Deacs Tie Program Record with League-Leading Nine All-ACC Team Selections
5/22/2023 2:03:00 PM | Baseball
Wake Forest’s league-leading nine all-conference selections tie a program record. Josh Hartle (first team), Rhett Lowder (first team), Sean Sullivan (first team), Nick Kurtz (first team) and Justin Johnson (first team) marked the most first team honorees in program history.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest baseball placed a league high and tied a program best with nine selections to the 2023 All-Atlantic Coast Conference teams, as announced by the league on Monday afternoon.
Josh Hartle (first team), Rhett Lowder (first team), Sean Sullivan (first team), Nick Kurtz (first team), Justin Johnson (first team), Tommy Hawke (second team), Brock Wilken (second team), Seth Keener (third team) and Camden Minacci (third team) earned recognition for their efforts in helping Wake Forest post its greatest regular season in program history.
Wake Forest's nine honorees led the league and tied the 2017 team for the most all-conference honorees in program history. Hartle, Lowder, Sullivan, Kurtz and Johnson's selections marked the most first team honors in Wake Forest history.
Lowder, who also was named ACC Pitcher of the Year for the second-straight season, and Kurtz garnered spots on the All-ACC team for the second-straight season. Wilken also earned his second All-ACC honor of his career after being named to the third team after his freshman season in 2021.
For the rest of the honorees, this marked the first All-ACC honor of their career.
All-ACC Demon Deacons
Josh Hartle (first team), Rhett Lowder (first team), Sean Sullivan (first team), Nick Kurtz (first team), Justin Johnson (first team), Tommy Hawke (second team), Brock Wilken (second team), Seth Keener (third team) and Camden Minacci (third team) earned recognition for their efforts in helping Wake Forest post its greatest regular season in program history.
Wake Forest's nine honorees led the league and tied the 2017 team for the most all-conference honorees in program history. Hartle, Lowder, Sullivan, Kurtz and Johnson's selections marked the most first team honors in Wake Forest history.
Lowder, who also was named ACC Pitcher of the Year for the second-straight season, and Kurtz garnered spots on the All-ACC team for the second-straight season. Wilken also earned his second All-ACC honor of his career after being named to the third team after his freshman season in 2021.
For the rest of the honorees, this marked the first All-ACC honor of their career.
All-ACC Demon Deacons
- Josh Hartle (First Team)
- Finished the regular season with a career-high nine wins with a career-high 108 strikeouts
- Led the ACC in strikeout-to-walk ratio
- Allowed three runs or less in 12 of his 14 starts
- Reached double-digit strikeouts in two starts, highlighted by a career-high punchouts against Cornell
- Rhett Lowder (First Team)
- Became the second pitcher in conference history to garner back-to-back Pitcher of the Year honors (Danny Hultzen, 2010-11).
- Finished the regular season as the conference's leader in ERA (1.73), wins (12), innings pitched (88.2) and strikeouts (108). In ACC play, Lowder also leads the conference in those same categories.
- Only pitcher in the nation with 12 wins and ranks in the top 15 nationally in WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio.
- 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.
- His nation-leading 12 victories is tied for fourth in a single-season by a Wake Forest pitcher.
- Went at least six innings in 11 starts while allowing two runs or less in 12 starts
- Sean Sullivan (First Team)
- 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
- Opponents batted just .170 against the lefthander.
- Received back-to-back ACC Pitcher and Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honors to open the season
- Struck out 10 batters while allowing just two hits and one walk in four scoreless innings to earn the save in his first appearance in the Old Gold and Black
- Sullivan leads the ACC in strikeouts per nine innings and WHIP and ranks in the top 10 in the ACC in strikeouts, hits allowed per nine and ERA.
- Nick Kurtz (First Team)
- Posted a team-best .371 average with 56 hits, seven doubles, 21 home runs, 61 RBIs, 49 walks, a slugging percentage of .834 and an on-base percentage of .534.
- Leads the ACC in home runs per game, runs per game, walks per game, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
- His 21 home runs rank tied for fourth in a single season in program history
- Since returning to Wake Forest's lineup on April 16, Kurtz has tallied 26 hits, 11 HRs, 31 RBIs, 24 walks, 26 runs scored, a slugging percentage of .953 and on-base percentage of .578 in 19 games.
- Received his second ACC Player of the Week honor on April 24 for his performance during Wake Forest's 3-1 week, leading the Deacs 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).
- Tallied nine RBIs with a three-run home run, two-RBI double and a pair of two-RBI singles in Wake Forest's victory at Pitt on April 22.
- 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.
- Justin Johnson (First Team)
- Posted career highs in every offensive category with a .346 average, 65 hits, 12 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs and 60 RBIs.
- Batted .333 in conference play with a team-high tying 37 hits, nine doubles, three home runs and 32 RBIs.
- Registered a career performance in Wake Forest's Saturday victory at Pitt, finishing the game a double shy of the cycle as the Glen Gardner, N.J. native launched two home runs for the second-straight weekend, highlighted by his second inning grand slam. Additionally, Johnson registered a two-RBI triple, RBI-single and solo home run.
- Tommy Hawke (Second Team)
- Finished the regular season with a .355 average with a team-high 77 hits with a team-high tying 16 doubles, 27 RBIs and 44 walks and.468 on-base percentage
- Ranks in the top 10 among conference competitors in runs (seventh), walks (ninth), hits (ninth) and on-base percentage (10th)
- Reached base in 49 games this year
- Brock Wilken (Second Team)
- Appeared in all 54 games at third base, tallying a .346 average with 66 hits, 13 doubles, one triple, 25 home runs, 72 RBIs, 70 runs scored and 56 walks
- In addition to his conference-leading home run mark, Wilken leads the ACC in runs scored (70) and walks (56) while ranking second in RBIs (72) and on-base percentage (.508)
- 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
- Broke the single-season program record for home runs in the bottom of the seventh in the regular season finale against Virginia Tech with his 25th long fly of the season
- Enters postseason as the Division I leader in career home runs (65) and is just four long flies away from tying the ACC career home run leader
- Seth Keener (Third Team)
- Posted a 6-1 record with 53.1 innings in 19 appearances (five starts)
- Struck out 68 batters while walking just 16
- Has only allowed more than one run in two appearances this season
- Posted seven-straight scoreless outings from March 15-April 9
- Earned wins against Youngstown State, Towson, Clemson, NC State, Louisville and Coastal Carolina
- Camden Minacci (Third Team)
- Earned a career-high and ACC-best 12 saves (fifth in the nation)
- This mark is also tied for the fifth-most saves in a single season by a Demon Deacon.
- Has registered 20 career saves as the Tampa, Fla. native is now in sole possession of the second-most saves by a Demon Deacon ever
- Tossed 25.2 innings with 41 strikeouts compared to just nine walks
- Earned a career-high and ACC-best 12 saves (fifth in the nation)
Players Mentioned
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