Demon Deacons Fall in Back-and-Forth Game to Pitt

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest baseball team (33-17, 13-13 ACC) had its six-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, falling 10-8 in a back-and-forth battle against Pitt (26-22, 10-16 ACC) at David F. Couch Ballpark.

Freshman Luke Costello had the second multi-HR game of his young career, bringing his season total to six home runs in 30 games. The Erie, Pa. native blasted a two-run shot in the bottom of the first and a solo homer to right field in the bottom of the seventh.

Junior first baseman Jack Winnay picked up his team-leading 17th multi-RBI performance, finishing 4-for-5 with an RBI double in the first inning and an RBI single in both the fifth and eighth innings.

Prior to first pitch, the Demon Deacons paid tribute to an amazing senior class, honoring eight outstanding seniors. Pat Frick, Paul Grycewicz, Will Ray, Matt Scannell, Matt Bedford, Chris Katz, Dylan Zucker and Griffin Green were all recognized for their contributions to the program over the years.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Starter Matt Dallas retired the Panthers in order in the top of the first with a pair of strikeouts.
Wake Forest jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the first with a trio of two-out runs.
- Third baseman Kade Lewis sent his second double of the weekend down the line in right field.
- Junior Jack Winnay traded places with Lewis, taking a 2-2 pitch down the left field line to put Wake Forest on the board.
- Left fielder Luke Costello blasted his fifth home run of the year to left center to keep the two-out rally going.
  - Costello's two-run shot left the bat at 104 mph, traveling 373 feet.
Dallas sat down Pitt in order again in the second.
Pitt answered with four runs in the top of the third to grab the lead.
Reliever Luke Schmolke and Dallas combined to keep the Panthers off the board in the fourth.
Freshman Matt Conte tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI single back up the middle for Wake's fourth run with two outs.
The two-out scoring continued in the fifth, as Wake plated a pair of runs to move on top 6-4.
- After Houston reached on a Pitt miscue, Winnay roped his third hit of the day to put Wake up, 5-4.
- Second baseman Austin Hawke picked up his 10th RBI in the last three games with a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead.
The Panthers tied the game once again on a two-run homer in the sixth.
Graduate transfer Griffin Green retired the Panthers in order to take the game to the seventh inning stretch tied at 6-6.
Homering for the second time on the day, Costello gave Wake Forest the lead with a solo shot to right field to make it 7-6 in favor of the home team.
Pitt retook the lead with three runs in the eighth.
Winnay cut the Pitt lead to 9-8 with his fourth hit and third RBI of the day in the bottom of the eighth.
An RBI fielder's choice pushed Pitt's lead back to two in the ninth.
Wake Forest ultimately fell, 10-8.

FROM COACH WALTER
"Disappointing loss. I need to do more to help us win. We just didn't quite make the right decisions both at the plate and on the mound all day today. We gave them too many free passes, but our team battled. I thought we had some good at-bats with two outs, and we had six two-out RBIs today. Really happy with what we did with two outs. But, again, we just fell a little short. We have got to come out tomorrow and find a way to win." - Head Coach Tom Walter

Up Next
Wake Forest will aim to take the series against the Panthers tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET in the home finale for the Demon Deacons. Please note that first pitch has been moved up to noon due to anticipated weather on Sunday afternoon in Winston-Salem.

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Team Stats

Jack Winnay

Luke Costello

Kade Lewis

Austin Hawke

Players Mentioned

Matt Bedford

Matt Conte

Luke Costello

Griffin Green

Austin Hawke

Chris Katz

Kade Lewis

Will Ray

Matt Scannell

Luke Schmolke

Jack Winnay

Dylan Zucker

Wake Forest Athletics