No. 24 Wake Forest Rebounds From Tough Weekend With Midweek Run-Rule of Liberty
After an extremely disappointing weekend series that saw No. 24 Wake Forest get swept by No. 11 Florida State, the Demon Deacons looked to get back on track in a midweek game against the Liberty Flames.
After scoring just six total runs against the Seminoles, the weekend slump seemed to have carried over into the midweek against Liberty. While Cameron Bagwell dominated on the mound for Wake Forest, throwing 7.0 shutout innings and recording nine punchouts, the lineup took some time to wake up.
The Demon Deacons scored just two runs through their first six innings, but exploded for a 9-run seventh inning to complete the run-rule. Kade Lewis and Dalton Wentz shined with multi-hit games, while Luke Costello delivered the killing blow to the Flames with a 3-run home run in the final frame.
For Wake Forest, the run-rule over Liberty was a much-needed refresher after a brutal weekend at home. It's no secret that the Demon Deacons are one of the most talented teams in the country, but seeing that actually translate to the field mattered.
Breaking Down the Run-Rule Win
After a solid start against Coastal Carolina last week, Bagwell once again impressed on the mound. Not only did he keep the Deacons' bullpen out of the game, but he allowed just two baserunners the entire game. The sophomore's nine strikeouts were also a career-high.
The hitting side of things was a little different for Wake Forest. The Deacons didn't exactly jump out to a massive lead, and instead had to chip away at a weak Liberty pitching staff.
Center fielder Javar Williams gave Wake Forest an early 1-0 lead in the second inning with an RBI single, followed Dalton Wentz solo-home run in the third inning. For the next three innings, errors on the basepaths and some untimely strikeouts resulted in a close game going into the seventh inning.
After another 1-2-3 inning from Bagwell, the Wake Forest offense finally took advantage of having runners on base. After loading the bases, the Demon Deacons extended their lead to 3-0 with a Jimmy Keenan fielder's choice.
Blake Schaaf followed it with Keenan's fielder's choice with a 2-RBI double, which was immediately followed by a wild pitch that scored Keenan. A hit-by-pitch and a pair of RBI-singles allowed Wake Forest to take an 8-0 lead.
It was Luke Costello who put an exclamation point on the inning with a walk-off 3-run home run for the 11-0 run-rule. It's the eighth time the sophomore right fielder has gone yard this season.
Why This Coming Weekend Matters
As discussed last week, the Demon Deacons didn't get any favoritism when it came to their early-season schedule. While sweeping teams like Siena and Stanford were certainly positives in the grand scheme of things, Wake Forest wasn't necessarily battle-tested heading into conference play.
I firmly believe that's why Florida State — the No. 11-ranked team in the country — was able to sweep the Deacons this past weekend. I'm not necessarily attempting to discredit the Seminoles, but seeing elite pitching all of a sudden can definitely take some adjustments at the plate.
That being said, Wake Forest won't be getting any breaks. The Virginia Cavaliers, the Deacons' next opponent, have arguably looked just as good as Florida State to start the season, meaning that Wake Forest will need to be at their best with it being a road series.
Carson, a 2025 TCU graduate, is a sports journalist who covers college athletics for several On SI sites. While most of his experience is with TCU On SI, he also writes with Wake Forest On SI and Houston On SI. He also has a passion for the college baseball scene, most notably being a fan of TCU Baseball. In 2023, Carson was in Omaha and reported on the Men’s College World Series, where TCU finished 4th in the nation. His past work not only consists of major sports like football, basketball, and baseball, but with others like track and field and cross country as well.