Saturday, March 22
Clemson, SC
2 p.m.
Wake Forest University
19-5, 7-1
12
at
10
Clemson
22-3, 3-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Wake Forest
1
1
8
0
0
2
0
0
0
12
15
3
Clemson
0
0
4
0
4
2
0
0
0
10
9
2
No. 11 Wake Forest Holds On to Even Series Against No. 7 Clemson
3/22/2025 7:31:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons will look to secure their third-straight series against Clemson on Sunday.
CLEMSON, S.C. – After jumping out to an early 10-0 lead, the No. 11 Wake Forest baseball team held on to secure a 12-10 victory to even the series against No. 7 Clemson on Saturday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The Demon Deacons (19-5, 7-1 ACC) struck first after junior Marek Houston launched a 450-foot solo home run in the top of the first inning. Houston's solo shot was his ninth homer of the season, tied for the most on the team.
The Deacs added another run in the second as junior Austin Hawke avoided the tag at the plate following a single by graduate student Matt Scannell.
Wake Forest exploded offensively in the third inning, plating eight runs. After loading the bases on a Jack Winnay single and two fielder's choices that allowed runners to reach from the Tigers, sophomore Javar Williams roped an RBI single to right field. On the very next pitch, catcher Jimmy Keenan Blasted a grand slam to the left-field bleachers to give the Deacs a 7-0 advantage.
Sophomore Kade Lewis closed out the scoring in the third inning with his second home run of the series, launching a three-run bomb over the right-center field wall to put the Deacs up by double-digit runs. Lewis, who homered in Friday's loss to the Tigers, finished the day with three hits and three RBIs while also extending his hit streak to 14 games.
With their three home runs, the Demon Deacons brought their season total to 49, which is the most in the ACC this season. The Deacs have also now hit a home run in all but one game this season, including each of their last nine games. During this nine-game stretch, Wake Forest has hit multiple home runs in seven of those games.
After the Tigers (22-3, 3-2 ACC) scored eight unanswered runs across the third and fifth innings, Hawke notched a two-RBI double in the top of the sixth to give the Demon Deacons a 12-8 lead.
Clemson tacked on two in the sixth to make it 12-10 before the Demon Deacon bullpen kept the Tigers off the board across the final three innings.
Graduate student Griffen Green and junior Joe Ariola combined for two innings of no-hit baseball during the seventh and eighth innings. Meanwhile, sophomore righthander Josh Gunther completed a four-out save after forcing a pop-up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
In total, the trio combined for 3.1 innings of one-hit baseball and four strikeouts to secure the series-tying win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
STAGGERING STATISTIC
"That's a great team win and just a really gutty win. Obviously, not how we drew it up. Anytime you race out to a 10-0 lead, it would be nice to save some bullpen pieces. [Matt Dallas] had six-up, six-down to start the game and then just lost the feel of the zone. I thought his stuff was really good today, but he just lost feel of the zone. We didn't get a lot of length from any of our relievers, but we got enough big pitches when we needed them and found a way to win. Austin Hawke with some really big two-out RBI, along with Kade Lewis and Matt Scannell. The difference in the game were those six, two-out RBI. It's a good team win and we're looking forward to playing baseball again tomorrow. " - Head Coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
The Deacs will look to secure the series in the final game tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
FOLLOW THE DEACS
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Demon Deacons (19-5, 7-1 ACC) struck first after junior Marek Houston launched a 450-foot solo home run in the top of the first inning. Houston's solo shot was his ninth homer of the season, tied for the most on the team.
The Deacs added another run in the second as junior Austin Hawke avoided the tag at the plate following a single by graduate student Matt Scannell.
Wake Forest exploded offensively in the third inning, plating eight runs. After loading the bases on a Jack Winnay single and two fielder's choices that allowed runners to reach from the Tigers, sophomore Javar Williams roped an RBI single to right field. On the very next pitch, catcher Jimmy Keenan Blasted a grand slam to the left-field bleachers to give the Deacs a 7-0 advantage.
Sophomore Kade Lewis closed out the scoring in the third inning with his second home run of the series, launching a three-run bomb over the right-center field wall to put the Deacs up by double-digit runs. Lewis, who homered in Friday's loss to the Tigers, finished the day with three hits and three RBIs while also extending his hit streak to 14 games.
With their three home runs, the Demon Deacons brought their season total to 49, which is the most in the ACC this season. The Deacs have also now hit a home run in all but one game this season, including each of their last nine games. During this nine-game stretch, Wake Forest has hit multiple home runs in seven of those games.
After the Tigers (22-3, 3-2 ACC) scored eight unanswered runs across the third and fifth innings, Hawke notched a two-RBI double in the top of the sixth to give the Demon Deacons a 12-8 lead.
Clemson tacked on two in the sixth to make it 12-10 before the Demon Deacon bullpen kept the Tigers off the board across the final three innings.
Graduate student Griffen Green and junior Joe Ariola combined for two innings of no-hit baseball during the seventh and eighth innings. Meanwhile, sophomore righthander Josh Gunther completed a four-out save after forcing a pop-up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
In total, the trio combined for 3.1 innings of one-hit baseball and four strikeouts to secure the series-tying win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Deacs took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after shortstop Marek Houston launched a 450-foot solo home run for his ninth homer of the season.
- Sophomore Matthew Dallas retired the side to begin his day of work.
