Sunday, February 23
Winston-Salem, NC
1 p.m.
Wake Forest University
7-1
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St. John's
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St. John's
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Wake Forest
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Photo by: Seth Seebaugh / Wake Forest Athletics
No. 13 Demon Deacons Sweep St. John’s with 9-6 Victory on Sunday
2/23/2025 6:10:00 PM | Baseball
Sophomore Blake Morningstar earned the win with 4.1 scoreless innings in relief.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The No. 13 Wake Forest baseball team completed the sweep of St. John's with a 9-6 win against the Red Storm on Sunday at David F. Couch Ballpark.
With the win, Wake Forest extended its streak to 63 straight non-conference home victories, dating back to the 2021 season.
The Demon Deacons' pitching staff combined for 17 strikeouts, led by reliever Blake Morningstar, who earned the win after striking out seven batters over 4.1 innings. Sophomore Josh Gunther recorded the first save of the season, retiring four of the five batters he faced, including striking out the side in the ninth.
Leadoff hitter Antonio Morales capped a big weekend with a 2-for-3 performance, including an RBI single in the fourth inning and a pair of walks. Over his two starts, Morales finished 5-for-8 (.625) and reached base at a .700 clip.
Shortstop Marek Houston finished 2-for-5 (.400) with his team-leading fourth homer of the year and a key two-RBI single in the eighth to seal the win. Houston has already collected 19 RBI on the season through the first eight games.
Transfer Matt Scannell blasted his second home run of the weekend with a solo shot in the bottom of the second. The rocket left the bat at 111 mph, clearing the right field wall in a hurry.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
STAGGERING STATISTIC
FROM COACH WALTER
"It was a great team win. It's obviously hard to sweep anybody, especially a quality program like St. John's. Blake Morningstar came in today and really settled the game down. He was outstanding today with seven strikeouts, one walk, and one hit in 4.1 innings so very proud of Blake and the job he did today. Our bullpen did a good job as well. Zach Johnston was a little unlucky with the ball down the right field line and an infield hit but I was really happy with the way [Will] Ray, [Josh] Gunther, and [Zach] Johnston threw the ball at the end. Those guys have been good for us for a long time and we certainly need them down the stretch. Marek Houston had a couple of big hits today, like his two-run home run, to give us some space and then the two-run single in the seventh. Matt Scannell also had a solo home run which tied the game up and Jack Winnay's double in the first helped. We didn't have a great day offensively but we had enough clutch hitting to put up nine runs, which with our pitching staff, should always be enough to win. We've got our next home game on Tuesday and we're excited for that." - head coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
The Demon Deacons are back at the Couch on Tuesday to face non-conference opponent Elon with first pitch at 4 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra.
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
With the win, Wake Forest extended its streak to 63 straight non-conference home victories, dating back to the 2021 season.
The Demon Deacons' pitching staff combined for 17 strikeouts, led by reliever Blake Morningstar, who earned the win after striking out seven batters over 4.1 innings. Sophomore Josh Gunther recorded the first save of the season, retiring four of the five batters he faced, including striking out the side in the ninth.
Leadoff hitter Antonio Morales capped a big weekend with a 2-for-3 performance, including an RBI single in the fourth inning and a pair of walks. Over his two starts, Morales finished 5-for-8 (.625) and reached base at a .700 clip.
Shortstop Marek Houston finished 2-for-5 (.400) with his team-leading fourth homer of the year and a key two-RBI single in the eighth to seal the win. Houston has already collected 19 RBI on the season through the first eight games.
Transfer Matt Scannell blasted his second home run of the weekend with a solo shot in the bottom of the second. The rocket left the bat at 111 mph, clearing the right field wall in a hurry.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- St. John's grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
- The Deacs answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to grab the lead.
- Second baseman Antonio Morales started the inning with a leadoff walk and moved to third on a stolen base and passed ball.
- A four-pitch walk to junior Ethan Conrad put a pair on with one away.
- Conrad moved into scoring position with a stolen base.
- First baseman Jack Winnay roped a two-RBI double to the left-field wall to tie the game.
- Transfer Kade Lewis plated Winnay with a productive groundout to give Wake Forest the early 3-2 lead.
- The Red Storm retook the lead with two more runs in the second.
- Right fielder Matt Scannell tied the contest just two pitches into the bottom half of the second with a 111-mph rocket to right.
- Reliever Blake Morningstar stranded a pair of runners in scoring position to get the Deacs out of the jam in the top of the third.
