Wake Forest Drops Series Finale to North Carolina

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – No. 12 Wake Forest fell to No. 14 North Carolina, 14-10, on Sunday afternoon in front of a third-straight sellout crowd at David F. Couch Ballpark.

For the first time in program history, Wake Forest (17-10, 4-8 ACC) recorded a sellout in all three games of a weekend set in the top 15 matchup against North Carolina (25-4, 10-2 ACC). Over the course of the three-game, a program record 10,542 fans helped set a new all-time weekend attendance record.

Four Demon Deacons homered in the final game of the North Carolina series. Junior Nick Kurtz found his stride on Sunday with a two-run slam in the bottom of the third and a solo shot in the fifth frame. Sophomore Marek Houston added a two-run bomb along with another two-run homer from first baseman Jack Winnay for his team-leading 10th of the year.

The two home run performance for Kurtz marked his 43rd and 44th as a Demon Deacon, moving him into solo possession of ninth all-time in program history. Additionally, the bomb moved Kurtz up to eighth among active Division I student-athletes.

Houston finished the contest with two hits, two runs scored and matched Kurtz for a team-leading three RBI. Of note, Houston currently rides a seven-game hitting streak with five multi-hit performances over the span.

Senior Jake Reinisch led the Deacs with a three-hit performance, including a pair of doubles and two runs scored. Freshman Cam Nelson also added a pair of hits, lacing an RBI double down the left field in the bottom of the eighth inning.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Freshman Javar Williams made a diving catch in left center for the second out of the top half of the first, as starter Michael Massey worked a scoreless frame
Massey worked around a pair of runners in scoring position, picking up his fourth strikeout to escape the jam in the top of the second.
Senior Jake Reinisch led off the bottom half of the second with a double but the Deacs were unable to bring him home.
Massey worked his third clean frame of the game, picking up his fifth strikeout to keep the Tar Heels off the board.
Wake Forest broke the scoreless tie with a two-run homer from junior Nick Kurtz in the bottom of the third.
- After a one-out double down the left field line from shortstop Marek Houston, Kurtz deposited a 2-2 pitch 348 feet over the wall in left field to put the Deacs on top, 2-0.
  - The homer was the fourth of the campaign for Kurtz and his 41st as a Demon Deacon, moving him into solo possession of ninth all-time in the category for his career.
Carolina answered with two runs of their own in the top of the fourth to tie the game.
A three-run homer gave the Tar Heels a 5-2 advantage after five and a half innings.
Wake Forest answered back with a pair of homers to tie the game at 5-5 after five complete.
- A one-out single from center fielder Cam Nelson set the stage for Houston to exit stage left, depositing the first pitch of his at-bat over the left field wall to make it a one-run game.
- Kurtz destroyed his second bomb of the day, going just to the right of the batter's eye to tie the game at 5-5 with a 465-foot blast.
The Deacs took the lead with a two-spot in the bottom of the sixth.
- After another double from Reinisch, sophomore Jack Winnay blasted his team-leading 10th homer 376 feet to left field to make it 7-5.
North Carolina retook the lead with a four-run top of the seven.
Wake Forest put the first two runners of the inning on in the bottom half, but were unable to scratch a run across.
UNC added a solo home run in the eight to make it 10-7.
The Demon Deacons answered once again with a three-spot in the bottom of the eight to make it 10-10.
- Reinisch added his third hit of the day with a hard hit single to the right side.
- Winnay followed with a six-pitch walk to put two on for the Deacs.
- The Deacs got the first run back on a defensive miscue from the Tar Heels to put runners on the corners.
- On his second hit of the day, Nelson roped a double down the line to make it 10-9 with two in scoring position.
- Houston tied the game at 10-10 with a productive groundout to plate Gill.
North Carolina responded once again with four runs in the ninth to take the series finale, 14-10.

STAGGERING STATISTICS

After a season record-setting attendance during the 2023 season, Deacon Nation has set the tone throughout the 2024 season as tonight's crowd tied the largest regular season crowd in program history and is the sixth top-10 regular season crowd in program history this season.

Top-10 Regular Season David F. Couch Ballpark Crowds

Rank	Attendance	Date	Opponent
T1.	3,514	Mar. 31, 2024	North Carolina
T1.	3,514	Mar. 30, 2024	North Carolina
T1.	3,514	Mar. 29, 2024	North Carolina
T1.	3,514	Feb. 16, 2024	Fordham
4.	3,023	May 19, 2023	Virginia Tech
5.	2,847	March 8, 2024	Duke
6.	2,750	March 29, 2002	Florida State
7.	2,568	May 20, 2023	Virginia Tech
8.	2,563	March 3, 2024	Elon
9.	2,519	April 7, 2003	North Carolina
10.	2,505	May 18, 2023	Virginia Tech

FROM COACH WALTER
"We just couldn't get them off the field. We had three bridge opportunities and couldn't bridge the innings. We couldn't get shut down innings, we were 1-for-5 in shutdown innings. I feel like in any one of those innings if we get a zero and then score again we would have had a chance to gain momentum. It would have changed the course of the game.

The other part of this is in this league when you lose the first two games the other team is on a free roll and playing with house money. We were playing like our lives depended on it. I'm proud of our hitters and the way we battled. It was good to see Kurtz get going and have a good day.

I think this team has good baseball in front of it but we certainly didn't show that this weekend. We've got to find a way to turn the page and come out here on Tuesday and play well against UNC Greensboro." - head coach Tom Walter

UP NEXT
Wake Forest stays at The Couch for a midweek contest against UNC Greensboro to start the month of April on Tuesday, Apr. 2 at 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.

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Team Stats

Jake Reinisch

Marek Houston

Nick Kurtz

Cam Nelson

Players Mentioned

Marek Houston

Nick Kurtz

Michael Massey

Cam Nelson

Jake Reinisch

Javar Williams

Jack Winnay

Wake Forest Athletics