- After a single and stolen base from second baseman Austin Hawke, right fielder Matt Scannell roped a two-out single to right center to plate Hawke and put the Deacs up 2-0.
- Dallas recorded another scoreless frame to send the Deacs into the top of the third inning.
- Wake added eight runs in the third to extend their lead to 10-0.
- Left fielder Jack Winnay began the frame with a single, followed by two fielder's choices to load the bases.
- A single from center fielder Javar Williams brought Winnay home and kept the bases loaded.
- Catcher Jimmy Keenan cranked a grand slam out to left field with only one out.
- Following a single from Marek Houston down the third base line, third baseman Kade Lewis blasted a home run to deep right.
- Clemson cut into Wake Forest's lead with four runs in the bottom of the third.
- Reliever Luke Schmolke worked a pair of flyouts and a strikeout to keep the Tigers scoreless in the fourth.
- The Deacs put runners in scoring position in the top of the fifth but were unable to extend the lead.
- The Tigers tacked on four in their half of the fifth.
- With two outs on the inning, Hawke doubled down the left field line to push the Wake lead back out to four.
- Clemson responded with two runs of their own in the sixth.
- Righty Griffin Green and lefty Joe Ariola combined to keep Clemson off the board in the seventh.
- Green and sophomore Josh Gunther combined for a scoreless eighth inning.
- Gunther got out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth to complete the four-out save and secure the 12-10 victory for the Demon Deacons.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
- Sophomore phenom Kade Lewis led the Demon Deacons offensively on Saturday, going 3-for-5 from the plate, including a three-run home run to close out the Deacs' eight-run third inning.
- Lewis has now had at least one hit in each of the last 14 games, recording 26 hits and driving in 26 runs during that stretch.
- The Sartell, Minn., native has also homered in four of his last five games, including the first two games of this series.
- Lewis leads the Demon Deacons this season with a .459 batting average, including a .500 mark across the first two games against Clemson.
- Junior Austin Hawke provided the game-winning, two-RBI double for the Demon Deacons in the top of the sixth as he ended the game with three hits and two RBIs.
- Making just his fifth start of the season, sophomore Ryan Preisano notched two hits and drew a team-high two walks against the Tigers.
- Junior catcher Jimmy Keenan gave the Deacs a huge spark offensively as he cranked a grand slam out to left field to start the eight-run third inning.
STAGGERING STATISTIC
- Wake Forest has hit at least one home run in all but one of their 24 games this season, including one in each of their last nine games.
- The Demon Deacons brought their ACC-leading home run total to 49 following their three long balls on Saturday afternoon. The 49 homers is nine more than all other teams in the conference.
| Rank | Team | Home Runs |
| 1. | Wake Forest | 49 |
| 2. | Florida State | 40 |
| 3. | Duke | 37 |
| 4. | Georgia Tech | 33 |
| 5. | Virginia Tech | 29 |
- With six of the 12 runs the Demon Deacons scored this afternoon coming with two away in the inning, Wake Forest has now drove in 87 of their ACC-leading 230 RBI with two outs, led by 17 two-out RBI from Marek Houston and 16 from Kade Lewis.
"That's a great team win and just a really gutty win. Obviously, not how we drew it up. Anytime you race out to a 10-0 lead, it would be nice to save some bullpen pieces. [Matt Dallas] had six-up, six-down to start the game and then just lost the feel of the zone. I thought his stuff was really good today, but he just lost feel of the zone. We didn't get a lot of length from any of our relievers, but we got enough big pitches when we needed them and found a way to win. Austin Hawke with some really big two-out RBI, along with Kade Lewis and Matt Scannell. The difference in the game were those six, two-out RBI. It's a good team win and we're looking forward to playing baseball again tomorrow. " - Head Coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
The Deacs will look to secure the series in the final game tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
FOLLOW THE DEACS
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Schmolke, Luke (3-0)
L: Ethan Darden (3-1)
S: Torres, Boston (4)
Batting:
2B: Hawke, Austin 1
HR: Schaaf, Blake 1 ; Lewis, Kade 1 ; Keenan, Jimmy 1
RBI: Matt Scannell 1 ; Schaaf, Blake 1 ; Lewis, Kade 3 ; Williams, Javar 1 ; Keenan, Jimmy 4 ; Hawke, Austin 2
SH: Williams, Javar 2 ; Keenan, Jimmy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Schaaf, Blake 2 ; Lewis, Kade 1 ; Miller, Jackson 1 ; Preisano, Ryan 2 ; Wentz, Dalton 2 ; Williams, Javar 1 ; Keenan, Jimmy 1 ; Hawke, Austin 2
SB: Matt Scannell 1 ; Hawke, Austin 1
HBP: Matt Scannell 1
Batting:
2B: Jacob Jarrell 2
RBI: Jarren Purify 1 ; Cam Cannarella 1 ; Luke Gaffney 2 ; Josh Paino 2 ; Jacob Jarrell 1 ; Andrew Ciufo 1
SF: Luke Gaffney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dominic Listi 1 ; Jarren Purify 2 ; Cam Cannarella 1 ; Collin Priest 1 ; Luke Gaffney 1 ; Josh Paino 1 ; Jacob Jarrell 2 ; Andrew Ciufo 1
HBP: Dominic Listi 2 ; Jarren Purify 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
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LHP
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RHP
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RHP
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INF
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INF
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C
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INF
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OF
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RHP
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OF
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INF
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