Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Short at Elon

ELON, N.C. – Despite bringing the winning run to the plate in the ninth and out-hitting Elon, the No. 8 Wake Forest baseball team fell, 3-0, to the Phoenix at Latham Park on Tuesday night.

Second baseman Austin Hawke led the Deacs, going 3-for-4 at the dish. The three-knock effort was his second three-hit game of the year and fifth with at least two hits in his sophomore campaign.

Junior Seaver King extended his hit streak to 11 games with a 2-for-4 night. The Athens, Ga. product now leads the Deacs with 18 multi-hit efforts, including five over the 11-game streak.

Righty William Ray settled things for the Deacs, tossing an effective 1.2 innings of one-hit relief on just 21 pitches. Freshman Haiden Leffew joined Ray with a solid 2.0 innings of relief to keep the deficit at three for the Demon Deacons.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Starter Ben Shenosky needed just seven pitches to get through a 1-2-3 bottom of the first.
Wake Forest got a pair of two-out singles from shortstop Seaver King and second baseman Austin Hawke but were unable to score first in the top of the second.
Shenosky picked up his first strikeout of the night to work around a runner at third for the final out in the bottom of the second.
After a one-out single, Shenosky induced a 4-6-4 double play ball to get through the third on just 28 pitches.
Elon grabbed the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth.
King picked up his second hit of the night with a single back up the middle in the fifth.
Reliever Will Ray needed just nine pitches to get through the bottom half of the inning.
Freshman Haiden Leffew entered on the mound in the sixth and used just 11 pitches to retire Elon in the frame.
The lefty made quick work of the Phoenix again in the seventh with a 1-2-3 frame on eight pitches.
Relievers Zach Johnston, Blake Morningstar and David Falco combined for a scoreless eighth inning and gave the Demon Deacons a chance in the final frame.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Austin Hawke notched a base hit to right field before an Antonio Morales walk and Marek Houston single loaded the bases.
Despite bringing the go-ahead run to the plate, the Demon Deacons fell to the Phoenix, 3-0.

FROM COACH WALTER
"That is as disappointing a loss I've had during my time here. We didn't compete. For the second-straight Tuesday, we didn't show up. I don't know how you get shutout on a Tuesday in this ballpark. We were not willing to take a walk, I think we walked once or twice on the day. We weren't willing to walk, not willing to stay low, not willing to get on the backside, not willing to grind at-bats and not willing to compete. This is as disappointing of a loss I've had during my time here and I'm embarrassed for this program." - head coach Tom Walter

UP NEXT
Wake Forest returns to conference play with a three-game set against Notre Dame. First pitch from South Bend is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will air on ACC Network Extra.

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Team Stats

Austin Hawke

Seaver King

Javar Williams

Adam Tellier

Players Mentioned

Austin Hawke

Marek Houston

Zach Johnston

Seaver King

Haiden Leffew

Antonio Morales

Blake Morningstar

Will Ray

Ben Shenosky

Wake Forest Athletics