Demon Deacons Grab Series Win Amid Long Road Trip
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (23–10, 8–7 ACC) traveled to Pennsylvania for a three-game weekend series against the Pittsburgh Panthers (21–9, 6–6 ACC). Following their series-opening win on Friday, the Deacs put on a slugfest on Saturday to win the series. Despite the commanding control taken over the weekend, the Demon Deacons faced hiccups in their efforts to close out their trip to Pittsburgh.
How it Happened...
Starting pitcher Cameron Bagwell was effective for most of the afternoon on Sunday, despite not factoring into the decision. The sophomore right-hander finished his 6.0-inning start with 11 ground-ball outs, including two double plays. Bagwell held Pittsburgh scoreless through the first 5.0 innings. Ultimately, he allowed just one earned run in the sixth, leaving the Deacs with a 2–1 advantage.
Junior center fielder Javar Williams extended his hit streak to six games with a double in the fourth inning. He eventually came around to score on an RBI groundout by sophomore right fielder Luke Costello, giving the Deacs a 1–0 lead.
Wake Forest extended its advantage to 2–0 in the sixth when junior Kade Lewis ripped a single up the middle, bringing JD Stein home from second. That knock pushed Lewis to 26 RBIs on the season.
Stein got the Demon Deacon lead to 3–1 in the seventh, after adding a two-out RBI single. Stein had a strong close to the road series—he hit .500 (3-for-6) across the final two games with a home run, a double, and four RBIs.
Despite Wake Forest's momentum and lead, the Panthers got the game within one run in the seventh inning. The Deacs faced no outs and the bases loaded, but relievers Rhys Bowie and Marcelo Harsch wiggled out of the jam in a combined effort.
Harsch delivered a scoreless eighth inning, striking out three batters to keep Wake Forest on top heading into the ninth. However, this is where the final strings unraveled. Pittsburgh rallied with a pair of sacrifice flies and walked off Wake Forest 4–3.
What's Next for Wake Forest Baseball?
The Demon Deacons have crested the halfway point on their nine-game road trip. Next up, on April 7, is a neutral-site game in Durham, North Carolina, against Coastal Carolina. The ballgame will be played at the home of the Durham Bulls—the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Then, it is off to Coral Gables, Florida, to take on the Miami Hurricanes (24–8, 6–6 ACC) in a weekend series. On April 14, the Deacs are back in Winston-Salem for a date with the all-too-familiar Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
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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