIFFERENTIAL DRIVING DEACS SUCCESS

Wake Forest has outscored opponents by double-digits in eight innings this season
- Wake Forest Scoring Summary by Inning (Wake Forest-Opponent)
  - First Inning: 82-14
  - Second Inning: 43-18
  - Third Inning: 60-14
  - Fourth Inning: 66-19
  - Fifth Inning: 72-24
  - Sixth Inning: 41-11
  - Seventh Inning: 41-18
  - Eighth Inning: 46-18
  - Ninth Inning: 15-17
  - Extra Innings: 0-2
Overall, the Deacs are outscoring opponents by a 466-155 mark.
Wake Forest has scored in the first inning in 30 games this season, posting a 26-4 record in those games. Additionally, the Deacs are 31-4 when they score first.
Wake Forest's +6.2 run differential per game leads the nation.
Much of Wake Forest's success has been fast starts as the Deacs have outscored opponents by a mark of 185-46 in the opening three innings.
Wake Forest has notched 19 innings with at least five runs this season.

DEACONS & THE ACC WEEKLY HONORS

Through the first 12 weeks of the season, four Demon Deacons have received eight ACC Player or Pitcher of the Week honors from the conference for performances:
- Feb. 20 (Week 1): Nick Kurtz and Sean Sullivan
- Feb. 27 (Week 2): Adam Cecere and Sean Sullivan
- March 27 (Week 6): Rhett Lowder
- April 17 (Week 9): Rhett Lowder
- April 24 (Week 10): Nick Kurtz
- May 8 (Week 12): Rhett Lowder

LOWDER DAY

Unanimous Preseason All-American and 2022 ACC Pitcher of the Year Rhett Lowder has totaled a 1.52 ERA (lowest among starters in ACC) through 82.2 innings to go along with 96 strikeouts, 62 hits, 16 walks and 14 earned runs conceded this season.
Lowder has blanked a conference opponent four times this season (Miami, Louisville, BC and Florida State). The Albemarle, N.C. native has been awarded ACC Pitcher of the Week three times after such performances.
In conference competition, Lowder is the ACC leader in ERA (1.72) and wins (7) while throwing the most innings (57.2).
Lowder and teammate Josh Hartle are the only pitchers in the ACC to rank in the top three in wins, strikeouts and ERA this year.
Dating back to last season, Lowder has allowed three earned runs or less in 28 of his last 29 starts and has gone at least six innings in 21 starts.
Currently, Lowder is one of two pitchers, and the only hurler in a power five conference, with a perfect 11-0 record this season.
Additionally, Lowder became just the second pitcher in Wake Forest history to post back-to-back seasons with at least 11 wins. (Scott Siemon: 1999-2000)
- Wake Forest Single Season Wins
  - 1. Kyle Sleeth 2002 14
  - 2. Mike MacDougal1999 13
  - John Hendricks 1998 13
  - 4. Scott Siemon 1999 12
  - 5. Rhett Lowder 2023 11
  - Rhett Lowder 2022 11
  - Scott Siemon 2000 11
  - Moe Bauer 1950 11
Over the course of his career, Lowder has won 26 games, which is the fifth most in program history and second among active players in Division I baseball.
- Wake Forest Career Wins
  - 1. John Hendricks (1996-99)- 34
  - 2. Kyle Sleeth (2001-03)- 31
  - 3. Frank Humber (1986-89)- 29
  - 4. Parker Dunshee (2014-17)- 28
  - 5. Rhett Lowder (2021-Pres.)-26
  - 6. Scott Siemon (1998-01)- 25
  - Mike MacDougal (1997-99)- 25
Additionally, Lowder (279 career strikeouts) is in sole possession of the fourth-most strikeouts by a Demon Deacon ever. This mark is good for sixth among active pitchers in Division I baseball.
- Wake Forest Career Strikeouts
  - 1. Parker Dunshee 2014-17 330
  - 2. John Hendricks1996-99 312
  - 3. Mike MacDougal1997-99 288
  - 4. Rhett Lowder 2021-Pres 279
  - 5. Buddy Jenkins 1987-91 277
In 2022, Lowder became the first Demon Deacon in program history to be named ACC Pitcher of the Year, the third Unanimous All-American in program history and the first Demon Deacon ever to be named a finalist for the Collegiate Pitcher of the Year Award.

