Deacons roll up four impressive victories in sweeping Youngstown State and Illinois
Wake Forest got impressive pitching across a four-game opening weekend — and that was with the Deacons missing a potential first-round pick.
The Deacons won games against Youngstown State and Illinois on Friday and Saturday, respectively, and then swept a split doubleheader against those two on Sunday.
Wake Forest is missing Teddy McGraw, a junior right-hander who didn’t pitch this weekend because of tightness and fatigue. Coach Tom Walter said after Friday night’s opener that McGraw would likely pitch next weekend, but said Sunday that the team is still waiting on MRI results.
“We just don’t have all the information right now, so it’s hard to say. I wouldn’t say we’re optimistic or not optimistic,” Walter said of McGraw’s situation. “We’re just waiting on the information so we can make a decision on him.”
While the Deacons would love to have McGraw, a weekend starter last season, they pitched fine without him in the opening weekend.
In 34 innings this weekend (Sunday’s first game was only seven), Wake’s pitchers allowed six earned runs (eight total) on 20 hits, while giving up nine walks and recording 60 strikeouts.
To complement things, Wake’s offense scored 45 runs.
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Here’s the story from the season opener.
And here is a recap of each other game this weekend:
Wake Forest 8, Illinois 1
On Saturday, Bennett Lee’s first hit as a Deacon after transferring from Tulane was a two-run single that broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning, and Adam Cecere’s two-run homer that followed gave the Deacons all the cushion needed behind the combination of Rhett Lowder and Sean Sullivan on the mound.
Lowder and Sullivan struck out 10 batters apiece, with Lowder getting the start and pitching five innings, and Sullivan going the final four. Illinois’ run came in the 1st, as that was when Lowder allowed two of the four hits he gave up and the only walk.
Lowder struck out the last seven batters he faced; Sullivan recorded strikeouts on five of the last six outs he recorded.
Lee’s looping single into centerfield scored Nick Kurtz and Brock Wilken, both of whom walked to start the inning. They both homered later in the game — Kurtz’s third of the season, a solo shot, and Wilken’s a two-run shot in the 8th — to propel the Deacons in the late innings.
Wake Forest 18, Youngstown State 3 (7 innings)
In Sunday’s first game, Wake Forest erupted for a 12-run 4th inning and won an abbreviated game via mercy rule.
Wilken’s three-run homer started the scoring in the 4th and broke a 3-3 tie — Youngstown State (0-4) actually led 3-0 after the top of the 2nd — and the Deacons sent 16 batters to the plate. Kyle Joye had a three-run double and Tommy Hawke had a two-run double in the inning.
The Deacons only needed 12 hits to score their 18 runs, as they also drew 14 walks and had four HBPs. Joye, Hawke and Lucas Costello had two hits apiece, while Chris Katz — starting at DH after Jake Reinisch suffered an injury Saturday — hit an early homer.
Michael Massey, a transfer from Tulane, started on the mound and all three runs on three hits and two walks. Two of the hits were homers. Derek Crum Jr., Chase Walter and Ben Shenosky all pitched one inning in relief.
Wake Forest 10, Illinois 1
In Sunday’s second game, Wake Forest didn’t have a big-scoring inning but scored in six of eight trips to the plate, with five of those runs coming in the 7th and 8th innings to cement the weekend sweep.
Cecere homered twice and Kurtz once, meaning both left-handed sluggers hit four homers apiece in the first weekend. Pierce Bennett and Justin Johnson also homered, with Bennett’s coming in the first inning as Wake Forest scored first for only the second time in the weekend.
Sophomore lefty Josh Hartle pitched five innings, allowing five hits and one run. He didn’t allow a walk and struck out eight batters, throwing 53 strikes in his 74 pitches.
