The No. 11-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons (18-4, 6-0) travel to Clemson, South Carolina, to take on the No. 7-ranked Clemson Tigers (20-2, 2-1) in a heavyweight tilt for their first conference series away from home this weekend. This weekend’s series is the only one in the ACC featuring two ranked teams.
Each team has turned heads early this season. The Demon Deacons boast a 6-0 conference record, the first in its program’s history, while the Tigers were on the program’s fourth-longest winning streak (17 games) before losing to Notre Dame on Sunday.
Shortstop Marek Houston leads Wake Forest. He ranks first in the ACC in RBIs (39) and second in the conference in hits (36). The Demon Deacons Friday night starter Logan Lunceford has been nothing short of impressive as well, boasting a 1.33 ERA with an ACC-best 50 strikeouts on the season.
Clemson has a balanced offensive attack led by freshman second baseman Jarren Purify. Through Clemson’s first 22 games of the season, Purify is hitting .403 with 27 hits. Friday night starter Aidan Knaak is third in the ACC with 44 strikeouts. Knaak gave up one hit and struck out 12 in seven innings of work against Notre Dame last Friday, good enough to earn him ACC Pitcher of the Week honors.
Each team boasts top-level talent down their rosters. Even though it is early in the season, both teams are looking to prove themselves as legitimate College World Series contenders, which is sure to give this series a postseason-like feel.
Matchup To Watch
With it shaping up to be a Friday night showdown between Lunceford and Knaak, we’re likely to see a classic pitchersduel. The matchup to look out for will be Saturday’s, likely between Wake Forest’s Matthew Dallas and Clemson’s Ethan Darden.
Despite holding a 3-0 record, Dallas has had some struggles to start the season. Across five starts, Dallas holds a 3.74 ERA and has a team-high 11 walks. He has shown flashes though, striking out seven and only giving up one hit in five innings against Notre Dame.
Darden on the other hand, has been super consistent for the Tigers across five starts this season. He holds a team-best 2.08 ERA and won ACC Pitcher of the Week honors after giving up only three hits in seven innings of work on only 89 pitches in a start against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
If Tom Walter’s squad can get at least five innings out of Dallas, like they did against Notre Dame, that will certainly give them a chance to win what could be a pivotal second game against Darden and the Tigers.
Other Notes
The Wake Forest bullpen, which has been one of the best in the country this season, struggled against Liberty University in the Demon Deacons 11-8 midweek loss. It took three Demon Deacon pitchers to get three outs in the fourth, as the Flames put up a seven spot. The bullpen needs to shove like they previously had all season this weekend if the Demon Deacons want a chance against the Tigers.
Junior center fielder Ethan Conrad injured his shoulder in the series against Miami. Walter noted that his shoulder is fine, yet Conrad would likely sit out of the Demon Deacons midweek, which he did. Conrad will likely slot back into the lineup this weekend. Conrad is batting .372 with 29 hits and 27 RBIs.
This weekend’s series is Wake Forest’s toughest season test thus far. The Demon Deacons boast an immensely talented lineup, and now they can prove themselves against another talented ACC team with their sights set on Omaha.
First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. ET Friday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
