Wake Forest Athletics
Friday, February 27
Winston-Salem, N.C.
3 p.m.
Wake Forest University
vs
LMU
No. 16 Wake Forest Sweeps Friday Action against LMU and Davidson
2/27/2026 10:10:00 PM | Baseball
The Demon Deacons' nine-game win streak matches Wake’s nine-game streak during the 2024 and 2025 seasons for the longest over the past three seasons.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The No. 16 Wake Forest baseball team (9-1, 0-0 ACC) extended its winning streak to nine-consecutive games Friday night with a 12-2 win over LMU (3-7, 0-0 ACC) followed by a 7-1 victory against Davidson (4-4, 0-0 A10) at David F. Couch Ballpark.
Junior starting pitcher Blake Morningstar returned to form in game one of the double dip, tossing 7.0 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. The Wyalusing, Pa., native allowed just four hits, facing the minimum in four of his seven innings of work to earn his first win of the season.
Against the Wildcats, sophomore right-hander Duncan Marsten made the most of his first career start with 10 strikeouts and zero runs allowed through 5.0 innings of work. He allowed just two baserunners and faced the minimum in four of his five innings.
Over the two games, Wake Forest pitching combined for 26 strikeouts as relievers Troy Dressler (five) and Nate Whysong (two) contributed solid outings out of the pen against the Wildcats.
Wake Forest broke the first game open with five runs in the first, highlighted by sophomore Jackson Miller's first career home run, launching a grand slam to put the Demon Deacons on the board. The Palm Beach, Fla.-native picked up his fifth RBI of the game with a walkoff groundout in the bottom of the eighth.
Sophomore Dalton Wentz picked up two RBIs in the opening game, depositing a 3-0 pitch into centerfield in the fourth to make it 7-0 Wake Forest.
Game two was scoreless headed into the sixth, where the Deacs responded to a Davidson run in the top half of the inning with six of their own thanks to two-RBI singles from senior Jimmy Keenan, junior Javar Williams and Wentz.
With four total RBI on the day, Wentz now leads the team with 14 on the year. He has also recorded multiple RBI in three of his last four outings.
Of note, junior Javar Williams recorded his team-high 12th stolen base of the season against LMU and recorded three hits on the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game One)
"A great day on the mound for the Deacs. It's hard to win a doubleheader, especially against two different teams. I was proud of our guys and their energy and it started on the mound. Blake Morningstar gave us a great outing right out of the gate. He was really fantastic. Jackson Miller hits that grand slam with two outs. We got some free passes and Jackson made him pay. Then JD Stein doubles right behind that to get us up 5-0. Blake put it on cruise control and kind of took us home from there. We needed to get length out of both our starters today with a four-game weekend and that happened again in game two. Duncan was fantastic. That's the best I've seen him here. He only walked one guy with 10 strikeouts in five innings and allowed just one hit. I'm really happy with Duncan. It was also good to see Nate Whysong back and throwing the ball well. He's a big part of our staff and it's good to see him get back to his old self. Same thing with Dalton Wentz, he had a good day today. It was the first time that I really felt like Dalton was seeing it well. In game two the big hits were obviously Jimmy Keenan through the left side and then Javar and Dalton with two outs. Those six runs right there were the difference in the game and our pitching. We're happy with our effort all around today" - Head Coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest goes for its 10th-straight win against LMU tomorrow, Feb. 28. First pitch against the Lions is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ACCNX.
FOLLOW THE DEACS
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Junior starting pitcher Blake Morningstar returned to form in game one of the double dip, tossing 7.0 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. The Wyalusing, Pa., native allowed just four hits, facing the minimum in four of his seven innings of work to earn his first win of the season.
Against the Wildcats, sophomore right-hander Duncan Marsten made the most of his first career start with 10 strikeouts and zero runs allowed through 5.0 innings of work. He allowed just two baserunners and faced the minimum in four of his five innings.
Over the two games, Wake Forest pitching combined for 26 strikeouts as relievers Troy Dressler (five) and Nate Whysong (two) contributed solid outings out of the pen against the Wildcats.
Wake Forest broke the first game open with five runs in the first, highlighted by sophomore Jackson Miller's first career home run, launching a grand slam to put the Demon Deacons on the board. The Palm Beach, Fla.-native picked up his fifth RBI of the game with a walkoff groundout in the bottom of the eighth.
Sophomore Dalton Wentz picked up two RBIs in the opening game, depositing a 3-0 pitch into centerfield in the fourth to make it 7-0 Wake Forest.
Game two was scoreless headed into the sixth, where the Deacs responded to a Davidson run in the top half of the inning with six of their own thanks to two-RBI singles from senior Jimmy Keenan, junior Javar Williams and Wentz.
With four total RBI on the day, Wentz now leads the team with 14 on the year. He has also recorded multiple RBI in three of his last four outings.
Of note, junior Javar Williams recorded his team-high 12th stolen base of the season against LMU and recorded three hits on the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game One)
- Starting pitcher Blake Morningstar struck out three in a scoreless top of the first, working around a two-out single.
- The Demon Deacons immediately jumped out to a 5-0 advantage in the bottom half of the first, sending 10 batters to the plate in the frame.
- After the first two batters of the innings were retired, Wake Forest loaded the bases off a pair of walks sandwiched between a hit-by-pitch.
