WINSTON-SALEM – Bunting is — sometimes — winning.

It was a big part of how Wake Forest beat Florida State 5-4 on Friday night at David F. Couch Ballpark.

The Deacons opened a three-game series by winning a game in which Chase Burns had his shortest start of the season (five innings), in which they didn’t have a lead until the bottom of the eighth inning, and in which they had a few runners reach base in critical spots when they were attempting to sacrifice bunt.

This one was as gritty as that sounds.

“That’s what Friday night baseball in this league looks like,” Wake Forest coach Tom Walter said. “(FSU starter Jamie) Arnold is as good as we’ve seen all year. … He’s really special and we had to grind for everything we got against him.”

Trailing 3-1 after a couple of FSU runs in the top of the fifth inning, Wake Forest (25-12, 10-9 ACC) got a run back in the bottom of the inning after Mitchell Salvino led off with a single, Cameron Gill reached on a throwing error while trying to sac bunt, Marek Houston actually sac bunted, and Adam Tellier hit an RBI single off of Arnold.

“We just knew once we kinda grinded (Arnold) out and found ways to get it done, keep the game close while he was in, we knew that we would have a chance,” said Tellier, who was 2-for-4 with three RBI. “Once we got to the bullpen, we thought we had a pretty good chance, for sure.”

Arnold entered the weekend second in Division I with a 1.32 ERA; Burns entered the weekend as the nation’s leader in strikeouts (105).

The Deacons tied the game after Seaver King sliced a one-out double in the sixth, followed by Cameron Nelson’s RBI single.

King led off the bottom of the eighth with a similar-looking double, slicing away from the right fielder and bouncing off the wall, and then it was time for some bunts to pay off. Nelson squared to sacrifice but walked on four pitches; Salvino bunted a ball that pitcher Connor Hults and first baseman Daniel Cantu watched roll between them to load the bases.

Freshman Antonio Morales walked on four pitches as a pinch-hitter to force across the go-ahead run, and Tellier hit a sacrifice fly for the insurance that wound up being the difference.

“Oh, it’s amazing,” Tellier said of the boost that comes with a sacrificing player reaching base. “Any time we can flip the lineup over and any time we can win the base — I mean, our whole mentality is just, ‘win the base.’ Just get to first base, that’s all we ever try to do.”

In the ninth, FSU (30-7, 10-6) got a run against Cole Roland, though it was Zach Johnston’s baserunner after the freshman lefty plunked left-handed hitting James Tibbs III to start the inning. Roland got a strikeout, walked the second batter he faced and had those runners move up 90 feet each on a wild pitch.

The run scored on a groundout, and Roland struck out Cantu to end the game and set off a wild celebration, the electric closer sending his glove about 20 feet into the air toward the Deacons streaming out of the dugout.

It was the first save of the season for Roland, who was out until this month with an arm injury.

“It definitely feels good to be back out there,” Roland said. “I mean, I think it was awesome, me not being out there, because we were able to give a lot of other guys a lot of innings, which now coming to the second half of the season is really paying dividends.”

Burns got through five innings having allowed seven hits, two walks and three runs. He struck out eight, but needed 93 pitches.

Will Ray started the sixth but gave up two two-out hits, followed by an intentional walk. Freshman Josh Gunther entered and got a groundout, faced the minimum three batters in the seventh thanks to a double-play lineout, and got the first two outs of the eighth.

It was the third straight scoreless appearance out of the bullpen for Gunther.

“Two months ago, I probably wouldn’t be in the same mindset I was tonight,” Gunther said. “But tonight I had a job to do and they trusted me. And once I recognized that, I tried to settle in, compete.”

Both teams scored early and missed a few chances to build leads.

FSU’s early run came on Max Williams’ leadoff homer. That was the second pitch of the game, an opposite-field shot from the left-handed centerfielder who entered the game with five homers in 105 at-bats.

Wake Forest tied the game at 1-1 on Tellier’s two-out double in the third, which was the Deacons’ only hit through the first four innings. FSU intentionally walked Nick Kurtz and struck out Jack Winnay to end the inning; Winnay also struck out with two runners on in the fifth.

EXTRA BASES: Because of expected rain on Sunday, the teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday to end the series. The first game will still start at the originally scheduled 4 p.m., and the second one will be about 40 minutes after the end of the first game. … Kurtz had a double in the seventh, running his hitting streak to 12 games. … Burns and Arnold entered the weekend Nos. 1 and 2 in the ACC in strikeouts; Burns now has 113 in 62 innings, and Arnold has 90 in 60 1/3 innings. … Tellier had not driven in a run in two weeks. ... Freshman outfielder Javar Williams did not play because of a "coach's decision," Walter said. He added that he'll be available Saturday.