Sunday, May 4
Winston-Salem, NC
1 p.m.
Wake Forest University
31-16
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Gardner-Webb
16-29
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Wake Forest
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Deacs Push Winning Streak to Five Games with Doubleheader Sweep of Gardner-Webb
5/4/2025 6:12:00 PM | Baseball
The Wake Forest baseball team picked up a pair of one-run victories with the help of late-inning heroics as freshmen Ryan Preisano and Matt Conte lifted the Deacs to a perfect weekend.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – With a doubleheader sweep over Gardner-Webb on Sunday, the Wake Forest baseball team has pushed its winning streak to five straight.
With the help of a walk-off walk in the 10th inning from sophomore Ryan Preisano, the Demon Deacons (32-16) finished off the first win of the afternoon, winning 4-3.
After a rain delay stopped the game going into the ninth on Saturday, sophomore lefthander Haiden Leffew tossed a pair of scoreless innings before the Wake Forest offense pushed home the winning run in the 10th. Two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for the Deacs, and then Preisano forced home the winning run with a patient four-pitch walk.
Fellow freshman Matt Conte played hero in the second game against the Runnin' Bulldogs (16-30). With the game tied at 8-8 in the eighth, Conte launched the eventual game-winning home run over the left center fence. Freshman righthander Duncan Marsten closed the door in the ninth, pitching a 1-2-3 inning to earn his first collegiate victory.
Sophomore Austin Hawke went 3-for-5 (.600) over the two games against Gardner-Webb, including the first two-homer game of his career. Hawke entered Sunday with just two home runs in 29 games, doubling his total on the year.
Over the two games, the 7-8-9 hitter combined to score 10 of the 13 runs in the victories.
Leffew picked up his third win of the season with a pair of clean innings in the conclusion of the opening game of the series. The sophomore lowered his ERA to 0.59 since April 1 across 15.1 innings in 10 appearances.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game One)
- Starter Blake Morningstar retired the Runnin' Bulldogs in order in the top of the first.
- Gardner-Webb grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
- After a scoreless frame for Morningstar, Wake Forest put two on the board to grab the lead after three complete innings.
- Cather Jimmy Keenan led off the inning with a solo shot down the line in left to tie the game at 1-1.
- Shortstop Marek Houston roped an opposite-field single to put a runner on with one away.
- Houston moved into scoring position on a productive groundout and junior Jack Winnay cashed in a two-out RBI with a single through the left side to give Wake Forest a 2-1 advantage.
- Morningstar got a pair of strikeouts in his final inning of work to keep the lead at one through four innings.
- Reliever Joe Ariola sat the Runnin' Bulldogs down in order in the fifth.
- Junior Luke Schmolke used a 6-4-3 double play and a groundout to third base to keep Gardner-Webb off the board.
- The Runnin' Bulldogs got a run back in the top of the seventh and tied the game at 3-3 in the eighth.
- The game was suspended going into the ninth inning due to weather.
- Resuming play on Sunday, sophomore Haiden Leffew worked a scoreless top of the ninth to keep the contest tied.
- Leffew went back to work with another zero in the 10th to keep the contest at 3-3.
- Wake Forest walked off Gardner-Webb in the bottom half of the inning for a 4-3 victory.
- Right fielder Mitchell Salvino led off the inning with a hit by pitch and moved into scoring position with a stolen base.
- After an intentional walk to graduate transfer Matt Scannell, second baseman Austin Hawke put the winning run 90 feet away with a sacrifice bunt.
- Another intentional walk loaded the bases for first baseman Ryan Preisano, who worked a four-pitch walk to capture the win for the Demon Deacons.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game Two)
- Starter Logan Lunceford worked a 1-2-3 top of the first with a groundout sandwiched between a pair of flyouts.
- Gardner-Webb scored four runs in the top of the second.
- The Demon Deacons got a pair of runs back in the third to make it 4-2.
- Freshman Chris Levonas recorded a pair of strikeouts for a shutdown inning in the top of the fourth.
- Wake Forest took the lead with three runs in the fifth to make it a 5-4 contest.
- Falling behind 1-2 in the count, left fielder Chris Katz worked an eight-pitch walk to open the inning.
- Sophomore Javar Williams pushed a single through the right side to put a pair of runners on.
- With one away, second baseman Austin Hawke took a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right field to give Wake Forest the lead on his third homer of the year.
