Wake Forest Starting Pitcher and Lineup for Regional Game Against Kentucky
The waiting is over. Postseason baseball starts today. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (38-19, 16-14 ACC) are the No. 2 seed in the Morgantown Regional and will face the Kentucky Wildcats (31-21, 13-17 SEC) on Friday afternoon.
This will be the 5th time the Diamond Deacs have played Kentucky, but the two teams haven't met in 76 years, when Wake won 9-2 on June 10, 1950. The Deacs hold a 4-0 all-time series lead over Kentucky.
Wake Forest is just one of five teams s to make the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons. The Deacs have a 55-37 overall record in the NCAA Tournament and are 23-17 in Regional games since 1999.
Levonas Gets the Start
Wake Forest RHP Chris Levonas will start today. He has been the Deacs' Friday night starter for most of the season and is taking the bump to hopefully get the Deacs into tomorrow's winners' bracket game.
Levonas has a 10-3 record on the season. In 68.1 innings pitched, he has allowed 42 hits, 24 runs (22 of those earned), and 32 walks, while throwing 110 strikeouts. His ERA is 2.90. He leads the team in wins (10), innings pitched (68.1), and strikeouts (110).
Wake Forest will need Levonas to play deep into the game. He has worked 5.0 or more innings in nine of his 14 starts. He has allowed three runs or fewer in 12 of his 14 starts so far this year, including eight starts allowing one run or less.
One stat to keep an eye on - Levonas is holding right-handed batters to just 22-for-162 (.136) at the plate so far this season.
A good game from Levonas, plus hot bats from the offense, should lead to a game tomorrow evening in the winners' bracket of the Regional, likely against host and No. 16 national seed West Virginia.
Lineup for Friday's Game Against Kentucky
The lineup for today's game does not look much different than what we've seen most of the season:
- Javar Williams - CF (.338)
- Luke Costello - RF (.320)
- Kade Lewis - 1B (.362)
- Dalton Wentz - 3B (.295)
- Matt Conte - C (.272)
- Boston Torres - LF (.328)
- Andrew Costello - DH (.243)
- Blake Schaaf - 2B (.315)
- JD Stein - SS (.273)
Time to dance 🕺
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 29, 2026
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How to Watch the Wake Forest vs. Kentucky Game
The Morgantown Regional will be played at the Kendrick Family Ballpark in Morgantown, West Virginia. First pitch for the game is at 12 pm ET on Friday, May 29. You can watch the game on ESPN2
Live score updates will be added to our Morgantown Regional Tracker
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Barry is the managing editor/publisher of Wake Forest Demon Deacons On SI sites. He oversees a team of 12+ writers and photographers covering all sports at Wake Forest. He writes on football, basketball (men’s and women’s), baseball, men’s tennis, and other sports as needed. His weekly articles include ACC Power Rankings and Poll Watching during the football, basketball, and baseball seasons. Barry is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). He has covered the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, the 2023 College Football National Championship, the 2023 College World Series, the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tennis National Championship, ACC Kickoff, and ACC Tipoff. He is an avid sports fan and traveler, and he loves any opportunity to see a sporting event in person. He has been to 18 of the 30 MLB ballparks, experienced game day at 25 college football stadiums, seen 21 NFL stadiums, and been to 16 bowl games.