WINSTON-SALEM – It’s easy to remember the beginning when you get to the end.

Of course, this isn’t the end for Brock Wilken. It’s just the end of his journey to become Wake Forest’s all-time career home runs leader.

The junior third baseman tattooed a line drive homer in the bottom of the third inning in Wake’s 11-1 win over visiting Coastal Carolina on Tuesday night at David F. Couch Ballpark.

“It’s a little weight off of the shoulders,” Wilken said of passing Jamie D’Antona for the all-time mark. “You don’t gotta keep seeing tweets and Instagram posts and all of the other stuff about it.

“So now it’s a little easier to go out there and compete to win every day.”

If it was hard before, imagine what it’ll be like for the rest of the season.

Wake Forest (35-6) entered the week tied for the best winning percentage in the nation and as the No. 2 or 3 team in each of the major national polls. Coastal Carolina entered the week ranked as high as No. 6 (D1Baseball.com).

The game ended in the bottom of the seventh when Justin Johnson’s two-run, two-out double dropped, triggering the mercy rule that was agreed on by both teams before the game.

Wilken’s 59th career homer came on the second pitch he saw leading off the third inning, with Wake Forest up 2-0. It was a laser beam that exited quickly over the left field fence.

The ball was retrieved by classmate and closer Camden Minacci.

“I think that ball is locked away, under lock and key right now,” Wilken said. “I’m not sure where it’s at, honestly. I just know (Minacci) ran and got it, he’s like, ‘Look what I got, look what I got!’

“Being my best friend, it was pretty special that he got that ball. And we had a pretty special hug in the dugout, for sure.”

That’s not where the gravity of the moment ends.

Wilken’s father, Josh, drove up from Tampa, Fla., on Sunday. He got into town around 1 a.m. that night, around the same time Wake’s bus returned from Pittsburgh.

Father and son played golf on Monday at Meadowlands Golf Club. Tuesday marked the first home game of the season that Josh Wilken has attended.

When Brock’s milestone was announced to the crowd between the third and fourth innings, Wilken looked up to the stands to find his dad.

“He just gave me a little fist-pump and a little point,” Wilken said. “That moment almost brought as much joy and tears to my eyes as anything.”

The beginning-and-end side of this harkens back to Wilken’s first homer, which came in the eighth inning of his first game at Wake Forest. That’s when he lined a three-run shot to left to give the Deacons an 8-6 win over Northeastern.

Check out the reactions leaving the batter’s box on home run Nos. 1 and 59 from Wilken:

Wilken’s historic blast wasn’t the only bit of significant news, given Wake Forest paid back one of the six teams it’s lost to this season.

Coastal Carolina (26-13) dealt the Deacons their first loss, a 13-11 outcome marred by Wake’s seven errors on March 7.

Turns out, Wake Forest is 10 runs better — in seven innings — than the Chanticleers at home and with clean defense.

“The game at Coastal, those seven errors … I still have nightmares about that day,” coach Tom Walter said. “I think we only gave up six or seven hits. … Fortunately we’ve been playing much better since then.”

This game didn’t always have the look of a blowout.

Wake Forest stranded seven runners in the first three innings, loading the bases each inning. When Zack Beach led off the fifth with a homer, Coastal Carolina had cut the lead to 4-1 and it felt like those missed opportunities would haunt Wake Forest.

Nick Kurtz delivered when the Deacons loaded the bases again in the fifth, teeing off on a grand slam to right-center field that was hit so hard that neither outfielder moved off of their spot.

“I kind of felt like (the score) was going to stay that for a while until Nick Kurtz’s home run kind of gave us some distance,” Walter said.

All of this talk of offense neglects the job done by Seth Keener, who Wilken called the “dark horse” of the staff. He pitched five innings and only allowed five hits. Keener didn’t issue a walk and struck out six batters.

Coastal Carolina entered the game having scored the fifth-most runs in the country.

In 43 2/3 innings this season, Keener has given up four earned runs (seven total) for an ERA of 0.82. He’s allowed 24 hits and nine walks, striking out 56 batters.