Wake Forest (23-10, 9-6) could have rolled over after losing its fifth straight ACC game Friday night. But instead, the Demon Deacons run-ruled the No. 4-ranked Florida State Seminoles (25-6, 8-4) in back-to-back games to secure the series win in Tallahassee.
Wake Forest needed to bounce back after two rough weekends, and it bounced back in a big way. The Demon Deacons outscored Florida State 29-2 between Saturday and Sunday to make a statement and hand the Seminoles their first ACC series loss.
How it Happened
There was an electric atmosphere in Tallahassee Friday night as Florida State’s Jamie Arnold, one of the country’s best pitchers, faced off against Wake Forest’s Luke Schmolke. Arnold did not disappoint, mowing down 10 Wake Forest batters and only surrendering two hits in five innings.
Schmolke gave up four runs on six hits in his first start of the season, and the Seminoles had a 4-0 lead until Jack Winnay and Dalton Wentz each hit a home run in the top of the sixth to make it a 4-3 game.
A Marek Houston RBI single tied the game in the top of the seventh, but strong pitching from each bullpen and outfield defense dominated the rest of the game. The Demon Deacons and the Seminoles had chances to break the deadlock, but catches from Matt Scannell in right field and Max Williams in center field kept the game tied heading into the bottom of the ninth. Williams wasn’t done yet, either. His walk-off single into left field in the bottom of the ninth scored the winning run and the Seminoles took Game 1.
The Demon Deacons were back at Dick Howser Stadium Saturday afternoon as Logan Lunceford, Wake Forest’s former Friday starter, took the mound against Florida State’s Joey Volini. The Demon Deacons were hot out of the gate and never let their foot off the gas. Freshman second baseman Dalton Wentz had five RBIs, and Scannell added four more as the Demon Deacons cruised to a 12-0 victory. The Wake Forest offense chased Volini out of the game after he surrendered seven runs on 10 hits in just 2 1/3 innings.
Lunceford struck out nine and delivered 5 2/3 shutout innings for the Demon Deacons, proving he is still one of the ACC’s best pitchers after struggling in his past two starts. The Demon Deacons only needed seven innings to set up the Sunday rubber match.
The Sunday matchup between Wake Forest’s Blake Morningstar and Florida State’s Wes Mendes featured two of the most consistent Sunday starters in the country. The Seminoles scored early, notching a run in each of the first two innings. It looked like all Florida State until Wentz opened the scoring with his third home run of the series in the top of the fourth. Another freshman, Cam Nelson, hit his first collegiate home run, and the Demon Deacons took a 4-2 lead.
Then, a switch flipped. Morningstar had a clean one-two-three bottom of the fourth, and the Demon Deacons put up a seven spot in the fifth to stretch their lead to nine. The Demon Deacons added six more in the eighth and when it was all said and done, Wake Forest took the series in Tallahassee with a 17-2 win on Sunday. Despite not having his best stuff, Morningstar grinded out five innings, giving up two runs and striking out eight. Wake Forest got contributions up and down the lineup to win its first ACC series since March 14.
“Blake Morningstar set the tone for us,” said Wake Forest coach Tom Walter after Sunday’s game. “He just kept battling and kept battling until we got a chance to break through and I was just so proud of Blake. Offensively, up and down the lineup today, we were really good all day today. I’m proud of this club.”
Takeaways
What a difference a week makes.
After getting swept by Virginia Tech at home last weekend, real concern surrounding the pitching staff’s lack of control started to arise, but that concern was put to bed by this weekend’s pitching in the statement series win. In each of the two wins, the starting pitcher pitched at least five innings and only gave up two combined runs. Lunceford’s control was back after he seemed to have lost it last week as he commanded the strike zone very well across his 5 2/3 shutout innings.
The freshmen stepped up in a big way this weekend as well. Dalton Wentz was the best player in the series for either team, homering in all three games while adding five hits and eight RBIs. Luke Costello also had a big series, notching five hits across the three games as the designated hitter. Costello has certainly played well enough in the last week to earn a permanent spot in the lineup going forward.
The Demon Deacons series win in Tallahassee was just what the team needed to get back on track this season. This weekend was a glimpse at what this team can do when firing on all cylinders. If they can keep this level of play up for the rest of the season, a postseason run is very much back in the picture.
Up Next
Wake Forest will host UNCG in the midweek on Tuesday as it looks to avenge its 4-0 loss from earlier this season. Then, the Demon Deacons will travel to Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels, where they’ll look to continue their hot play over the weekend. The series’ first pitch will be at 7 p.m. ET Thursday.