CERTIFIED STOPPER CAMDEN MINACCI

A staple out of Wake Forest's bullpen the last two seasons, Camden Minacci earned the 10th save of his junior season after inducing the final three outs of Wake Forest's midweek victory against Liberty. The career-best mark leads the ACC and is 11th in the nation. Additionally, Minacci is now tied for the seventh-most saves in a single season by a Demon Deacon.
Over the course of his career, Minacci has registered 18 saves as the Tampa, Fla. native is in sole possession of the third-most saves by a Demon Deacon ever. Currently, Minacci is ninth among active players in Division I baseball in career saves.
- Most Saves by a Demon Deacon
  - 1. Dave Bush 1999-02 38
  - 2. Michael Dimock 2009-12 19
  - 3. Camden Minacci 2021-pres. 18

WILKEN BECOMES WAKE FOREST HOME RUN KING

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 and ACC history this season.
Wilken made history against Coastal Carolina 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.
Wilken hit his 22nd and 23rd home run of the season and 62nd and 63rd HRs of his career against Florida State. Wilken is currently fourth in the nation (first in the ACC) in long flies. Additionally, Wilken has hit the most career long flies among active players in Division I baseball.
Wilken is now chasing the ACC career home run record. The Valrico, Fla. native's two-run shot in the first against the Seminoles gave him sole possession of the third-most home runs in conference history.
- ACC Career Home Run Leaders
  - 1. Anthony Maisano, GaT/WF* (1986-90)- 69
  - J.D. Drew, Florida State (1995-97)- 69
  - 3. Brock Wilken, Wake Forest (2021-Pres)- 63
  - 4. Pat Clougherty, NC State (1991-94)- 61
Additionally, the Sunday blast moved Wilken into a tie for the third-most home runs in a single season by a Demon Deacon, tying his career high with 23 long flies.
Wilken has posted a .344 batting average with 62 hits, 13 doubles, 67 RBIs, 49 walks, 67 runs scored (the most in the ACC) and a .811 slugging percentage.
Wilken needs 20 more base knocks to join the 200-hit club.

SULLY MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT

Sean Sullivan has made an immediate impact in the Old Gold and Black, registering a 2.56 ERA in 56.1 innings to go along with 91 strikeouts, 16 earned runs and 16 walks allowed. Additionally, opponents are batting just .170 against the lefthander.
For his efforts to open the season, Sullivan received back-to-back ACC Pitcher and Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honors to open the season.
Sullivan earned his fourth win of the season against Miami, tossing five innings with eight strikeouts while allowing just three hits and two walks. The sophomore struck out five of the first nine batters he faced and continued to get stronger as the game went on. With the game knotted at 1-1, Sullivan stranded two baserunners in the fourth and fifth frames with an inning-ending strikeout closing his start and helping keep the momentum in the Demon Deacons' favor.
Sullivan earned his third win of the 2023 season, tossing seven innings while striking out a career-high tying 11 strikeouts, his fourth double-digit strikeout performance of the season.
Behind another electric outing from Sullivan, Wake Forest defeated Mount St. Mary's 18-2 in the opening game of the second weekend. Sullivan retired the first 16 batters of the game and had a perfect game through 5.1 innings. Overall, Sullivan punched out 11 and allowed just one baserunner in his six hitless innings of work.
Sullivan impressed in his Demon Deacon debut in Wake Forest's 8-1 victory against Illinois on Saturday as the Andover, Mass. native struck out 10 batters while allowing just two hits and one walk in four scoreless innings to earn the save.
Sullivan tallied at least two strikeouts in all four innings, highlighted by his trio of punchouts in the seventh and ninth. Additionally, Sullivan didn't allow more than one base runner in all four relief frames.
Sullivan and Rhett Lowder combined for 20 strikeouts in the game, the most strikeouts by a Wake Forest Saturday in almost two years (Coastal Carolina-Feb. 23, 2021).

HAWKE 'EM

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.
Hawke ranks in the top 10 among conference competitors in walks (seventh), runs (eighth), doubles (eighth), on-base percentage (ninth) and hits (10th)
Hawke held the second-longest reached base streak (45 games) in the nation snapped in Wake Forest's Saturday doubleheader at Duke.
Overall, Hawke has reached base safely in 97 of his career 108 appearances and is currently 10th among active Division I players in on-base percentage (.490).

HARTLE CONTINUES TO DEAL IN YEAR TWO

Josh Hartle has accumulated a 2.03 ERA through 75.1 innings to go along with an ACC-leading 101 strikeouts, a new career high. The lefthander has allowed just 17 earned runs and has only walked 15 batters.
Currently, Hartle is the ACC leader in strikeouts and strikeout-to-walk ratio while ranking in the top 10 in every other category.
Hartle has allowed two earned runs or less in 12 of his 13 starts this year.
Hartle has struck out at least 10 batters in three of his four starts this season and has walked more than one batter in just two of his outings. In each of his first three appearances, Hartle either set or tied his previous career-high strikeout mark.
Hartle is just four strikeouts away from entering the top 10 in single season strikeouts by a Demon Deacon.
Against Clemson, Hartle earned the sixth win of his sophomore season on Saturday, tossing a season-high tying seven innings of one run baseball. Hartle punched out eight batters while conceding just five hits and one walk. Hartle notched four-straight scoreless frames on the mound to end his start and keep Clemson's offense at bay. Hartle stranded a pair in scoring position with a strikeout and groundout in the fourth before tossing back-to-back 1-2-3 frames in the fifth and sixth innings as the lefthander retired eight-straight batters.
Against Miami, Hartle tallied nine strikeouts over 6.0 innings to earn his fifth win of the year. The sophomore from King, N.C. allowed six baserunners (four hits and two walks) in the contest, holding the Miami offense to just one run. In his final inning of work, Hartle recorded his eighth strikeout of the contest which set his career high in strikeouts for a season (55) before punching out the final batter of his outing.
Against Cornell, Hartle posted the best outing of his career, fanning a career-high 12 batters in a career-high tying seven innings.
The Sunday prior, Hartle fanned a then-career high 11 batters in six innings while allowing no earned runs and no walks for his second victory of 2023. Hartle struckout multiple batters in his last four innings, highlighted by a trio of punchouts in the fourth and sixth.
Hartle became just the second pitcher in Wake Forest history to make 14 starts as a freshman in 2022 as well as the sixth Deac in program history to earn seven victories of the season (second most on the 2022 squad).

