Deacons Daily

Wake Forest Goes 2-0 in Doubleheader Action to Start the Weekend

The Deacs took the field twice and claimed two victories on a productive Friday
Justin Kontul|
Wake Forest baseball team celebrates during Friday doubleheader action against LMU
Wake Forest baseball team celebrates during Friday doubleheader action against LMU | Wake Forest Athletics

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons aced a double-header challenge Friday night. The afternoon started with a matchup against the LMU Lions and concluded against the Davidson Wildcats. These games saw a combination of solid offense from the Deacs and elite pitching on the mound. Let's go through some highlights.

Much Improved Morningstar

It is no secret that Blake Morningstar has struggled through the first part of the season. In his first two outings, against Houston and Sienna, he had multiple innings giving up more than four runs. On Friday, Morningstar was rock solid. He gave up no runs in seven innings pitched.

He only gave up four hits to the Lions, along with an impressive nine strikeouts. Furthermore, after a couple of shaky starts, the most impressive statistic was that Morningstar allowed only two walks. Limiting the unforced errors is certainly a key to success.

In the third inning against LMU, Morningstar did face some adversity as the Lions loaded the bases with only one out. This is when Morningstar tightened up. He was able to force a pop-out and then struck out the preceding batter for strike three. Morningstar is now 1-1 in the season after the victory.

Heating Up

After easily getting past LMU in game one, 12-2 in just eight innings, the Deacs were in a low-scoring battle against Davidson. The first five innings saw no runs scored, and Davidson struck first, scoring one run in the top of the sixth.

The bottom of the sixth saw a strong offensive response, though. The Deacs were able to score six runs to pull in front 6-1 after six complete innings. Dalton Wentz had three hits and two RBIs in the game to help propel the offense. Jimmy Keenan got the inning started right, finishing with two hits and two RBIs. Javar Williams continued on his strong play, totaling two hits and two RBIs as well.

In the first game, outfielder Jackson Miller got the scoring started with a grand slam, which was his first home run of the season. He had a total of five RBIs in the game. Javar Williams, Dalton Wentz, and JD Stein all scored two runs in the first outing of the day to contribute to the offensive explosion.

I cannot end the article without emphasizing how good the pitching was for the Deacs in game two against Davidson. Duncan Marsten made his first start of the season and certainly did not disappoint. He pitched five innings, gave up no runs along with just one hit, and had a sensational ten strikeouts.

Troy Dressler and Nate Whysong finished the job with a combined four innings and eight strikeouts. This means the Deacs had 18 combined strikeouts against the Wildcats. So far this season, the pitching staff looks to be a force to be reckoned with.

What's Next?

The Deacs will be back in action at the Couch Saturday afternoon, with first pitch at 3:30. They will be taking on the LMU Lions for round two.

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Justin Kontul
JUSTIN KONTUL

Justin is a student at Wake Forest University. He is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and aspiring finance major interested everything sports. In his freshman year, Justin completed an internship with the Wake Forest Ticketing Department where he gained some valuable insight into the sales and operations aspects of collegiate athletics. Before working with Wake Forest On SI, Justin was a contributing writer for Wake Forest’s student publication The Old Gold and Black. Currently, Justin serves as a student manager on the Wake Forest Men’s Tennis team. In his free time Justin enjoys spending time with his family and friends on the golf course and traveling.

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