Deacs Ace ACC Opening Series
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons have remained perfect since they opened the season with a loss in Puerto Rico. We have seen pitching and slugging excellence, but the season doesn't get "real" until ACC ball begins. The Stanford Cardinal paid a visit to the Couch, and the Deacs stood firm.
Bring Out The Brooms
On Friday, the Demon Deacons played game one against Stanford. It was tied 1–1 early in the ball game, but behind Blake Morningstar's dominance, Wake Forest took control en route to a 7–4 victory.
After their confident series-opener, the Deacs finished out their three-game stint against the Cardinal with a Saturday doubleheader.
Game Two
Like in game one, Stanford drew first blood, taking a 1–0 lead following a homer in the second inning. Chris Levonas was back on the mound following his 14-strike-out gem on Feb. 28, against Loyola Marymount. The right-handed pitcher stood tall for five innings, allowing 3 runs and striking out eight batters. Ultimately, Levonas picked up the win, making him 4–0 on the year.
Going into the bottom of the third, the Cardinal had a 3–1 edge, but the Demon Deacons began to open up the offense in the bottom frame. Following a Jackson Miller triple, Jimmy Keenan singled to right field to score Miller.
In the fourth inning, Luke Costello launched a grand slam that scored Javar Williams, Kade Lewis, and Dalton Wentz. To follow it up, Keenan notched his first hit over the fence, bringing in two runs to make it 9–3. The barrage ended in the fifth, after Matt Conte poked a 2 RBI single to left field.
Conte drove in another run in the seventh, which marked the end of Wake Forest's scoring. Stanford rallied in the eighth and ninth innings, but it wasn't enough; the Demon Deacons took game two 12–9.
Game Three
Oddly enough, the Stanford Cardinal made it three-for-three with starting the game with a home run for the lead; after the first inning, they led the Deacs 1–0. But it was once again short-lived, as Wake Forest put up five runs in the bottom frame of the inning.
Stanford's starting pitcher, Parker Warner, only got through 0.1 innings before his night was over. Wake's Duncan Marsten survived 3.1 innings before allowing a 2-run home run that cut the Deacs' lead to 9–7.
The Cardinal got things within one run in the eighth inning, but Luke Costello jacked his second home run of the night in the bottom of the eighth to help seal the deal. JD Stein also tacked on an RBI single. Costello finished the night 3-of-4 with 5 RBIs and a base on balls.
Wake Forest completed the sweep of the Stanford Cardinal in their ACC-opening series at the Couch after winning the tail-end of their double-header 14–10.
What's Next For Wake Forest Baseball?
On Tuesday, March 10, the Demon Deacons will travel to Conway, South Carolina, for a date with Coastal Carolina. Then it is back to the Couch for a Friday-Saturday-Sunday series against the Florida State Seminoles.
Blake is a Sophomore at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. When not living on campus, he resides in West Virginia, where he was born and raised. He is studying communication and is invested in all things related to sports media. In his Freshman year, he completed an internship with the National Sports Media Association, and also worked as a sports editor at Wake Forest's student-run newspaper, the Old Gold & Black. Currently, Blake does play-by-play broadcasting for Wake Forest Club Ice Hockey and holds a job at Learfield, working as a studio host. In a perfect world, he would spend his free time road tripping and attending concerts all across the United States.
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