Wake Forest squandered a golden series-clinching opportunity in Sunday’s rubber match against Clemson, allowing the Tigers to claw back from a 6-0 deficit to win the game, and ultimately the series, in walk-off fashion after a wild pitch allowed the final run.
The Demon Deacons’ got five strong innings from starter Blake Morningstar, and their bats were hot early. Ultimately, the bats cooled off down the stretch, and the bullpen walked too many batters, allowing Clemson to complete the comeback and win the game 7-6.
Sunday’s high-intensity game was indicative of the series as a whole, as the ACC’s top-15 matchup between Wake Forest and Clemson did not disappoint. After the Tigers won the series opener 5-1, a game that only saw nine total hits, the Demon Deacons stormed back on Saturday to win 12-10, but the Tigers got the last laugh on Sunday.
The highly-anticipated series had a postseason-like feel between two teams hopeful for a return to Omaha at the end of this season.
How it Happened
Friday’s game saw Logan Lunceford and Aidan Knaak, two of the ACC’s top pitchers face off. Knaak got the better of Lunceford in a game that finished 5-1 Clemson’s way. Knaak showed great control with his off-speed pitches, commanded the strike zone very well and seemingly had an answer for the entire Wake Forest lineup. He finished the day with 10 strikeouts, only allowing two hits in six full innings.
In Lunceford’s first start on the road in the ACC, he couldn’t find the strike zone early, walking the first three batters and giving up four runs in the first inning. From there, he settled in and battled only to allow one more run after five innings. The Wake Forest bullpen held the Tigers scoreless, but the Demon Deacons didn’t score apart from a Kade Lewis solo home run in the fourth inning.
The Demon Deacons responded to the game one loss by getting out to an early 10-0 lead in Game 2. The Tigers took advantage of a couple of shaky innings from the Wake Forest pitching staff, roaring back to make it 12-10 by the end of the sixth inning. Javar Williams made the play of the game, robbing the Tigers of a two-run home run in the sixth to keep the Demon Deacons in the lead. The combination of Griffin Green, Joe Ariola and Josh Gunther held the Tigers scoreless over the last three innings to help the Demon Deacons secure the gritty road win.
In Sunday’s rubber match, the Demon Deacons stormed out to an early 6-0 lead after two innings. Tigers starter Justin LeGuernic exited after recording just two out, and Wake Forest was in control after getting five strong innings from Morningstar. The Demon Deacon bullpen really struggled to throw strikes down the stretch, though, and the Clemson hitters continued to grind, eventually tying the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Demon Deacons stranded runners on second and third in the top of the ninth, and Gunther tossed a wild pitch that led to the game-winning run scoring from third.
“I told the guys afterward that this game was lost yesterday when we had a 10-0 lead and had to use all of our bullpen pieces to win,” said Wake Forest coach Tom Walter after Sunday’s loss. “If we had done our job yesterday, we would’ve had these guys fresh for today and today probably ends differently.”
Other Notes
The Demon Deacons pitching staff struggled with control all weekend, and it showed on both Saturday and Sunday. The Wake Forest pitching staff walked 24 total Clemson batters this weekend, 10 of which came on Sunday. All seven of the Tigers’ runs scored on Sunday got on base by a free pass. The Clemson hitters were extremely disciplined and grindeddeep into at-bats throughout Sunday’s game, but at the end of the day, 12 free passes are what opened the door for Clemson to get back into the game and ultimately win.
The Demon Deacon defense had a few questionable moments defensively on Sunday that also contributed to the loss. A dropped fly ball in foul territory cost the Demon Deacons an out, and a misplay at the plate by catcher Jacob Burley gave Clemson an extra run in the eighth. Neither of these plays will appear in the box score, but both were instrumental in Clemson’s comeback win.
Wake Forest was also without star center fielder Ethan Conrad for the entire series. Though it was previously reported that his injury in the Miami series was likely to only keep him out of the midweek against Liberty, Conrad was not available for the Demon Deacons in any of the three games.
Despite losing the series, Wake Forest showed their ability to compete against a top-10 team on the road and were in a position to take the series on Sunday. The talent is there for the Demon Deacons. If Walter’s squad cleans up their pitching control issues and overall defensive issues and gets healthy, they are certainly poised for a postseason run. Both these clubs proved this weekend that they are Omaha-caliber teams.
What’s Next
Wake Forest is back on the road in the midweek against Elon on Tuesday. The Demon Deacons won the previous matchup 9-6 at their home ballpark. The Demon Deacons will then host Virginia Tech in their fourth ACC series of the year.