NICKY NUKES

After one of the greatest seasons by a Wake Forest freshman in school history, Nick Kurtz has impressed during his sophomore season.
Kurtz leads the ACC in home runs per game, runs per game, walks per game, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
Currently, Kurtz ranks in the top 15 among Division 1 players in career slugging percentage (5th) and on-base percentage (9th).
Since returning to Wake Forest's lineup on April 16, Kurtz has tallied 20 hits, 10 HRs, 23 RBIs, 18 walks, 22 runs scored, a slugging percentage of 1.103 and on-base percentage of .579.
With his 20th home run of the season on Saturday, Kurtz is tied for the seventh-most home runs by a Demon Deacon in a single season ever.
Kurtz received his second ACC Player of the Week honor on April 24 for his performance during Wake Forest's 3-1 week, leading Wake Forest at the plate in with team highs in batting average (.583), home runs (three), RBIs (13), walks (nine), runs scored (eight), slugging percentage (1.417) and on-base percentage (.762).
In Wake Forest's run-rule win over No. 5 Coastal Carolina, Kurtz launched a grand slam to extend the Demon Deacon lead to 9-1.
The sophomore was vital in Wake Forest's seventh ACC series win of the season against Pitt, leading the team with a .600 average, two home runs, 11 RBIs, a 1.300 slugging percentage and a .750 on-base percentage.
On Saturday, April 22, Kurtz tallied nine RBIs with a three-run home run, two-RBI double and a pair of two-RBI singles.
Kurtz's nine RBIs are tied for the second-most runs driven in by a Wake Forest batter ever, joining Chris Lanzilli (2019), Gavin Sheets (2017), Warren Sawkiw (1990) and Paul Reinisch (1989) as the only Deacs to drive in nine or more runs in a game.
Kurtz earned the first ACC Player of the Week honors of his career after leading Wake Forest at the plate in its perfect 4-0 opening weekend with a team-high tying .500 batting average to go along with a team-high tying six hits, team-high tying four home runs, team-best 10 RBIs and team-best eight runs scored. Additionally, Kurtz led the team with a 1.500 slugging percentage, seven walks and .684 on-base percentage.
In Wake Forest's season opener, Kurtz broke the game open with a grand slam in the second inning before pushing Wake Forest's advantage to 8-0 after another long fly to right field in the bottom of the fourth to tie his career high of two home runs while adding five RBIs total.
Kurtz registered the 100th hit of his career in the series finale at Louisville on Sunday.

KEENER FINDiNG STRIDE IN JUNIOR SEASON

Seth Keener has posted a 6-0 record in 51.1 innings this season as one of Wake Forest's most used relievers.
The Pilot Mountain, N.C. native has accumulated a team-best 1.40 ERA to go along with 65 strikeouts and just eight earned runs allowed all season.
Keener made his fourth start of the season and allowed no runs or hits in his five innings of work. The Pilot Mountain, N.C. native allowed just three base runners and fanned seven batters, his third outing this season with at least seven punchouts.

ON DECK
The Deacs close out the regular season against Virginia Tech in its final ACC series on Thursday, May 18-Saturday, May 20 at David F. Couch Ballpark.

Follow The Deacs:

GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

No. 1 Wake Forest Faces UNC Wilmington in Final Road Game of Regular Season

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pierce Bennett

Adam Cecere

Danny Corona

Lucas Costello

Gio Cueto

Josh Hartle

Tommy Hawke

Marek Houston

Justin Johnson

Kyle Joye

Chris Katz

Seth Keener

Nick Kurtz

Bennett Lee

Rhett Lowder

Teddy McGraw

Camden Minacci

Sean Sullivan

Brock Wilken

Wake Forest Athletics

No. 1 Wake Forest Faces UNC Wilmington in Final Road Game of Regular Season

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pierce Bennett

Adam Cecere

Danny Corona

Lucas Costello

Gio Cueto

Josh Hartle

Tommy Hawke

Marek Houston

Justin Johnson

Kyle Joye

Chris Katz

Seth Keener

Nick Kurtz

Bennett Lee

Rhett Lowder

Teddy McGraw

Camden Minacci

Sean Sullivan

Brock Wilken

Related Videos