- Sophomore Jackson Miller stayed red hot, launching his first career home run over the wall in left field for a grand slam.
- Designated hitter Jimmy Keenan kept the inning alive with a double down the line in right field.
- After a pitch hit senior Austin Hawke to put two on for shortstop JD Stein, he laced a double to the wall in left field for the Demon Deacons' fifth two-out run of the first inning.
- Morningstar used a strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play for the shutdown inning in the top of the second.
- The junior worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third to keep the Lions off the board.
- Morningstar recorded two more strikeouts in a three-up, three-down top of the fourth.
- Wake Forest added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 7-0.
- Stein got the inning started by reaching first on a hit-by-pitch.
- Junior Javar Williams showcased his speed with a bunt single and a stolen base to put two in scoring position.
- Third baseman Dalton Wentz got a 3-0 green light, depositing the pitch into center field for a two-RBI single.
- Catcher Matt Conte erased a one-out single, throwing a dart down to second to erase a would-be base stealer and keep the shutout intact.
- Wake's second double-play of the game kept LMU off the board in the sixth.
- Morningstar picked up his ninth strikeout of the afternoon, matching a career-high 7.0 innings pitched.
- LMU got on the board with two runs in the eighth.
- The Demon Deacons capped the game in the bottom of the eighth with five runs to take game one of the day, 12-2.
- Second baseman Blake Schaaf got the inning started with a one-out double to left center.
- Stein was hit by a pitch for the second time to put two runners on.
- Williams was walked to load the bases.
- First baseman Kade Lewis ripped an RBI single to plate the eighth run of the day.
- A wild pitch brought Stein home.
- After a walk to Wentz, freshman Jordan Serrano picked up his first RBI with a single through the left side.
- Conte extended his hit streak to five games with another RBI single through the left side.
- Miller picked up his fifth RBI of the day on an RBI groundout to close things out.
- Starting pitcher Duncan Marsten struck out the side in the top of the first, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
- Wake Forest left a pair of runners on base following singles from Lewis and Conte in the bottom of the first.
- Marsten continued to shove, retiring the first seven batters of the game with five strikeouts.
- Through four innings, he had fanned nine with just one hit allowed.
- The sophomore faced the minimum for the fourth time in the top of the fifth inning.
- Marsten left the game after five innings of work with 10 strikeouts and just two baserunners allowed.
- The Wildcats took the lead in the top of the sixth, but the Demon Deacons quickly responded and took the lead in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a bases-loaded, two-RBI single down the left side from Keenan.
- Williams extended the lead with a two-RBI single of his own into centerfield.
- Two batters later, Wentz was the third Wake Forest player of the inning to knock in a pair of runs as he singled to right to make it 6-1.
- Dressler struck out the side in the top of the seventh to keep it a five-run ballgame.
- A sacrifice fly from Stein extended the lead to 7-1 in the bottom half of the seventh.
- Whysong took the mound in the eighth and recorded a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts.
- He returned in the ninth and closed out the ninth-consecutive victory for the Deacs.
- In his best start of the season so far, Blake Morningstar secured the win against LMU in game one with seven innings pitched, zero runs allowed and nine strikeouts.
- His seven innings tied a career-high and it was the third time in his career that he went six-plus innings without allowing an earned run.
- For his career, the junior now holds a 9-4 record with 148 strikeouts
- Making his first-career start, Duncan Marsten followed Morningstar's performance with another stellar outing as the sophomore went 5.0 innings with zero runs allowed while striking out 10 of his 16 batters faced.
- His 10 strikeouts tied the most by a Wake Forest player in a game this season (Levonas vs. Siena).
- Friday marked the sixth and seventh times through the first 10 games that Wake Forest has held its opponent to two runs or fewer.
- The six runs allowed over the last five games are the fewest over a five-game span since the Demon Deacons accomplished the feat in February during the historic 2023 campaign.
- The Demon Deacon pitching staff combined for 26 total strikeouts over the two games with just 10 hits and five walks allowed.
"A great day on the mound for the Deacs. It's hard to win a doubleheader, especially against two different teams. I was proud of our guys and their energy and it started on the mound. Blake Morningstar gave us a great outing right out of the gate. He was really fantastic. Jackson Miller hits that grand slam with two outs. We got some free passes and Jackson made him pay. Then JD Stein doubles right behind that to get us up 5-0. Blake put it on cruise control and kind of took us home from there. We needed to get length out of both our starters today with a four-game weekend and that happened again in game two. Duncan was fantastic. That's the best I've seen him here. He only walked one guy with 10 strikeouts in five innings and allowed just one hit. I'm really happy with Duncan. It was also good to see Nate Whysong back and throwing the ball well. He's a big part of our staff and it's good to see him get back to his old self. Same thing with Dalton Wentz, he had a good day today. It was the first time that I really felt like Dalton was seeing it well. In game two the big hits were obviously Jimmy Keenan through the left side and then Javar and Dalton with two outs. Those six runs right there were the difference in the game and our pitching. We're happy with our effort all around today" - Head Coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
Wake Forest goes for its 10th-straight win against LMU tomorrow, Feb. 28. First pitch against the Lions is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ACCNX.
FOLLOW THE DEACS
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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