The No. 12-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-3) split each of the two meetings with Princeton and Maryland, finishing a disappointing weekend that saw their streak of 65 straight non-conference home wins snapped by Maryland on Saturday.
The Deacons welcomed Princeton (1-7) and Maryland (6-5) to David F. Couch Ballpark for a round-robin style weekend in which each team matched up twice.
The Deacons started off with a 3-1 victory over Princeton Friday night that included another strong outing from Logan Lunceford, giving up only three hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings. Jimmy Keenan’s single in the seventh inning sent Dalton Wentz home in what ended up being the game-winning run. Josh Gunther pitched the final frame for the Deacons and struck out all three batters, picking up the save.
Friday’s win came at a cost, as Demon Deacons’ bullpen workhorse Will Ray left the mound after appearing to injure his throwing arm despite throwing only 16 pitches. Head coach Tom Walter has confirmed that Ray has torn a ligament in his throwing arm and will be out for the rest of the season.
Ray’s injury comes as a big loss for the Deacons’ bullpen and the team as a whole. Many of Ray’s teammates have emphasized how important Ray is to the team as a leader on the field and in the dugout.
“He’s a great leader. He’s an incredible teammate,” said sophomore pitcher Blake Morningstar. “He’s someone that I know I can go to. He’s just one of those guys, and seeing him go down, it hurts bad. But it’s our job to step up.”
Saturday’s game against Maryland featured the offense missing in the first game as the Terrapins beat the Deacons 9-8, with the two teams combining for 33 hits. After giving up four runs in the opening inning, the Deacons stormed back to take the lead, scoring six in the third to make the score 6-5. It was Maryland who got the last laugh though, scoring three runs in the ninth to take the lead and eventually win the game.
Sunday’s doubleheader started with a 7-6 loss to Princeton, the Tigers’ first win of the season. Princeton picked up the win behind a seven-run fourth inning. The Deacons clawed back, scoring two in the ninth, but eventually fell short, as the Deacons left the tying run on third.
A couple of hours later, the Deacons responded with a 9-1 win over Maryland to cap off the weekend. Starting pitcher Blake Morningstar held the high-powered Terrapin offense scoreless in six innings. Jack Winnay hit a pair of home runs late in the game, lifting the Deacons to victory in impressive fashion.
The game was deadlocked at one run apiece and had the makings of a classic pitchers’ duel until the Demon Deacons broke the game open with five runs in the seventh. Ethan Conrad’s three-run home run gave the Deacons the 4-1 lead, and the next pitch saw the first of Winnay’s two home runs of the day. Today was the fifth multi-home run game of Winnay’s career.
“We’ve just had too many games where we have outs in our lineup,” said Walter. “We need to do a better job grinding at-bats. So, disappointing weekend all in all, but really happy with the bounce-back win in Game 2.”
What’s Next
The Demon Deacons head to Boone, North Carolina, to take on the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a midweek game, with the first pitch slated for 5 p.m. ET Tuesday.
With the loss of Ray, Walter expects his freshman pitchers Nate Whysong and Chris Levonas to make their debut on Tuesday. Whysong and Levonas, who have both been working their way back from injuries, boast velocity in the mid to high 90s and their addition to the bullpen has been highly anticipated since the season started.
