Saturday, April 6
Blacksburg, VA
7 p.m.
Wake Forest University
20-10, 6-8
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Virginia Tech
21-7, 10-4
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Wake Forest
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Virginia Tech
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Photo by: Trevor Bowens
King, Kurtz Homer in Series-Clinching Victory at No. 11 Virginia Tech
4/6/2024 11:09:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons have launched 13 home runs in the last four outings.
BLACKSBURG, Va. – After taking the lead in the top of the second with a three-run home run off the bat of junior Seaver King, the No. 21 Wake Forest baseball team clinched the series against No. 11 Virginia Tech with a 6-3 victory Saturday night at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Junior left-handed pitcher Josh Hartle fanned a season-high eight batters in 4.2 innings of work en route to his fifth victory of the season. Of note, his performance Saturday night tied him with Tim Cooney (2010-12) and Mike Buddie (1990-92) for 10th all-time in program history with 235 strikeouts. Additionally, with his 23rd-career win, he tied Eric Schmitt (1997-00) for ninth in program history.
Freshman Blake Morningstar tossed a perfect 1.1 innings of relief as the Wyalusing, Penn. native entered with a pair of runners on in the fifth and escaped with a groundball, before retiring the Hokies in order in the sixth.
Sophomore Zach Johnston and junior William Ray combined for two scoreless innings before Cole Roland fanned a pair in the bottom of the ninth and closed out the victory.
At the plate, junior duo King and Nick Kurtz both went deep as the Deacs have now launched 13 home runs in the last four games. King's three-run shot in the top of the second gave Wake Forest the lead that it would not relinquish. In the top of the ninth, Kurtz put the icing on the cake with a solo homer to make it 6-2. The duo is now tied with each other for third on the team with eight home runs a piece.
Kurtz has homered in four-consecutive games and is now tied for fifth all-time in program history with 47 for his career and is just two away from Allan Dykstra (2006-08) in fourth.
With King's three RBI, he became the fourth Demon Deacon to reach 30 for the season and is now tied with Tellier for second-most on the team. Sophomore Jack Winnay leads the team with 33 after his RBI single in the top of the fifth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
STAGGERING STATISTICS
FROM COACH WALTER
"That was a gutty win on the road. Obviously, anytime you win a series on the road in this league you're doing something right. To do it against a top-15 team like Virginia Tech is doubly as important. Josh Hartle played really well today and battled.
I couldn't have been more pleased with the way Blake Morningstar threw. He came in and got us a big out. Runners were on first and second in a bridge situation and Zach Johnston came in and got four big outs. Will Ray had the double play and Cole Roland did what he does in the ninth.
I'm really happy with our pitching staff up and down the board. A couple too many free passes but it felt like we threw the ball really well. We have a lot of bullets left for tomorrow behind Massey.
Offensively, Nick Kurtz had a good day, love to see him rolling. Jake Reinisch with a couple of big hits and Seaver King with a home run. Our main guys in the middle of the order came through. Jack Winnay and Jake Reinisch had back-to-back two out RBIs which was a big part of this win. That was a great, gutty team win." - head coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
The Deacs close the three-game set against the Hokies tomorrow on ACC Network Extra at 1 p.m.
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Junior left-handed pitcher Josh Hartle fanned a season-high eight batters in 4.2 innings of work en route to his fifth victory of the season. Of note, his performance Saturday night tied him with Tim Cooney (2010-12) and Mike Buddie (1990-92) for 10th all-time in program history with 235 strikeouts. Additionally, with his 23rd-career win, he tied Eric Schmitt (1997-00) for ninth in program history.
Freshman Blake Morningstar tossed a perfect 1.1 innings of relief as the Wyalusing, Penn. native entered with a pair of runners on in the fifth and escaped with a groundball, before retiring the Hokies in order in the sixth.
Sophomore Zach Johnston and junior William Ray combined for two scoreless innings before Cole Roland fanned a pair in the bottom of the ninth and closed out the victory.
At the plate, junior duo King and Nick Kurtz both went deep as the Deacs have now launched 13 home runs in the last four games. King's three-run shot in the top of the second gave Wake Forest the lead that it would not relinquish. In the top of the ninth, Kurtz put the icing on the cake with a solo homer to make it 6-2. The duo is now tied with each other for third on the team with eight home runs a piece.
Kurtz has homered in four-consecutive games and is now tied for fifth all-time in program history with 47 for his career and is just two away from Allan Dykstra (2006-08) in fourth.
With King's three RBI, he became the fourth Demon Deacon to reach 30 for the season and is now tied with Tellier for second-most on the team. Sophomore Jack Winnay leads the team with 33 after his RBI single in the top of the fifth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Starter Josh Hartle picked up a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless bottom of the first.
- Wake Forest struck for three runs in the top of the second to grab an early advantage.
- Right fielder Jack Winnay drew a lead-off walk and went from first to third on a first-pitch single by senior Jake Reinisch for his third hit of the weekend.
- The big blow of the inning came on a three-run homer from transfer Seaver King, who got an 0-1 pitch into the jetstream to right field for his eighth longshot of the season.
- The Hokies scored 2 runs in the bottom of the second to make the score, 3-2.
- Hartle picked up his fourth and fifth strikeouts for another scoreless frame in the bottom of the third inning.
- The lefty struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth to give Hartle a season-high eight strikeouts.
