Saturday, May 25
Charlotte, NC
1 p.m.
Wake Forest University
38-20
6
vs
9
Florida State
42-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Wake Forest
0
3
0
0
0
1
0
2
0
6
8
1
Florida State
0
3
2
0
0
2
2
0
X
9
10
1
Demon Deacons Fall Short in Semifinals of the ACC Tournament
5/25/2024 5:32:00 PM | Baseball
The 2024 NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air live on ESPN2 on Monday, May 27 at noon ET.
CHARLOTTE – One of the last four teams left standing, the No. 22 Wake Forest baseball team saw its 2024 ACC Baseball Tournament run come to an end following a 9-6 defeat to No. 10 Florida State on Saturday afternoon at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C.
The Demon Deacons (38-20) will now await the 2024 NCAA Tournament Selection Show to learn their fate for next weekend's regional action. The show will air live on ESPN2 on Monday, May 27 at noon ET.
Second baseman Adam Tellier led Wake Forest at the plate, finishing the contest 2-for-5 with a run scored. The multi-hit effort marked the 23rd of the season for the Ada, Mich. product.
Pinch hitting in the top half of the sixth inning, graduate student Tate Ballestero launched his second home run of the season over the left field wall to set a new ACC tournament record with 55 hit so far. Ballestero's home run also marked the eighth bomb of the tournament for the Demon Deacons.
With his RBI single in the top of the second, shortstop Marek Houston has hit safely in 33 of his last 40 games. The sophomore has hit safely in 14 of the last 15 games with an RBI in 10 of the last 14.
Pitching for the first time since April 2, freshman Cam Nelson worked a perfect inning, needing just seven pitches with a punchout to get through the Noles in the eighth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FROM COACH WALTER
"That was a tough ballgame, our guys battled. We didn't get it done offensively, truthfully. We had first and second with nobody out in the first inning, bases loaded a couple of different times with the right guys up. We had traffic all day and couldn't punch across the big hit and get momentum in this game.
I was proud of Josh Hartle and the way he responded in the early going with a couple of balls that found holes and gave up those early runs. He got us seven outs in a row to settle the game down and get us back in it. Obviously, Tate Ballestero had a home run, his at-bats off the bench were really good and I am happy about that. But again, we just didn't do quite enough offensively.
The big play in the game was the home run. That is just the one pitch you can't make in that situation. Really the only pitch you can't make in that situation. A breaking ball down is fine or a fastball on either side of the plate is fine there as well. We just can't run that breaking ball up. That is a pitch we wish we had back certainly. I'm proud of the way we played this week and feel good heading into next weekend." - head coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest will await their NCAA Tournament fate through the 2024 NCAA Tournament Selection Show. The field of 64 teams that will compete for the 2024 NCAA college baseball championship will be announced at 12 p.m. ET on Monday, May 27 on ESPN2.
The 64 teams will be placed in 16 different four-team regions, with teams seeded one through four to compete in a double-elimination format.
Games then start with regionals and continue on to super regionals before the College World Series begins Friday, June 14 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
A complete schedule can be found below:
2023 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament Schedule
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Demon Deacons (38-20) will now await the 2024 NCAA Tournament Selection Show to learn their fate for next weekend's regional action. The show will air live on ESPN2 on Monday, May 27 at noon ET.
Second baseman Adam Tellier led Wake Forest at the plate, finishing the contest 2-for-5 with a run scored. The multi-hit effort marked the 23rd of the season for the Ada, Mich. product.
Pinch hitting in the top half of the sixth inning, graduate student Tate Ballestero launched his second home run of the season over the left field wall to set a new ACC tournament record with 55 hit so far. Ballestero's home run also marked the eighth bomb of the tournament for the Demon Deacons.
With his RBI single in the top of the second, shortstop Marek Houston has hit safely in 33 of his last 40 games. The sophomore has hit safely in 14 of the last 15 games with an RBI in 10 of the last 14.
Pitching for the first time since April 2, freshman Cam Nelson worked a perfect inning, needing just seven pitches with a punchout to get through the Noles in the eighth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Wake Forest put the first two runners on base in the top of the first but were unable to scratch a run across.
- Junior left-hander Josh Hartle and the Demon Deacons defense kept the game scoreless in the bottom of the first.
- Junior Nick Kurtz made two stellar defensive plays, including a diving stab on a ground ball to his right to get the first out of the inning.
- Wake Forest manufactured three runs in the top of the second to grab a 3-0 lead.
- Junior Seaver King led off the inning with a walk before second baseman Adam Tellier's bunt stayed fair to put runners on first and second.
- Freshman Antonio Morales hit a bloop single in left field to load the bases for the Demon Deacons.
- Left fielder Javar Williams opened the scoring, driving a sacrifice fly to center to plate King and advance Tellier to third for his fifteenth RBI of the campaign.
