Wake Forest Athletics
Sunday, February 22
Winston-Salem, N.C.
1 p.m.
Wake Forest University
6-1
15
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Siena
0-6
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Siena
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Wake Forest
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X
15
11
0
No. 22 Demon Deacons Sweep Siena with Run-Rule Win
2/22/2026 4:52:00 PM | Baseball
The Wake Forest bullpen combined for 3.2 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The No. 22 Wake Forest baseball team (6-1, 0-0 ACC) secured its first series sweep of the season, claiming a 15-1 run-rule win over Siena (0-6, 0-0 MAAC) at David F. Couch Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore right fielder Luke Costello led the charge offensively as he went 2-for-4 with two home runs and matched his career high with six RBI. The Erie, Pa., native broke the game open with a grand slam during the Deacs' eight-run fourth inning, before adding his second long ball of the game on a two-run blast in the sixth.
Fellow sophomore Dalton Wentz opened the scoring for the Demon Deacons as he hit a two-run home run in the first inning. The blast marked the Madison Heights, Va., native's third homer of the series as he ended the afternoon going 1-for-3 with three RBI and a pair of walks.
Junior first baseman Kade Lewis and sophomore Matt Conte both recorded multi-hit performances on Sunday. Lewis went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two walks, while Conte went 2-for-4 with a double.
Meanwhile, sophomore left fielder Jackson Miller led the team with three hits while also adding a walk and a pair of runs.
Overall, the Deacs stayed disciplined at the plate throughout the afternoon as they went a combined 11-for-27 while drawing 15 walks. The 15 free passes were the most for the Demon Deacons since drawing 13 against Cal at the 2025 ACC Baseball Tournament.
On the mound, junior left-hander Matthew Dallas earned the win as he pitched 3.1 innings with seven strikeouts. Meanwhile, the combination of senior Zach Johnston, sophomore Nate Whysong and freshmen Evan Jones, Ryan Brennecke and Ryan Bosch recorded 10 strikeouts across 3.2 scoreless innings in relief.
The Wake Forest bullpen was lights out in the series, allowing just one run over 12.2 innings with 27 strikeouts, maintaining a 0.71 ERA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
STAGGERING STATISTICS
FROM COACH WALTER
"Good weekend overall. Any time you get three wins in a weekend you are always happy about that. We're starting to play a little better and we're starting to get some more quality at-bats. We've still got a ways to go on that end though. I was happy with the way that Matthew Dallas was throwing the ball. Our bullpen was okay today. Evan Jones was good again, and then [Ryan] Brennecke and Ryan [Bosch] were solid, so all-in-all happy with the arms today. Offensively, Dalton Wentz got us on the board after they scored in the first. Luke Costello hit a couple of homers and Jackson Miller had a really good day at the plate. We have some guys that are starting to put it back together." - Head Coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 24, for a midweek contest at UNCG.
First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE DEACS
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Sophomore right fielder Luke Costello led the charge offensively as he went 2-for-4 with two home runs and matched his career high with six RBI. The Erie, Pa., native broke the game open with a grand slam during the Deacs' eight-run fourth inning, before adding his second long ball of the game on a two-run blast in the sixth.
Fellow sophomore Dalton Wentz opened the scoring for the Demon Deacons as he hit a two-run home run in the first inning. The blast marked the Madison Heights, Va., native's third homer of the series as he ended the afternoon going 1-for-3 with three RBI and a pair of walks.
Junior first baseman Kade Lewis and sophomore Matt Conte both recorded multi-hit performances on Sunday. Lewis went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two walks, while Conte went 2-for-4 with a double.
Meanwhile, sophomore left fielder Jackson Miller led the team with three hits while also adding a walk and a pair of runs.
Overall, the Deacs stayed disciplined at the plate throughout the afternoon as they went a combined 11-for-27 while drawing 15 walks. The 15 free passes were the most for the Demon Deacons since drawing 13 against Cal at the 2025 ACC Baseball Tournament.
On the mound, junior left-hander Matthew Dallas earned the win as he pitched 3.1 innings with seven strikeouts. Meanwhile, the combination of senior Zach Johnston, sophomore Nate Whysong and freshmen Evan Jones, Ryan Brennecke and Ryan Bosch recorded 10 strikeouts across 3.2 scoreless innings in relief.
The Wake Forest bullpen was lights out in the series, allowing just one run over 12.2 innings with 27 strikeouts, maintaining a 0.71 ERA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Siena plated a run in the top of the first.
- The Demon Deacons responded in the home half of the first as sophomore third baseman Dalton Wentz launched a two-run home run into the trees in right field.
- Starting pitcher Matthew Dallas struck out a pair to record a shutdown frame in the second inning.
- The junior fanned three more Siena batters en route to a scoreless third.
- Wake Forest extended its lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the third.
- Following a walk by senior designated hitter Jimmy Keenan, sophomore outfielder Jackson Miller doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third.
- Keenan scored on a sacrifice bunt by junior second baseman Blake Schaaf.
- Freshman shortstop JD Stein reached on a throwing error as Miller came around to score from third, extending the lead to three runs.
- Dallas and senior southpaw Zach Johnston combined for three strikeouts during another shutdown inning in the fourth.
- The Deacs recorded a big inning in the bottom half of the fourth as they plated eight runs to make it 12-1.
- After scoring four off of multiple bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch, sophomore outfielder Luke Costello hit a grand slam to right field to push the lead to double digits.
- Wake Forest logged a clean frame in the fifth as Johnston and sophomore reliever Nate Whysong combined for two punchouts.
- The Demon Deacons extended the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Stein.
- The Deacs worked out a bases-loaded jam to keep the Saints off the board once again in the sixth inning.
- Costello rocketed a two-run shot the opposite way for his second long ball of the game to put the Demon Deacons up 15-1.
- Freshmen Ryan Brennecke and Ryan Bosch closed the game in the seventh as the Demon Deacons secured the sweep over the Saints with a 15-1 run-rule win.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
- The Wake Forest bullpen was lights out in the series as they recorded a combined 0.71 ERA throughout the weekend, allowing just one run over 12.2 innings with 27 strikeouts.
- The bullpen started out hot as they combined for nine strikeouts while giving up just one run over the course of five innings on Friday.
- The Deacs followed up with a stellar performance on Saturday, throwing four scoreless innings with eight punchouts.
- Wake Forest closed out the series by tossing 3.2 scoreless frames and striking out 10 Siena batters on Sunday.
- Overall, the Demon Deacon bullpen is maintaining a 1.64 ERA through the first seven games of the season with 60 strikeouts.
STAGGERING STATISTICS
- With a clear home-field advantage, Wake has gone 113-25-1 since 2022 at The Couch with at least 20 wins at home in each of the last four seasons, including a stellar 34-3 mark on their way to a program-record 54 wins in 2023, 25-7 in 2024, and finished 24-8 in 2025.
- Over the past four seasons, the Demon Deacons have outscored their opponents by over 700 runs at The Couch, with a 1,307-575 scoring margin in 139 contests.
FROM COACH WALTER
"Good weekend overall. Any time you get three wins in a weekend you are always happy about that. We're starting to play a little better and we're starting to get some more quality at-bats. We've still got a ways to go on that end though. I was happy with the way that Matthew Dallas was throwing the ball. Our bullpen was okay today. Evan Jones was good again, and then [Ryan] Brennecke and Ryan [Bosch] were solid, so all-in-all happy with the arms today. Offensively, Dalton Wentz got us on the board after they scored in the first. Luke Costello hit a couple of homers and Jackson Miller had a really good day at the plate. We have some guys that are starting to put it back together." - Head Coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 24, for a midweek contest at UNCG.
First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE DEACS
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Dallas, Matthew (2-0)
L: Gunzy, JT (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Paradine, Aidan 1 ; Venditti, Vincent 1 ; Pincince, Owen 1
RBI: Pincince, Owen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Venditti, Vincent 1
Batting:
2B: Miller, Jackson 1 ; Lewis, Kade 1 ; Conte, Matt 1
HR: Wentz, Dalton 1 ; Costello, Luke 2
RBI: Wentz, Dalton 3 ; Costello, Luke 6 ; Stein, JD 2 ; Lewis, Kade 1 ; Schaaf, Blake 1
SH: Schaaf, Blake 1
SF: Stein, JD 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wentz, Dalton 2 ; Costello, Luke 2 ; Williams, Javar 1 ; Miller, Jackson 2 ; Stein, JD 1 ; Keenan, Jimmy 2 ; Preisano, Ryan 1 ; Lewis, Kade 2 ; Schaaf, Blake 1 ; Hawke, Austin 1
SB: Stein, JD 1
CS: Williams, Javar 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
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AB
4
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2
H
2
RBI
6
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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