- The Deacs added a pair of two-out runs in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 5-2.
- With two down in the inning, second baseman Adam Tellier picked up his second hit of the night and stole third after junior Nick Kurtz drew his third walk of the weekend.
- Winnay sent a ball right back up the middle to plate Tellier and extend the Wake advantage.
- Reinisch beat the shift with a ball through the right side to plate Kurtz and push the Demon Deacon lead to three.
- Entering with a pair of runners on and two away in the bottom of the fifth, freshman Blake Morningstar got out of the jam with a groundball back to Tellier, who beat the Hokie runner to second to escape the jam.
- In the bottom of the sixth, Morningstar fanned one batter as the Hokies went down in order.
- Sophomore Zach Johnston came on for Morningstar in the seventh, working around a one-out walk to keep Virginia Tech off the board for the fifth-straight inning.
- Junior Will Ray came in with two runners on and rolled a double play to get the Deacs out of the bottom of the eighth.
- In the top of the ninth, Kurtz added a solo home run to give the Deacs a 6-2 lead.
- Reliever Cole Roland fanned two batters in the top of the ninth inning.
- The Deacs defeated the Hokies, 6-3.
- With his solo shot in the top of the ninth inning, junior Nick Kurtz has now homered in four-consecutive games and has five total during that span.
- His eighth home run of the season tied him for fifth in program history with 47 in his career.
| Rank | Name | Career Home Runs |
| 1. | Brock Wilken (2021-23) | 71 |
| 2. | Jamie D'Antona (2001-03) | 58 |
| 3. | Jake Austin (1989-92) | 55 |
| 4. | Allan Dykstra (2006-08) | 49 |
| T5. | Nick Kurtz (2022-Pres.) | 47 |
| T5. | Chris Kowilcik (1989-92) | 47 |
| T5. | Kevin Bunn (1981-84) | 47 |
| T5. | Brick Smith (1978-81) | 47 |
STAGGERING STATISTICS
- With the victory Saturday night, junior lefthander Josh Hartle now moves up in the top 10 in program history with 23 career victories:
| Rank | Name | Career Wins |
| 1. | John Hendricks (1996-99) | 34 |
| 2. | Kyle Sleeth (2001-03) | 31 |
| 3. | Rhett Lowder (2021-23) | 30 |
| 4. | Frank Humber (1986-89) | 29 |
| 5. | Parker Dunshee (2014-17) | 28 |
| T6. | Scott Siemon (1998-01) | 25 |
| T6. | Mike MacDougal (1997-99) | 25 |
| 8. | Marc Palmieri (1990-93) | 24 |
| T9. | Eric Schmitt (1997-00) | 23 |
| T9. | Josh Hartle (2022-Pres.) | 23 |
- Hartle also moved into the top 10 in career strikeouts with a season-high eight punchouts on Saturday and now sits at 235 for his career.
| Rank | Name | Career Strikeouts |
| 1. | Parker Dunshee (2014-17) | 330 |
| 2. | Rhett Lowder (2021-23) | 326 |
| 3. | John Hendricks (1996-99) | 312 |
| 4. | Mike MacDougal (1997-99) | 288 |
| 5. | Buddy Jenkins (1987-91) | 277 |
| 6. | Kyle Sleeth (2001-03) | 271 |
| 7. | Frank Humber (1986-89) | 266 |
| 8. | Ross Atkins (1992-95) | 250 |
| 9. | Dave Bush (1999-02) | 249 |
| T10. | Josh Hartle (2022-Pres.) | 235 |
| T10. | Tim Cooney (2010-12) | 235 |
| T10. | Mike Buddie (1990-92) | 235 |
FROM COACH WALTER
"That was a gutty win on the road. Obviously, anytime you win a series on the road in this league you're doing something right. To do it against a top-15 team like Virginia Tech is doubly as important. Josh Hartle played really well today and battled.
I couldn't have been more pleased with the way Blake Morningstar threw. He came in and got us a big out. Runners were on first and second in a bridge situation and Zach Johnston came in and got four big outs. Will Ray had the double play and Cole Roland did what he does in the ninth.
I'm really happy with our pitching staff up and down the board. A couple too many free passes but it felt like we threw the ball really well. We have a lot of bullets left for tomorrow behind Massey.
Offensively, Nick Kurtz had a good day, love to see him rolling. Jake Reinisch with a couple of big hits and Seaver King with a home run. Our main guys in the middle of the order came through. Jack Winnay and Jake Reinisch had back-to-back two out RBIs which was a big part of this win. That was a great, gutty team win." - head coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
The Deacs close the three-game set against the Hokies tomorrow on ACC Network Extra at 1 p.m.
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Morningstar, Blake (1-0)
L: Wyatt Parliament (3-2)
Batting:
2B: Kurtz, Nick 1
HR: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; King, Seaver 1
RBI: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Winnay, Jack 1 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; King, Seaver 3
SH: Winnay, Jack 1 ; Nelson, Cam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tellier, Adam 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 2 ; Winnay, Jack 1 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; King, Seaver 1
SB: Tellier, Adam 1
Batting:
2B: Clay Grady 1
RBI: Carson DeMartini 1 ; Sam Tackett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Clay Grady 1 ; Ben Watson 1 ; Gehrig Ebel 1
HBP: Carson DeMartini 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
LHP
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LHP
/ Baseball
UTL
/ Baseball1B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF/C
/ BaseballINF
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