Saturday, May 11
Winston-Salem, NC
4 p.m.
Wake Forest University
35-16, 14-12
8
vs
5
Clemson
37-12, 17-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Clemson
2
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
5
9
0
Wake Forest
0
0
3
0
1
0
0
4
X
8
12
0
Photo by: Seth Seebaugh
Clutch Eighth Helps No. 12 Deacs Clinch Series Win Over No. 2 Clemson
5/11/2024 8:49:00 PM | Baseball
This also is the second-consecutive ACC home series where the Deacs have defeated a top-10 team, taking the series against then No. 8 Florida State in late April.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – With the help of four clutch runs in the bottom of the eighth, the No. 12 Wake Forest baseball team clinched the series over No. 2 Clemson with a 8-5 comeback victory Saturday night at David F. Couch Ballpark.
With the win, Wake Forest has now won eighth-consecutive games for the first time since the start of conference play. This also is the second-consecutive ACC home series where the Deacs have defeated a top-10 team, taking the series against then No. 8 Florida State in late April.
Graduate transfer David Falco earned his second-career start and gave the Demon Deacons (35-16, 14-12 ACC) 3.1 innings of work with six strikeouts and just one walk allowed. Freshman Haiden Leffew provided a perfect 2.1 innings in relief with three punchouts and has not allowed a baserunner in his last two outings. Fellow freshman Blake Morningstar and sophomore Joe Ariola combined for another 2.1 innings with just one run allowed. Ariola was credited with his first-career victory.
Graduate student Cole Roland earned his sixth save of the season and second of the weekend as he fanned all three batters he faced in just 10 pitches and secured the series victory over the nationally-ranked Tigers (37-12, 17-9 ACC).
Offensively, the Deacs were led by junior Nick Kurtz and sophomore Jack Winnay, who notched their 20th and 18th home runs of the season, respectively. With his solo shot to lead off the third, Kurtz moved into sole position of second in program history with 59 career home runs and now only trails former teammate Brock Wilken (71), who set the record last year. Winnay went deep for the second-consecutive game three batters later.
Kurtz also added a single and three walks as he reached base in all five plate appearances on Saturday. It marked the fourth time this season the Lancaster, Pa. native safely reached at least five times in a game and first since his six walks against High Point on April 1. Additionally, he is now six walks away from breaking the career program record of 180 set by Pat Blair (2010-13).
His 20 home runs on the season are tied for the ninth most in single-season history and he is just four round trippers away from matching his total from last season.
Junior Seaver King extended his hitting streak to 10-consecutive games and has now reached base safely in 24-straight outings after his two-RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give Wake Forest its first lead of the night. King now leads the team with 61 runs batted in this season.
Winnay extended the lead with a two-RBI single of his own two batters later. With his game-high four RBI on Saturday, he became the fourth Demon Deacon this campaign to reach 50 for the year joining King (61), Reinisch (60), and Kurtz (50).
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
STAGGERING STATISTICS
Top-10 Regular Season David F. Couch Ballpark Crowds
FROM COACH WALTER
"Big time win, man. I'm just so proud of our club for the way they battled all game. Early in the game we just couldn't push runners across. I feel like we left a truckload on base. We just kept coming and put together some good at-bats there in the eighth inning. Cam Nelson comes off the bench and gets a big hit. Liam Willson comes off the bench and finds a way on base. Marek Houston gets a single against a really good right-hander. Nick Kurtz is willing to walk, we talk about that all the time. Seaver King had a tough day but he delivered when he needed to. Jack Winnay had a great day today and yesterday.
On the mound, Falco really just made two bad pitches that cost him, kind of, all four of those runs. I'm just sound proud of our bullpen. Haiden Leffew comes in and gets seven huge outs, Blake Morningstar gets four huge outs. Joe Ariola comes in and gets us out of an inning with a man on first and nobody out. Roland comes in and does what he does. I just love Cole Roland.
It was a great team win. Defense was really good today. Mitch Salvino makes two really good plays, throws a guy out at the plate, that was a big momentum swing with nobody out and then catches that ball at the wall. Nick Kurtz with two really good plays, one on the pickoff and one on the three-unassisted double play. Then you have Tellier on that ball up the middle. So five really good defensive plays for us today." - head coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest concludes the three-game set against No. 2 Clemson tomorrow at 12 p.m. on ESPN2.
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
With the win, Wake Forest has now won eighth-consecutive games for the first time since the start of conference play. This also is the second-consecutive ACC home series where the Deacs have defeated a top-10 team, taking the series against then No. 8 Florida State in late April.