- Morningstar retired the Red Storm in order to keep the game at 4-4 in the fourth.
- Wake Forest grabbed the lead with a three-spot in the bottom half of the inning.
- Catcher Matt Conte started the inning with a walk.
- After a sac bunt to move Conte into scoring position, Morales lasered an RBI single to right center to put the Deacs back on top.
- Two pitches later, shortstop Marek Houston blasted an opposite-field home run for his fourth of the year to make it 7-4 Wake Forest.
- The career outing for Morningstar continued in the sixth, as the righty retired 10-straight St. John hitters.
- Senior Will Ray entered on the mound in the seventh, recording a pair of strikeouts for a three-up, three-down frame.
- St. John's cut the lead to one with a two-run home run in the eighth.
- The Demon Deacons answered immediately, tacking on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom half of the eighth.
- A pair of walks and a hit batter loaded the bases for Wake Forest.
- Houston delivered on a 1-1 single back up the middle to plate two, giving the Deacs a 9-6 advantage.
- Sophomore Josh Gunther struck out the side in the ninth to secure the sweep.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
- Shortstop Marek Houston had a big day at the plate for the Demon Deacon, finishing the contest 2-for-5 with 4 RBI.
- Houston launched his team-leading fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning.
- The junior brought home a pair of key insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth with a single back up the middle.
- Reliever Blake Morningstar was dominant over a career-high 4.1 innings. The righty allowed just one hit and struck out a career-best seven batters.
- Morningstar retired 10-straight St. John's hitters at one point to help the Demon Deacons settle in during the middle innings.
STAGGERING STATISTIC
- The Demon Deacons have now produced 10 or more strikeouts in six of the first eight games, including 43 in the last three contests.
- With 13 games of 15 or more strikeouts during the 2024 campaign, the 2025 squad is well on its way, with four games of 15 or more through the first eight contests.
- The 104 strikeouts through eight games lead the nation.
- The Demon Deacons have now won 63-straight regular season non-conference home games dating back to May 8, 2021, with the last loss coming against in-state foe Elon that season.
FROM COACH WALTER
"It was a great team win. It's obviously hard to sweep anybody, especially a quality program like St. John's. Blake Morningstar came in today and really settled the game down. He was outstanding today with seven strikeouts, one walk, and one hit in 4.1 innings so very proud of Blake and the job he did today. Our bullpen did a good job as well. Zach Johnston was a little unlucky with the ball down the right field line and an infield hit but I was really happy with the way [Will] Ray, [Josh] Gunther, and [Zach] Johnston threw the ball at the end. Those guys have been good for us for a long time and we certainly need them down the stretch. Marek Houston had a couple of big hits today, like his two-run home run, to give us some space and then the two-run single in the seventh. Matt Scannell also had a solo home run which tied the game up and Jack Winnay's double in the first helped. We didn't have a great day offensively but we had enough clutch hitting to put up nine runs, which with our pitching staff, should always be enough to win. We've got our next home game on Tuesday and we're excited for that." - head coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
The Demon Deacons are back at the Couch on Tuesday to face non-conference opponent Elon with first pitch at 4 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra.
Follow The Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Morningstar, Blake (1-0)
L: Marinaro, Louis (0-1)
S: Torres, Boston (1)
Batting:
2B: Beebe, Jared 1
HR: McMillan, Shaun 1
RBI: Beebe, Jared 2 ; McMillan, Shaun 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Tucker, Jackson 1 ; Raifstanger, Jayder 1 ; Beebe, Jared 1 ; LeGrande, Jon 1 ; McMillan, Shaun 1 ; Brienza, Anthony 1
SB: Brienza, Anthony 1
HBP: Brienza, Anthony 1
Batting:
2B: Miller, Jackson 1
HR: Schaaf, Blake 1 ; Matt Scannell 1
RBI: Nicholson, Grant 1 ; Schaaf, Blake 4 ; Miller, Jackson 2 ; Lewis, Kade 1 ; Matt Scannell 1
SH: Williams, Javar 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nicholson, Grant 2 ; Schaaf, Blake 1 ; Brennecke, Ryan 1 ; Miller, Jackson 1 ; Matt Scannell 1 ; Conte, Matt 1 ; Jones, Evan 1 ; Williams, Javar 1
SB: Nicholson, Grant 1 ; Schaaf, Blake 1 ; Brennecke, Ryan 1 ; Miller, Jackson 1
HBP: Miller, Jackson 1 ; Williams, Javar 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
UTL
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
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