Stuart Fairchild hit a grand slam and a three-run shot for his first-career multi-homer game as the Deacs swept the season series over the defending national champs.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- No. 20 Wake Forest took advantage of four longballs, beating No. 26 Coastal Carolina, 19-9, to complete the season sweep over the defending national champions at David F. Couch Ballpark on Tuesday night.
Stuart Fairchild recorded his first-career multi-homer game, going 3-for-5 with a grand slam and three-run homer to finish with a career-high seven RBIs.
Six Demon Deacons (24-10) recorded multi-hit games, including Gavin Sheets (4-for-6, HR, two RBIs), Jonathan Pryor (3-for-4, 2B, BB, two RBIs), Bruce Steel (3-for-4, 2B, three RBIs), Jake Mueller (2-for-4, BB, three runs) and Ben Breazeale (2-for-5).
The Chanticleers (20-12-1) jumped out to a 5-0 lead, fueled by a three-run Cory Wood homer, but Wake Forest eventually cut the margin to 6-5 and took the lead for good with a 10-run sixth-inning.
Steel hit a two-run double in the fourth to cut Coastal's lead to 5-2, and after a Chanticleer RBI groundout, Fairchild hit his three-run blast in the fifth to trim the deficit to 6-5.
Coastal Carolina again responded with a run in the sixth to make it 7-5, but the Deacs' offense broke open in the bottom of the inning.
Seven straight Deacons reached base before an out was recorded: Steel singled and stole second, Keegan Maronpot walked, Pryor notched an RBI single, and Mueller tallied a bunt single to set the stage for Fairchild's opposite-field grand slam to give the Deacs a 10-7 lead.
Sheets made it back-to-back when he hit a frozen rope out of the park on a 3-0 pitch, and Breazeale followed with a single.
After a strikeout, six more Deacons reached base consecutively: Logan Harvey walked, Steel hit an RBI single, Maronpot walked, Pryor doubled, Mueller singled and Fairchild was hit by a pitch, before a double play ended the inning against the 15th batter of the inning once the score was 15-7.
Wake Forest plated four more in the eighth, when Sheets singled home Mueller, then Aiello smashed a 422-foot three-run homer to cap off the scoring.
HEARN'S DEBUT
• After missing his true freshman season with a shoulder injury and missing the first two months of 2017 with a wrist injury suffered the day before the season, Bobby Hearn made his collegiate debut and earned the win on Tuesday.
• The lefty struck out three on a hit and a walk in 1.2 innings of relief.
• In addition, Rayne Supple (1.0 inning, two strikeouts) and Shane Kubrak (0.1 innings) had scoreless outings in relief, while Carter Bach allowed one run on one hit in 2.0 frames.
HOMERS GALORE
• Wake Forest ripped four more home runs to bring the season total to 62 this year. In the country, the Deacs trail only Virginia Tech, who also went deep four times tonight to bring their total to 63.
• The Demon Deacons have home runs in six straight games, the second-longest streak of the season. Wake Forest has hit 14 in that span, book-ended by four-homer games tonight and at Miami on April 2.
NORTH > SOUTH
• There were a pair of highly anticipated games pitting North Carolina schools against South Carolina schools, and NC earned double-digit wins in both of them.
• In addition to No. 20 Wake Forest beating No. 26 Coastal Carolina by 10, No. 4 North Carolina took down No. 11 South Carolina by a 20-5 margin in Charlotte.
ON DECK
• Wake Forest hits the road on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. game at Elon. Then, the Deacs return home for a three-game ACC series against Notre Dame from Friday-Sunday.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- No. 20 Wake Forest took advantage of four longballs, beating No. 26 Coastal Carolina, 19-9, to complete the season sweep over the defending national champions at David F. Couch Ballpark on Tuesday night.
Stuart Fairchild recorded his first-career multi-homer game, going 3-for-5 with a grand slam and three-run homer to finish with a career-high seven RBIs.
Six Demon Deacons (24-10) recorded multi-hit games, including Gavin Sheets (4-for-6, HR, two RBIs), Jonathan Pryor (3-for-4, 2B, BB, two RBIs), Bruce Steel (3-for-4, 2B, three RBIs), Jake Mueller (2-for-4, BB, three runs) and Ben Breazeale (2-for-5).
The Chanticleers (20-12-1) jumped out to a 5-0 lead, fueled by a three-run Cory Wood homer, but Wake Forest eventually cut the margin to 6-5 and took the lead for good with a 10-run sixth-inning.
Steel hit a two-run double in the fourth to cut Coastal's lead to 5-2, and after a Chanticleer RBI groundout, Fairchild hit his three-run blast in the fifth to trim the deficit to 6-5.
Coastal Carolina again responded with a run in the sixth to make it 7-5, but the Deacs' offense broke open in the bottom of the inning.
Seven straight Deacons reached base before an out was recorded: Steel singled and stole second, Keegan Maronpot walked, Pryor notched an RBI single, and Mueller tallied a bunt single to set the stage for Fairchild's opposite-field grand slam to give the Deacs a 10-7 lead.
Sheets made it back-to-back when he hit a frozen rope out of the park on a 3-0 pitch, and Breazeale followed with a single.
After a strikeout, six more Deacons reached base consecutively: Logan Harvey walked, Steel hit an RBI single, Maronpot walked, Pryor doubled, Mueller singled and Fairchild was hit by a pitch, before a double play ended the inning against the 15th batter of the inning once the score was 15-7.
Wake Forest plated four more in the eighth, when Sheets singled home Mueller, then Aiello smashed a 422-foot three-run homer to cap off the scoring.
HEARN'S DEBUT
• After missing his true freshman season with a shoulder injury and missing the first two months of 2017 with a wrist injury suffered the day before the season, Bobby Hearn made his collegiate debut and earned the win on Tuesday.
• The lefty struck out three on a hit and a walk in 1.2 innings of relief.
• In addition, Rayne Supple (1.0 inning, two strikeouts) and Shane Kubrak (0.1 innings) had scoreless outings in relief, while Carter Bach allowed one run on one hit in 2.0 frames.
HOMERS GALORE
• Wake Forest ripped four more home runs to bring the season total to 62 this year. In the country, the Deacs trail only Virginia Tech, who also went deep four times tonight to bring their total to 63.
• The Demon Deacons have home runs in six straight games, the second-longest streak of the season. Wake Forest has hit 14 in that span, book-ended by four-homer games tonight and at Miami on April 2.
NORTH > SOUTH
• There were a pair of highly anticipated games pitting North Carolina schools against South Carolina schools, and NC earned double-digit wins in both of them.
• In addition to No. 20 Wake Forest beating No. 26 Coastal Carolina by 10, No. 4 North Carolina took down No. 11 South Carolina by a 20-5 margin in Charlotte.
ON DECK
• Wake Forest hits the road on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. game at Elon. Then, the Deacs return home for a three-game ACC series against Notre Dame from Friday-Sunday.