Graduate transfer David Falco earned his second-career start and gave the Demon Deacons (35-16, 14-12 ACC) 3.1 innings of work with six strikeouts and just one walk allowed. Freshman Haiden Leffew provided a perfect 2.1 innings in relief with three punchouts and has not allowed a baserunner in his last two outings. Fellow freshman Blake Morningstar and sophomore Joe Ariola combined for another 2.1 innings with just one run allowed. Ariola was credited with his first-career victory.
Graduate student Cole Roland earned his sixth save of the season and second of the weekend as he fanned all three batters he faced in just 10 pitches and secured the series victory over the nationally-ranked Tigers (37-12, 17-9 ACC).
Offensively, the Deacs were led by junior Nick Kurtz and sophomore Jack Winnay, who notched their 20th and 18th home runs of the season, respectively. With his solo shot to lead off the third, Kurtz moved into sole position of second in program history with 59 career home runs and now only trails former teammate Brock Wilken (71), who set the record last year. Winnay went deep for the second-consecutive game three batters later.
Kurtz also added a single and three walks as he reached base in all five plate appearances on Saturday. It marked the fourth time this season the Lancaster, Pa. native safely reached at least five times in a game and first since his six walks against High Point on April 1. Additionally, he is now six walks away from breaking the career program record of 180 set by Pat Blair (2010-13).
His 20 home runs on the season are tied for the ninth most in single-season history and he is just four round trippers away from matching his total from last season.
Junior Seaver King extended his hitting streak to 10-consecutive games and has now reached base safely in 24-straight outings after his two-RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give Wake Forest its first lead of the night. King now leads the team with 61 runs batted in this season.
Winnay extended the lead with a two-RBI single of his own two batters later. With his game-high four RBI on Saturday, he became the fourth Demon Deacon this campaign to reach 50 for the year joining King (61), Reinisch (60), and Kurtz (50).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Clemson scored a pair of two-out runs in the top of the first to take an early lead.
- The Deacs first two batters reached in the bottom half but Wake Forest was unable to scratch a run across.
- Left fielder Mitchell Salvino cut down a run with a dart to the plate to keep the Wake deficit at 2-0 in the second.
- Second baseman Adam Tellier led off the second with a single through the left side but that was it for the Deacs in the bottom of the second.
- Clemson extended their lead with two more two-out runs in the third.
- Wake Forest answered with three runs in the third to cut the deficit to one run.
- First baseman Nick Kurtz deposited the 20th homer of his junior campaign over the wall in right center to put the Deacs on the scoreboard.
- Senior Jake Reinisch had a quick four-pitch walk to put a man on with one away.
- Right fielder Jack Winnay homered for the second-straight game, destroying a 3-2 pitch 422-feet over the wall in left center to cut it to 4-3 after three complete innings.
- Opener David Falco and reliever Haiden Leffew combined for a shutdown frame in the fourth to keep the deficit at one.
- A ridiculous catch from Salvino against the wall in left center got the Deacs back in the dugout.
- Leffew needed just eight pitches to get through the Clemson hitters in the top of the fifth.
- Wake Forest tied the game in the bottom half of the fifth.
- Winnay looped a one-out single to center and moved to second on a walk from Tellier, after he fell behind 0-2 in the count.
- Pinch hitter Cam Nelson took the second pitch he saw back to center field to plate Winnay and tie the contest at 4-4.
- After a pair of strikeouts from Leffew, fellow freshman Blake Morningstar entered and got the last out of the sixth with a fly out to right field.
- A Kurtz single to right center was all for Wake Forest in the bottom of the sixth.
- Clemson retook the lead on a solo home run in the seventh.
- Lefty Joe Ariola got the Demon Deacons back in the dugout with a double play ball and strikeout in the eighth.
- Wake Forest struck for four runs in the eighth to complete the comeback.
- The Demon Deacons loaded the bases after pinch hitter Liam Willson was hit by a pitch, Houston singled to left and Kurtz drew his third walk of the game.
- King gave Wake Forest its first lead of the afternoon with a two-RBI single down the left field line.
- Two batters later, Winnay added a two-RBI single of his own to make it 8-5 going into the ninth inning.
- On just 10 pitches, Cole Roland struck out the side and earned his second save in as many days.
- Wake Forest defeated Clemson, 8-5, and secured the series victory.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
- Junior Seaver King extended his hitting streak to 10-consecutive games and has now reached base safely in 24-straight outings after his two-RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give Wake Forest its first lead of the day.
- King now leads the team with 61 runs batted in this season.
- Four Demon Deacons have 50 or more RBI this season along with Jack Reinisch, Jack Winnay and Nick Kurtz.
- King also ranks second on the team with a .324 average while leading the team with 70 hits and 130 total bases.
- King now leads the team with 61 runs batted in this season.