- Sophomore Marek Houston singled to the third baseman to score Tellier from third and give the Demon Deacons their second run of the inning.
- Kurtz reached base for the second time in two innings, working a five-pitch walk to reload the bases for Wake Forest.
- A wild pitch advanced all three runners as Morales scored to extend the lead.
- The Seminoles scored three in the bottom of the second to tie the game.
- Florida State plated two runs to take the lead in the bottom of the third inning.
- The Demon Deacons loaded the bases in the top of the fourth inning off three walks but were unable to capitalize.
- Hartle bounced back with a scoreless frame in the bottom of the fourth, utilizing a pair of defensive gems from King at third base and his fourth strikeout of the contest.
- Williams' diving grab on a liner to left field, along with Hartle's fifth strikeout of the game, guided Wake Forest to an unscathed bottom of the fifth.
- Pinch hitter Tate Ballestero drove the first pitch of the inning onto the awning in left field for his second home run of the season to cut the Seminole lead to one in the top of the sixth inning.
- Ballestero's home run was the 55th of the 2024 ACC Baseball Tournament, setting a new tournament record.
- The Seminoles added two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend their lead to three.
- Wake Forest had runners on second and third in the top of the seventh but were unable to score.
- Florida State tacked on two runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 9-4.
- The Demon Deacons got two runs in the top of the eighth inning to cut the lead down to three.
- Ballestero led off the inning with a full-count walk before advancing to second on a Houston groundout to third.
- Right fielder Jack Winnay recorded his first hit of the 2024 ACC Tournament on a double to the right field wall to score Ballestero from second.
- Designated hitter Jake Reinisch drove Winnay home the very next pitch on an RBI single for his team-leading 67th RBI of the year to make the score 9-6.
- Freshman Cam Nelson needed only seven pitches to retire three straight batters in a scoreless bottom of the eighth.
- Despite a Javar Williams single, the Demon Deacons were unable to spark a rally and ultimately fell to Florida State, 9-6.
FROM COACH WALTER
"That was a tough ballgame, our guys battled. We didn't get it done offensively, truthfully. We had first and second with nobody out in the first inning, bases loaded a couple of different times with the right guys up. We had traffic all day and couldn't punch across the big hit and get momentum in this game.
I was proud of Josh Hartle and the way he responded in the early going with a couple of balls that found holes and gave up those early runs. He got us seven outs in a row to settle the game down and get us back in it. Obviously, Tate Ballestero had a home run, his at-bats off the bench were really good and I am happy about that. But again, we just didn't do quite enough offensively.
The big play in the game was the home run. That is just the one pitch you can't make in that situation. Really the only pitch you can't make in that situation. A breaking ball down is fine or a fastball on either side of the plate is fine there as well. We just can't run that breaking ball up. That is a pitch we wish we had back certainly. I'm proud of the way we played this week and feel good heading into next weekend." - head coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest will await their NCAA Tournament fate through the 2024 NCAA Tournament Selection Show. The field of 64 teams that will compete for the 2024 NCAA college baseball championship will be announced at 12 p.m. ET on Monday, May 27 on ESPN2.
The 64 teams will be placed in 16 different four-team regions, with teams seeded one through four to compete in a double-elimination format.
Games then start with regionals and continue on to super regionals before the College World Series begins Friday, June 14 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
A complete schedule can be found below:
2023 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament Schedule
- Selection show: Monday, May 27 at 12 p.m. ET | ESPN2
- Regionals: Friday-Monday, May 31-June 3
- Super regionals: Friday-Sunday, June 7-9 or Saturday-Monday, June 8-10
- First day of MCWS games: Start Friday, June 14
- MCWS finals: Saturday-Monday, June 22-23/24
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: John Abraham (5-1)
L: Hartle, Josh (6-3)
S: Conner Whittaker (1)
Batting:
2B: Winnay, Jack 1
HR: Ballestero, Tate 1
RBI: Houston, Marek 1 ; Winnay, Jack 1 ; Reinisch, Jake 1 ; Williams, Javar 1 ; Ballestero, Tate 1
SF: Williams, Javar 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Winnay, Jack 1 ; King, Seaver 1 ; Tellier, Adam 1 ; Morales, Antonio 1 ; Ballestero, Tate 2
SB: Morales, Antonio 1
HBP: Kurtz, Nick 1
Batting:
2B: Marco Dinges 1
3B: Daniel Cantu 1
HR: Max Williams 1
RBI: Max Williams 4 ; Daniel Cantu 1 ; Alex Lodise 1 ; Drew Faurot 2 ; Jaxson West 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Max Williams 1 ; Marco Dinges 1 ; Jaime Ferrer 2 ; Daniel Cantu 2 ; Alex Lodise 1 ; Drew Faurot 2
SB: Drew Faurot 2
HBP: Cam Smith 1 ; Jaime Ferrer 1 ; Alex Lodise 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C/OF
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LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
UTL
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
UTL
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
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