No. 15 Demon Deacons Complete Sweep of Stanford with Pair of Saturday Victories

Saturday, March 7

Winston-Salem, N.C.

2 p.m.

Wake Forest University

14-1

Stanford

5-9

Stanford

Wake Forest

No. 15 Demon Deacons Complete Sweep of Stanford with Pair of Saturday Victories

3/7/2026 10:39:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

Wake Forest opens ACC play 3-0 for the second-straight season and has now extended its winning streak to 15 games, the longest since 2012.

By: Grant Keith and KJ Smith

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The No. 15 Wake Forest baseball team (15-1, 3-0 ACC) completed a series sweep over Stanford (5-10, 0-3 ACC) with a pair of wins on Saturday afternoon at David F. Couch Ballpark to open conference play, taking the first game of the doubleheader by a score of 12-9, before securing the sweep with a 14-10 win in the second game.

Sophomore right fielder Luke Costello powered the Demon Deacons offensively in both contests as he went a combined 4-for-7 with three home runs, nine RBIs and five runs scored. The Erie, Pa., native broke open the first game of the day with a first-pitch grand slam in the fourth inning. Costello would add a pair of two-run shots in the third and ninth innings as part of a five-RBI performance in the series finale.

Sophomore third baseman Dalton Wentz continued to be efficient at the plate as he added four hits and two RBIs over the two games. The Madison Heights, Va., native did most of his damage in the second game of the doubleheader as he went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs.

Junior first baseman Kade Lewis added a pair of multi-hit performances on Saturday as he went 3-for-4 in the first game, and 2-for-5 with two RBIs in the second. The Sartell, Minn., native extended his multi-hit streak to six games and has now recorded at least two hits eight times this season.

In the opening game of the day, sophomore catcher Matt Conte matched his career high with three RBIs. Meanwhile, freshman shortstop JD Stein recorded his second career multi-hit game in the series finale as he went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game One)

Picking up where he left off last weekend, starting pitcher Chris Levonas struck out three to open the game.
The Deacs loaded the bases in the bottom half of the first, but they were unable to break the deadlock.
Stanford grabbed the lead in the top of the second on a solo shot.
Junior centerfielder Javar Williams responded immediately with an RBI single in the bottom half of the second.
The Cardinal took the lead back with two runs in the top of the third.
Wake Forest leveled the game once again in the bottom of the third.
- Sophomore Jackson Miller cut the lead to one after driving in sophomore right fielder Luke Costello on an RBI triple.
- Miller scored two pitches later as junior catcher Jimmy Keenan lasered a single into right field.
Levonas recorded his seventh and eighth strikeouts of the game to produce a scoreless frame in the top of the fourth.
The Deacs broke the game open in the home half of the fourth as they plated six runs in the frame.
- Williams and junior Kade Lewis recorded back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners, before sophomore third baseman Dalton Wentz loaded the bases on a four-pitch walk.
- Costello gave the Deacs a 7-3 lead as he rocketed the first pitch he saw over the center field wall for a grand slam.
- Following a two-out walk by Miller, Keenan launched his first home run of the season on an 0-2 pitch to extend the lead to six runs.
Wake Forest kept Stanford off the scoreboard during a shutdown fifth.
Catcher Matt Conte roped a two-RBI single to left field to extend the Demon Deacon lead in the bottom of the fight.
Senior Luke Schmolke entered in the sixth, striking out the side for another shutdown inning.
Stanford added a run in the top of the seventh.
The Demon Deacons got the run back on Conte's third RBI of the day, singling to center to make it 12-4 going to the eighth.
The Cardinal cut into the Wake Forest lead with three runs in the eighth.
Despite Stanford plating two in the ninth, Wake Forest held on to a 12-9 win to take the series.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game Two)

Stanford grabbed a 1-0 advantage on a solo home run in the first.
Wake Forest responded immediately, notching a five-run bottom of the first.
- Centerfielder Javar Williams led off the frame with a walk and came home to score on a beautifully executed hit-and-run off the bat of junior Kade Lewis.
- Lewis moved from first to third on a double down the left field line by third baseman Dalton Wentz.
- Sophomore Jackson Miller worked a walk to load the bases with one away.
- Catcher Jimmy Keenan was plunked to plate the third run of the inning.
- After a Stanford pitching change, second baseman Austin Hawke placed a single out to left field to move the runners from station-to-station and make it 4-1.
- Freshman JD Stein lifted a sac fly to cap the scoring for the Demon Deacons.
The Cardinal got a pair of runs back in the second.
Stanford tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the third.
Wake again answered the bell with four runs in the home half of the third to make it a 9-5 game.
- Hawke led off the frame with a five-pitch walk.
- Stein kept things rolling with a single to center to put the first two batters on in the frame.
- Showcasing his elite speed, Williams laid down a perfect bunt to load the bases.
- A productive groundout from Lewis plated the first run of the game.
- Wentz lifted a sac fly to plate the seventh run of the game for the Deacs.
- Costello lasered his second home run of the day over the wall in left, as Wake Forest put up its second crooked number in the first three innings.
A two-run home run from Stanford cut the lead in half.
Another solo home run sliced the lead to one run.
Wentz's second double of the day plated Lewis from first to put the Deacs in double figures.
Stanford's sixth home run of the game made it a one-run game again in the seventh.
Williams continued the back-and-forth with a solo shot to right field in the bottom half to put the Demon Deacons up by two once again.
A bases-loaded walk for the Cardinal cut the lead to one once again in the top of the eighth.
Costello launched his second home run of the game and third of the doubleheader to stretch the Wake advantage to three in the bottom of the eighth.
Sophomore Cameron Bagwell recorded the final three outs of the game as the Deacs secured the sweep over the Cardinal with a 14-10 win.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Sophomore Luke Costello was lights out in the final two games of the series, going a combined 4-for-7 with three home runs, nine RBIs and five runs scored.
- The Erie, Pa., native broke the first game open with a first-pitch grand slam in the fourth inning.
- Costello continued to power the Wake Forest offense in the second game of the doubleheader as he went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and a pair of two-run shots in the third and ninth innings.
  - The two-run blast in the ninth marked Costello's sixth home run of the season, the most on the team through the first 16 games.

STAGGERING STATISTICS

With the two wins on Saturday, the Demon Deacons have now won 15 consecutive games, the longest since also winning 15 straight during the 2012 season.
- The Demon Deacons hold the longest win streak in the country and are one of just three teams in all of Division I with a streak of 10 or more games.
- Under head coach Tom Walter, the Demon Deacons have had five streaks of 10 or more wins.

Win Streaks Under Tom Walter

Rank	Year	Wins in a Row
T1.	2026	15
T1.	2012	15
3.	2023	13
4.	2022	11
5.	2025	10

FROM COACH WALTER
"I'm proud of our guys. That was a gutty and hard fought win. I give Stanford a lot of credit. They kept coming. They swung the bats really well all day today. This last game certainly was made more interesting because we had to go to Will Ray yesterday and Evan Jones earlier today. Give credit to Jones and Ray though. They came back and got three big outs each, and then Cameron Bagwell on short rest got the last three outs. I'm just really proud of our club. It was another good day offensively for the first five or six guys in the lineup. They all had a big day. We had some clutchness to our RBIs there at the end in the ninth inning to extend our lead. I'm just proud of our ball club. It wasn't easy, but it's not supposed to be in our league. It will never be easy in our league. Overall, today was just a great day of baseball for the Deacs." - Head Coach Tom Walter

UP NEXT
Wake Forest travels to Conway, S.C., for its first ranked matchup of the season, taking on No. 16 Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, Mar. 10 at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE DEACS
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook