Wednesday, May 22
Charlotte, NC
3 p.m.
Wake Forest University
37-19
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Pitt
26-28
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Pitt
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Wake Forest
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Photo by: Seth Seebaugh
Bullpen and Bombs Propel Wake Forest to Opening Round Win over Pitt
5/22/2024 7:36:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons will take on No. 1-seed North Carolina on Friday with the winner advancing to the semifinals.
CHARLOTTE – Behind seven scoreless innings from the bullpen and a trio of homers, the No. 22 Wake Forest baseball team earned an 8-1 victory over Pitt Wednesday afternoon in game one of pool play at the 2024 ACC Championships at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C.
The Demon Deacons (37-19, 15-15 ACC) will now look ahead to a Friday clash with No. 1-seeded North Carolina on Friday at 7 p.m. for a chance to advance to the semifinals. Wake Forest will turn to righty Chase Burns (10-1, 2.63 ERA) in the matchup with the Tar Heels.
Wake Forest used home runs from senior Jake Reinisch, sophomore Marek Houston and graduate student Cameron Gill to maintain a commanding lead throughout the majority of the contest. It marked the 32nd game this season in which the Demon Deacons recorded multiple home runs and 16th instance with at least three.
The Deacs have now launched 108 homers this campaign, which now ranks third all-time in program history with all three coming in the past three years. The 2024 squad trails only the 2022 (122) and 2023 (130) seasons. The total also ranks second in the ACC and 14th nationally.
On the mound, the Demon Deacons struck out 14 Panthers (26-28, 10-20 ACC) with all eight Wake Forest arms logging at least one punchout. Graduate transfer David Falco earned his fourth start of the season and fanned five through two innings of work.
In relief, sophomore Zach Johnston was credited with the win following two hitless innings with just one base runner allowed. Freshman Blake Morningstar struck out a trio of Panthers in the fifth before junior William Ray and sophomore Joe Ariola combined for a scoreless sixth and seventh.
Making his first appearance since April 28, junior Michael Massey tossed a hitless eighth with a pair of strikeouts. Graduate student Cole Roland closed out the contest with a three up, three down ninth inning.
Reinisch got the Deacs started offensively with a two-run shot in the bottom of the first. It marked his 18th long shot of the season and ranks third trailing only junior Nick Kurtz (21) and sophomore Jack Winnay (20) for most on the team. Of note, the designated hitter has now gone deep seven times in the last 11 outings, including back-to-back games.
In the following inning, Houston extended the lead with a three-run home run for his seventh of the season. The Third Team All-ACC honoree reached base at a .500 clip during the NC State series last weekend and has hit safely in 12 of the last 13 games with an RBI in eight of the last 12.
Gill capped off the fireworks with the fifth home run of his career and third of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Junior Seaver King was the lone Demon Deacon with multiple hits Wednesday afternoon as the third baseman has now reached base safely in 29-consecutive games with at least one hit in each of the last 15. He also drove in his 64th run of the season with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
STAGGERING STATISTICS
FROM COACH WALTER
"That's a great team win and we needed it. We obviously have to play better baseball than last weekend to get into the NCAA Tournament. I'm really happy with our effort today, David Falco gave us what we hoped we would get out of him. We pitched well all day and had good bridge opportunities. Zach Johnston came in with runners on first and second with a run already in and got us a strikeout and a double play ball. Blake Morningstar came in and got us three big outs. Joe Ariola came in during a bridge situation. I was happy with the way we pitched and it was great to see Michael Massey out there today. If we can get the Michael Massey and Joe Ariola we saw today down the stretch it will make our bullpen so much better and add more firepower.
Offensively we did just enough. We didn't have a great offensive day but Marek's home run was certainly the big blow of the game. It was a 2-0 game at that point, we didn't get a bunt down and Pitt had an opportunity to get momentum. Marek homers deep to left field to get us up 5-0 then our pitching took over from there. That was a really good all-around baseball game for our club and we needed it." - head coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest will return to Truist Field on Friday, May 24 at 7 p.m. to conclude pool play against top-seeded North Carolina on ACC Network. The winner will advance to the semifinals and face the winner of Pool D on Saturday, May 25 at 1 p.m.
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Demon Deacons (37-19, 15-15 ACC) will now look ahead to a Friday clash with No. 1-seeded North Carolina on Friday at 7 p.m. for a chance to advance to the semifinals. Wake Forest will turn to righty Chase Burns (10-1, 2.63 ERA) in the matchup with the Tar Heels.
Wake Forest used home runs from senior Jake Reinisch, sophomore Marek Houston and graduate student Cameron Gill to maintain a commanding lead throughout the majority of the contest. It marked the 32nd game this season in which the Demon Deacons recorded multiple home runs and 16th instance with at least three.
The Deacs have now launched 108 homers this campaign, which now ranks third all-time in program history with all three coming in the past three years. The 2024 squad trails only the 2022 (122) and 2023 (130) seasons. The total also ranks second in the ACC and 14th nationally.
On the mound, the Demon Deacons struck out 14 Panthers (26-28, 10-20 ACC) with all eight Wake Forest arms logging at least one punchout. Graduate transfer David Falco earned his fourth start of the season and fanned five through two innings of work.
In relief, sophomore Zach Johnston was credited with the win following two hitless innings with just one base runner allowed. Freshman Blake Morningstar struck out a trio of Panthers in the fifth before junior William Ray and sophomore Joe Ariola combined for a scoreless sixth and seventh.
Making his first appearance since April 28, junior Michael Massey tossed a hitless eighth with a pair of strikeouts. Graduate student Cole Roland closed out the contest with a three up, three down ninth inning.
Reinisch got the Deacs started offensively with a two-run shot in the bottom of the first. It marked his 18th long shot of the season and ranks third trailing only junior Nick Kurtz (21) and sophomore Jack Winnay (20) for most on the team. Of note, the designated hitter has now gone deep seven times in the last 11 outings, including back-to-back games.
In the following inning, Houston extended the lead with a three-run home run for his seventh of the season. The Third Team All-ACC honoree reached base at a .500 clip during the NC State series last weekend and has hit safely in 12 of the last 13 games with an RBI in eight of the last 12.
Gill capped off the fireworks with the fifth home run of his career and third of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Junior Seaver King was the lone Demon Deacon with multiple hits Wednesday afternoon as the third baseman has now reached base safely in 29-consecutive games with at least one hit in each of the last 15. He also drove in his 64th run of the season with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Right hander David Falco started on the mound for the Deacs and fanned three batters in the scoreless first frame.
- Following Nick Kurtz's nation-leading 72nd walk of the year, Jake Reinisch hammered his 18th home run of the campaign over the left field wall to give Wake Forest a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
- In the top of the second inning, Falco kept the Panthers scoreless, striking out his fourth and fifth batters of the game.
- The Deacs extended their lead to 5-0 with three runs in the bottom of the second.
- Freshman Antonio Morales reached on a leadoff single along with fellow freshman Liam Willson reaching on a hit by pitch.
- Shortstop Marek Houston delivered the big blow of the inning with a 405-foot bomb off the scoreboard in left center to extend the Wake lead to 5-0.
- Pitt got on the board with a run in the top of the third to make the score 5-1.
- Sophomore Zach Johnston put up a scoreless frame in the top of the fourth with a pair of groundouts and a flyout.
- Freshman Blake Morningstar worked around a walk and hit-by-pitch in the top of the fifth with three strikeouts, including a pair looking to end the inning.
- After another Kurtz walk, third baseman Seaver King notched his team-leading 24th multi-hit effort of the year with an RBI single through the left side to extend the Demon Deacon lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
- Junior Will Ray pitched a scoreless top of the sixth inning to keep the score 6-1 picking up Wake's 10th strikeout of the afternoon for the final out.
- The Wake Forest pitching staff has now struck out at least 10 batters in 36 contests this season.
- The Demon Deacons tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth inning, as graduate student Cameron Gill hit his third home run of the year over the left field wall to extend the lead to 7-1.
- After coming into the game with one out, sophomore Joe Ariola held the Wake lead at 7-1, including a strikeout to end the top of the seventh scoreless.
- Following a Seaver King walk and an Adam Tellier hit-by-pitch, graduate student Tate Ballestero scored King on a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, extending the lead to 8-1.
- Junior Michael Massey fanned the final two batters to complete another scoreless inning for the Demon Deacons in the top of the eighth.
- The relief appearance marked Massey's first outing since April 28th at Notre Dame.
- Graduate student Cole Roland closed out Wake Forest's 8-1 win over the Panthers wit the pitching staff's eighth scoreless inning of the game.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
- Jake Reinisch notched his 18th long shot of the campaign in the bottom of the first inning. He ranks third on the team in home runs behind only Kurtz (21) and Winnay (20) and has now homered seven times in the last 11 outings, including back-to-back games.
