Deacs Fall at Duke in Regular-Season Finale; Wins Third Consecutive Series

Saturday, May 16

Durham, NC

3 p.m.

Wake Forest University

38-18, 16-14

Duke

25-30, 10-20

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Wake Forest	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	3	8	0
Duke	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	5	X	7	8	1

Photo by: Seth Seebaugh / Wake Forest Athletics

Deacs Fall at Duke in Regular-Season Finale; Wins Third Consecutive Series

5/16/2026 6:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Wake Forest will now turn its attention to the 2026 ACC Tournament this upcoming week.

By: Keion Robinson

DURHAM, N.C. – The Wake Forest baseball team (38-18, 16-14 ACC) fell short in its final showing of the regular season on Saturday evening in a 7-3 defeat at Duke (25-30, 10-20 ACC).

The Deacs secured the road series with 7-2 wins apiece during Thursday and Friday inside Jack Coombs Field. It resulted as the team's first series win over Duke since the 2023 campaign.

Junior Javar Williams led Wake Forest at the plate, going 2-for-4 and joining sophomore Dalton Wentz as one of two Deacs to hit a double in the weekend finale. Wentz also added his 48th RBI of the year.

Junior Boston Torres increased his hit streak to 13 games during the day, smacking an RBI single during the sixth inning. The Lynchburg, Va., native continues to hold the longest streak by a Deac this season. Through the three-game series in Durham, Torres went 5-for-12 with four doubles and four RBIs.

Four other Deacs recorded a hit on Saturday – sophomore Matt Conte, freshman Andrew Costello, junior Blake Schaff and freshman JD Stein.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Wake's defense made quick work of its opening frame, collecting a fly out before a lineout went towards shortstop territory to complete a scoreless first inning.
- Much of the same continued into the second, as starting pitcher Cameron Bagwell laced his first strikeout of the afternoon to end the inning.
Freshman JD Stein was the first Deac to notch a hit, singling through the left side of the infield in the top of the third.
Duke loaded the bases in the bottom of the third with only one out, but Wake was able to fight its way out with exceptional play.
- The contest remained scoreless after three.
With runners on the corner bases, sophomore Matt Conte put the Deacs on the board first in the top of the fourth, bringing home freshman Andrew Costello after slapping a single to right center.
After a 643 DP, Wake kept the Blue Devils out of the column with a groundout to end the bottom of the fourth.
The Deacon defense continued to connect in the fifth, picking off a Duke runner before Bagwell struck out another Blue Devil.
Wake upped its lead with two runs during the top of the sixth, jumping ahead 3-0.
- A. Costello first singled in his first at-bat.
- Dalton Wentz then knocked a long double as A. Costello made his way past home plate.
- Junior Boston Torres kept the momentum going after lining a single right down the middle and scoring Wentz.
A two RBI homer by Duke placed the home team on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth, as Wake led 3-2.
- Reliever Ryan Bosch entered to fan a Blue Devil and cap off the sixth inning.
The Deacs completed a three-up, three-down bottom of the seventh, still holding on to a one-point advantage.
Duke took the lead with five runs scored in the bottom of the eighth, going in front, 7-3.
Unable to score in the ninth, Wake ultimately fell in a 7-3 decision.

FROM COACH WALTER
"It's a tough loss – we had that game right where we wanted it. I was proud of Blake [Morningstar] going out there and battling for us, being on the mound for the first time in a while. Putting him in a one-run game probably was not fair to him, but he battled and gave us everything we had. Will Ray made the pitch we needed him to make – the ball went to center field and, if that ball finds a glove, we have a double play with a one-run lead. It found a hole and wasn't hit very hard, but the same happened for a lot of balls. It could have been a different story, so it's a disappointing loss for us but I feel we're playing good baseball right now and we'll be ready to play next week." - Head Coach Tom Walter

UP NEXT
Postseason action is on deck for the Deacs, as the 2026 ACC Tournament is set for May 19-24 at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C. Seedings, matchups and other event information will soon be announced.

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