- The Runnin' Bulldogs answered with four runs in the fifth to take an 8-5 lead.
- Reliever Rhys Bowie struckout a pair in a scoreless sixth inning to keep the deficit at three.
- The Demon Deacons tied the game once again with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.
- Williams worked a one-out walk to put a runner on.
- Catcher Matt Conte roped a double off the wall in right field to put two in scoring position.
- Williams came home to score on a mixup between the Gardner-Webb battery to trim the deficit to two runs.
- Hawke tied the contest at 8-8 with his second home run of the day, depositing a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right-center.
- After a clean two innings from freshman righthander Duncan Marsten, the Demon Deacons looked poised to grab the lead back in the bottom of the eighth.
- With two outs, Conte blasted his third home run of the season over the left center wall, jumping back in front.
- Marsten closed the door in the ninth, finishing with a 1-2-3 inning including a game-ending strikeout.
- The Deacs captured the 9-8 victory to move their winning streak to five games.
- The Deacs captured the 9-8 victory to move their winning streak to five games.
- Sophomore Austin Hawke went 3-for-5 (.600) over the two games against the 'Running Bulldogs, including the first two-homer game of his career. Hawke entered Sunday with just two home runs in 29 games, doubling his total on the year.
- He finished the second game with three runs scored and five RBI.
- This marked the most RBI he has had in a single game in his career, and this also tied his career high in runs, which he has reached on two previous occasions, including once earlier this season against Marist.
- He finished the second game with three runs scored and five RBI.
STAGGERING STATISTIC
- With the two wins on Sunday, Wake Forest concludes non-conference action at home at 15-2 on the year. Since the 2022 season, the Demon Deacons are 74-2 at The Couch, including a streak of 68-straight wins at home outside of ACC action.
"Two good wins today. Haiden Leffew did a good job getting us two zeros to finish out that first game and we had some good at-bats there in the 10th. In game two, we didn't get the start we were looking for out of [Logan Lunceford]. But the guys that came in behind him – I thought [Matt Bedford] threw the ball pretty well, got us four big outs. [Chris] Levonas came out and got us a really big shutdown inning, going three up, three down. That next inning just kind of got into the stretch and a couple calls didn't go his way and it kind of snowballed on him and all of a sudden turned into a four spot. That's freshman stuff and obviously he needs to grow out of that. Duncan Marston, nine huge outs out of Duncan. The two homers out of Austin Hawke and Matt Conte were the story of the game. Good team wins at this time of year. We'll take them anyway we get them. We finish exams on Wednesday, so we should be able to get some rest and get recharged and ready for a big series against Pitt." - Head Coach Tom Walter
Up Next
Wake Forest is off until Friday when the Demon Deacons begin a three-game home series against Pitt. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Marsten, Duncan (1-0)
L: MANRIQUEZ, Mason (1-3)
Batting:
2B: MACIAS, Garrett 1 ; JOHNSON, Gavin 1 ; KNIGHT, Lawson 1
HR: KENNELL, Ryan 1 ; FRANCIS, Dale 1
RBI: CARTER, Merik 1 ; KENNELL, Ryan 3 ; FRANCIS, Dale 1 ; ILGENFRITZ, Matt 1 ; JOHNSON, Gavin 1 ; KNIGHT, Lawson 1
SF: ILGENFRITZ, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CARTER, Merik 1 ; MACIAS, Garrett 1 ; KENNELL, Ryan 1 ; CAPOZZI, Nick 1 ; FRANCIS, Dale 1 ; RIPEPI, Drew 1 ; JOHNSON, Gavin 1 ; KNIGHT, Lawson 1
SB: CARTER, Merik 1
HBP: CAPOZZI, Nick 1 ; RIPEPI, Drew 1
Batting:
2B: Matt Scannell 1 ; Conte, Matt 1
HR: Conte, Matt 1 ; Hawke, Austin 2
RBI: Schaaf, Blake 1 ; Miller, Jackson 1 ; Conte, Matt 1 ; Hawke, Austin 5
SF: Miller, Jackson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Matt Scannell 1 ; Rubino, Nick 1 ; Williams, Javar 2 ; Conte, Matt 2 ; Hawke, Austin 3
SB: Matt Scannell 1
Game Leaders
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H
1
RBI
0
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/ BaseballFootball Media Availability (11/4/25)
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