- The senior also leads the team with 66 runs driven in this season. He entered the week ranked eighth in the ACC in the category.
- Two days after being named to the All-ACC Third Team, shortstop Marek Houston continued his stellar sophomore campaign with his seventh homer of the season with his three-run shot in the bottom of the second.
- He has hit safely in 31 of his last 38 games with 16 multi-hit efforts.
- The sophomore reached base at a .500 clip during the NC State series last weekend and has hit safely in 12 of the last 13 games with an RBI in eight of the last 12.
- Junior Seaver King has now reached base safely in 29-consecutive games with at least one hit in each of the last 15. Additionally, it marked his 24th multi-hit game of the season.
- He notched his 64th RBI with his second single of the afternoon in the top of the fifth inning, which ranks second on the team and ninth in the conference.
- Cameron Gill launched his third home run of the season and fifth of his career in the bottom of the sixth.
- Pinch hitting in the bottom of the seventh, Tate Ballestero collected his first hit and RBI since May 8 against NC A&T.
STAGGERING STATISTICS
- Wake Forest had three home runs against the Panthers. It marked the 32nd game this season in which the Demon Deacons recorded multiple home runs and 16th with at least three.
- The 108 Demon Deacon home runs mark the third consecutive season the Deacs have reached the century mark and is now the third-highest home run total in program history. Of note, the three-highest totals have all come in the last three seasons.
| Rank | Season | Home Runs |
| 1. | 2023 | 130 |
| 2. | 2022 | 122 |
| T3. | 2024 | 108 |
| T3. | 2017 | 106 |
- Coming into Wednesday, only 24 teams in the country had 100 or more home runs with the Deacs total entering the ACC tournament ranking 14th nationally.
- Over the last three seasons, Wake Forest has totaled 360 home runs which leads the ACC and also ranks third nationally during that time and these are just the only four teams to have 100 or more home runs each season:
| Rank | School | Home Runs |
| 1. | Tennessee | 425 |
| 2. | Florida | 382 |
| 3. | Wake Forest | 360 |
| 4. | Campbell | 350 |
- Additionally, four Demon Deacons rank inside the top 20 of the ACC in home runs.
| Name | Home Runs | ACC Rank | National Rank |
| Nick Kurtz | 21 | 6 | 28 |
| Jack Winnay | 20 | 9 | 40 |
| Jake Reinisch | 18 | 13 | 84 |
| Seaver King | 16 | 18 | 119 |
FROM COACH WALTER
"That's a great team win and we needed it. We obviously have to play better baseball than last weekend to get into the NCAA Tournament. I'm really happy with our effort today, David Falco gave us what we hoped we would get out of him. We pitched well all day and had good bridge opportunities. Zach Johnston came in with runners on first and second with a run already in and got us a strikeout and a double play ball. Blake Morningstar came in and got us three big outs. Joe Ariola came in during a bridge situation. I was happy with the way we pitched and it was great to see Michael Massey out there today. If we can get the Michael Massey and Joe Ariola we saw today down the stretch it will make our bullpen so much better and add more firepower.
Offensively we did just enough. We didn't have a great offensive day but Marek's home run was certainly the big blow of the game. It was a 2-0 game at that point, we didn't get a bunt down and Pitt had an opportunity to get momentum. Marek homers deep to left field to get us up 5-0 then our pitching took over from there. That was a really good all-around baseball game for our club and we needed it." - head coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest will return to Truist Field on Friday, May 24 at 7 p.m. to conclude pool play against top-seeded North Carolina on ACC Network. The winner will advance to the semifinals and face the winner of Pool D on Saturday, May 25 at 1 p.m.
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnston, Zach (3-2)
L: Aidan Coleman (3-3)
Batting:
2B: Dom Popa 1
RBI: Jayden Melendez 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dom Popa 1
HBP: Dom Popa 2
Batting:
HR: Houston, Marek 1 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; Gill, Cameron 1
RBI: Houston, Marek 3 ; Reinisch, Jake 2 ; King, Seaver 1 ; Ballestero, Tate 1 ; Gill, Cameron 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Houston, Marek 1 ; Kurtz, Nick 2 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; King, Seaver 1 ; Morales, Antonio 1 ; Willson, Liam 1 ; Gill, Cameron 1
SB: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; King, Seaver 1
HBP: Kurtz, Nick 1 ; Tellier, Adam 1 ; Willson, Liam 1
Game Leaders
AB
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H
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RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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INF
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