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 crowds tied the largest regular season crowds in program history, marked the eighth sellout of the season and is the ninth 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 | May 11, 2024 | Clemson |
| T1. | 3,514 | May 10, 2024 | Clemson |
| T1. | 3,514 | Apr. 20, 2024 | Florida State (DH) |
| T1. | 3,514 | Apr. 20, 2024 | Florida State (DH) |
| 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 |
| 9. | 3,275 | April 19, 2024 | Florida State |
| 10. | 3,023 | May 19, 2023 | Virginia Tech |
- With three drawn walks on Saturday, junior Nick Kurtz is now just five free passes away from setting the career walk record in program history:
| Rank | Player | Career Walks |
| 1. | Pat Blair (2010-13) | 180 |
| 2. | Nick Kurtz (2022-Pres.) | 175 |
| 3. | Allan Dykstra (2006-08) | 170 |
| 4. | Matt Antonelli (2004-06) | 128 |
| 5. | Brock Wilken (2021-23) | 126 |
- His 171 career base on balls entering Friday night led all Division-I players by six and he has averaged 1.1 walks per game over the course of his career.
- Additionally, his 201 runs scored in his career ranks third in program history and is only 29 away from the program record of 230 runs scored (Jon Palmieri, 1996-99)
- With his solo shot in the bottom of the third, Kurtz now leads the team with 20 home runs this season and has 59 home runs over the course of his career, moving him into sole position of second-most in program history and is now 12 behind former teammate Brock Wilken:
| Rank | Player | Career Home Runs |
| 1. | Brock Wilken (2021-23) | 71 |
| 2. | Nick Kurtz (2022-Pres.) | 59 |
| 3. | Jamie D'Antona (2001-03) | 58 |
| 4. | Jake Austin (1989-92) | 55 |
| 5. | Allan Dykstra (2006-08) | 49 |
- He entered the weekend ranked first in the nation in walks per game and 19th in home runs per game.
FROM COACH WALTER
"Big time win, man. I'm just so proud of our club for the way they battled all game. Early in the game we just couldn't push runners across. I feel like we left a truckload on base. We just kept coming and put together some good at-bats there in the eighth inning. Cam Nelson comes off the bench and gets a big hit. Liam Willson comes off the bench and finds a way on base. Marek Houston gets a single against a really good right-hander. Nick Kurtz is willing to walk, we talk about that all the time. Seaver King had a tough day but he delivered when he needed to. Jack Winnay had a great day today and yesterday.
On the mound, Falco really just made two bad pitches that cost him, kind of, all four of those runs. I'm just sound proud of our bullpen. Haiden Leffew comes in and gets seven huge outs, Blake Morningstar gets four huge outs. Joe Ariola comes in and gets us out of an inning with a man on first and nobody out. Roland comes in and does what he does. I just love Cole Roland.
It was a great team win. Defense was really good today. Mitch Salvino makes two really good plays, throws a guy out at the plate, that was a big momentum swing with nobody out and then catches that ball at the wall. Nick Kurtz with two really good plays, one on the pickoff and one on the three-unassisted double play. Then you have Tellier on that ball up the middle. So five really good defensive plays for us today." - head coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest concludes the three-game set against No. 2 Clemson tomorrow at 12 p.m. on ESPN2.
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ariola, Joe (1-0)
L: Lucas Mahlstedt (4-1)
S: Roland, Cole (6)
Batting:
2B: Alden Mathes 2 ; Jack Crighton 1
HR: Tristan Bissetta 1 ; Jacob Jarrell 1
RBI: Jimmy Obertop 2 ; Tristan Bissetta 2 ; Jacob Jarrell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alden Mathes 1 ; Blake Wright 1 ; Jimmy Obertop 1 ; Tristan Bissetta 1 ; Jacob Jarrell 1
CS: Jarren Purify 1
HBP: Blake Wright 1
PO: Jarren Purify 1
Batting:
2B: King, Seaver 1 ; Tellier, Adam 1 ; Morales, Antonio 1
HR: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Winnay, Jack 1
RBI: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; King, Seaver 2 ; Winnay, Jack 4 ; Nelson, Cam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Houston, Marek 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 2 ; King, Seaver 1 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; Winnay, Jack 2 ; Hawke, Austin 1
HBP: Willson, Liam 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
4
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
UTL
/ Baseball1B
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF/C
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballWake Forest Football Postgame Press Conference (Oct. 11, 2025)
Sunday, October 12
Wake Forest Football Highlights vs. Oregon State (Oct. 11, 2025)
Sunday, October 12
Wake Forest Football | Oregon State Trailer
Saturday, October 11
Wake Forest Field Hockey Inside the Circle: Episode Four
Friday, October 10