Friday, March 21
Clemson, SC
6 p.m.
Wake Forest University
18-5, 6-1
1
at
5
Clemson
22-2, 3-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Wake Forest
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
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4
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Clemson
4
0
0
1
0
0
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X
5
5
0
No. 11 Wake Forest Drops Series Opener to No. 7 Clemson
3/21/2025 9:40:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons will look to even the series tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET.
CLEMSON, S.C. – Holding No. 7 Clemson without a hit over the final 15 outs defensively, the No. 11 Wake Forest baseball team couldn't overcome a four-run first inning from the Tigers, falling on Friday night, 5-1, at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Sophomore Kade Lewis pushed his hit streak to 13 straight games with a solo home run in the top of the sixth. Lewis is hitting .500 (19-for-38) over the last 10 contests, with bombs in three of the last four.
Center fielder Javar Williams has hit safely in the last 10 games and is 14-of-36 (.389) over the stretch, extending his streak with a ninth-inning single back up the middle.
Shortstop Marek Houston extended his hit streak to six games with a single through the right side and has now reached base in the last 18 contests for the Demon Deacons.
Reliever Haiden Leffew was effective, striking out a pair of batters in his inning of work to keep Wake Forest within striking distance.
Sophomore Nate Brittain needed just 10 pitches to get the final four outs for the Demon Deacons, in his best appearance in a Wake Forest uniform.
HOW IT HAPPENED
"Not the start we wanted in this series or in this game. We walked the first three hitters of the game and Clemson cashed them in. I probably should have walked [Luke] Gaffney [in the first inning], that one is on me. I was really proud of Logan [Lunceford] battling there and giving us four more innings after that. They didn't get much offensively after the first. I thought we played an even baseball game after that. Offensively, we need to do better than 15 strikeouts. Their three arms are really good, but we need better at-bats and hopefully, we'll do that tomorrow." - Head Coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest looks to even the series tomorrow with a 2 p.m. ET first pitch against the Tigers.
FOLLOW THE DEACS
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Sophomore Kade Lewis pushed his hit streak to 13 straight games with a solo home run in the top of the sixth. Lewis is hitting .500 (19-for-38) over the last 10 contests, with bombs in three of the last four.
Center fielder Javar Williams has hit safely in the last 10 games and is 14-of-36 (.389) over the stretch, extending his streak with a ninth-inning single back up the middle.
Shortstop Marek Houston extended his hit streak to six games with a single through the right side and has now reached base in the last 18 contests for the Demon Deacons.
Reliever Haiden Leffew was effective, striking out a pair of batters in his inning of work to keep Wake Forest within striking distance.
Sophomore Nate Brittain needed just 10 pitches to get the final four outs for the Demon Deacons, in his best appearance in a Wake Forest uniform.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Clemson grabbed a four-run lead in the bottom of the first.
- Starter Logan Lunceford responded with a three-up, three-down frame to head into the third.
- Shortstop Marek Houston recorded the first hit of the night for Wake Forest with a single through the right side to advance right fielder Matt Scannell into scoring position, but were unable to convert.
- Lunceford picked up a pair of punchouts in the bottom of the third.
- The Tigers stretched their lead to 5-0 in the fourth.
- Lunceford responded with a seven-pitch fifth inning, getting a pair of groundouts and a flyout.
- Designated hitter Kade Lewis put the Deacs on the board with a first-pitch solo home run to right-center.
- Relievers Matt Bedford and Haiden Leffew combined to keep the Tiger offense at bay during the sixth inning.
- Sophomore Nate Brittain had his longest outing, tossing the final 1.1 innings on just 10 pitches to keep the deficit at four.
- Clemson defeated Wake Forest, 5-1.
"Not the start we wanted in this series or in this game. We walked the first three hitters of the game and Clemson cashed them in. I probably should have walked [Luke] Gaffney [in the first inning], that one is on me. I was really proud of Logan [Lunceford] battling there and giving us four more innings after that. They didn't get much offensively after the first. I thought we played an even baseball game after that. Offensively, we need to do better than 15 strikeouts. Their three arms are really good, but we need better at-bats and hopefully, we'll do that tomorrow." - Head Coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest looks to even the series tomorrow with a 2 p.m. ET first pitch against the Tigers.
FOLLOW THE DEACS
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Aidan Knaak (4-0)
L: LUNCEFORD (4-1)
S: Lucas Mahlstedt (8)
Batting:
HR: Lewis, Kade 1
RBI: Lewis, Kade 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lewis, Kade 1
SB: Williams, Javar 1 ; Nicholson, Grant 1
HBP: Miller, Jackson 1 ; Williams, Javar 1
Batting:
2B: Collin Priest 1 ; Tryston McCladdie 1 ; Jacob Jarrell 1
RBI: Dominic Listi 1 ; Collin Priest 1 ; Luke Gaffney 2 ; Tryston McCladdie 1
SH: Andrew Ciufo 1
SF: Dominic Listi 1 ; Collin Priest 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dominic Listi 1 ; Jarren Purify 1 ; Cam Cannarella 1 ; Luke Gaffney 1 ; Jacob Jarrell 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
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