Wake Forest Wins in Walk-Off Fashion in Game One Against Louisville
It was certainly not easy, but Wake Forest overcame a Louisville charge to take game one of the weekend series by a score of 9-8 in 10 innings. The game took four hours and 29 minutes, ending at 11:30 on Thursday night. After some heartbreaking losses last weekend to a very good Georgia Tech team, it's always good to get back in the win column. Let's go through the highlights.
Fast Start
Early on, the Deacs looked like they might have had this one in runaway fashion. Freshman Evan Jones got the starting nod, and he came out solid, not giving up any runs in the first two innings.
Offensively, after being down two outs in the first, Luke Costello doubled, a pitch hit Kade Lewis, and Matt Conte, along with Boston Torres, both hit RBI singles. This allowed the Deacs to go up two runs after an inning complete.
Things stayed hot in the second. Blake Schaaf got things started with a single, and a Javar Williams bunt advanced him and JD Stein into scoring position. A Dalton Wentz sacrifice fly with one out brought in Schaaf, and then a Luke Costello single brought in JD Stein. In the third inning, the Deacs added one more with a Blake Schaaf single that brought in Matt Conte. Schaaf, Conte, Costello, and Torres all had great nights.
Runs on the board in all three so far 👌 pic.twitter.com/ue65UhFZsN
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 1, 2026
Fourth Inning Struggle
The Deacs were riding momentum in the fourth inning, up 5-1 and looking to keep their foot on the gas. However, the Cardinals had different plans. After a couple of walks and a single, Louisville had bases loaded, but the Deacs only needed one more out. This is where Evan Jones' night ended in favor of the usual Saturday starter, Troy Dressler.
Dressler's first pitch was a ball, then the Cardinal batter, Zion Rose, got a hold of the second pitch and singled to right field, scoring two runs. On the very next pitch, Tague Davis homered to deep right field to give the Cardinals five runs in just three pitches. This gave Louisville its first lead of the game, 6-5.
Battle Back
In the bottom of the fourth inning, despite just having the lead taken from their grasp, the Deacs loaded the bases right away with no outs. Matt Conte, Boston Torres, and Blake Schaaf all batted runs in to put Wake back in front. They scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take an 8-6 lead.
The Cardinals did not quit, and the Deacs' offense went cold for several consecutive innings to keep Louisville alive. In the top of the ninth, with Louisville down just a run, a fielding error allowed a runner to score from third base to tie up the game at 8-8. Will Ray did well to close out the inning and steady the ship. The Deacs could not win it in the bottom of the ninth, and we went to extras.
In the top of the tenth, Will Ray pitched rock-solid to keep the Louisville offense in check. Then, the Deacs got Kade Lewis on base due to a walk, and a Matt Conte single advanced him to third base. With just one out, the Deacs had runners on the corners, and the winning run was at third. Jackson Miller came in to pinch hit and delivered. His bouncing ground ball got past the glove of the Cardinals' infielder, and Kade Lewis scored from third base, sending the Deacs over the top in game one.
Milly had the magic 🪄 pic.twitter.com/ttZ3jr8Cuq
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 1, 2026
What's Next?
After a late night, the Deacs will now have to reload with a chance to win the series Friday night. The game starts at 6 pm at the Couch vs the Cardinals.
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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.