The Deacs travel to Tallahassee for their second road series of their conference slate.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.. - Wake Forest heads back on the road for their second road Atlantic Coast Conference series of the 2021 campaign, traveling to Tallahassee for a trio of games against No. 17 Florida State at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium on March 26-28.
The Deacs (6-8, 2-6 ACC) take on the Seminoles (11-6, 7-5 ACC) after picking up their fourth non-conference victory on Tuesday evening, earning a 4-2 victory against in-state foe Elon behind a three home runs and six arms who blanked the Phoenix for eight innings.
The trio of games will be shown entirely on ACC Network Extra, with Friday's first pitch slated for 6:00 p.m. ET. Saturday's game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the teams will hit the diamond at 1:00 p.m. ET for the series finale on Sunday.
Stay tuned to the Demon Deacons social media accounts (@WakeBaseball) for all in-game updates and information.
100-Hit Club
Wake Forest is just one of two teams in the nation with four active players that have tallied at least 100 hits during their collegiate careers:
- Bobby Seymour- 181
- Chris Lanzilli- 140
- Shane Muntz- 114
- Michael Ludowig- 113
Jake Mueller (2016-19) was the last Deac to reach the mark with 203 base hits.
Michael Turconi is currently 14 hits from joining the 100-hit crew, as the sophomore has recorded 86 hits through 74 career games.
Bobby On-Base
Bobby Seymour reached safely for the 19th-straight game on Tuesday thanks to a first inning single against Elon. The last contest the St. John, Ind. native failed to reach base was on March 1, 2020 versus Sacred Heart.
This season, Seymour posted a five-game hit streak that lasted from March 12-20. The four-year first baseman has been walked a team-high 12 times, achieving at least one walk in 10 out of 13 games.
Currently, Seymour has started 127-consecutive games for the Deacs.
Back Like He Never Left
Wake Forest baseball dominated on the mound on March 19, riding a strong start from Ryan Cusick to a 6-2 win over No. 11 Georgia Tech.
In his first action since Feb. 27, the Sudbury, Mass. native was electric, striking out 10 batters in six frames, his fifth time in seven starts striking out at least 10 batters. The sophomore only gave up three hits and two walks across his entire start to help Wake Forest post their first win against a ranked opponent since the Deacs defeated No. 12 Louisville 3-2 on March 7, 2020.
Cusick heads into this week with the second-most strikeouts per nine innings in the ACC with an average of 16.10.
K's All-Around
Led by Rhett Lowder's career-high 10 Ks, Wake Forest fanned a record-setting number of batters in their game versus Coastal Carolina on Feb. 23. Overall, the Deacs struck out 20 batters in 12 innings, the most by a Wake Forest pitching staff since at least 1999. Currently, the 20 strikeouts sit as the third-highest total in a game this season.
The bullpen continued Lowder's momentum into the latter innings:
• 3- Brennen Oxford and Reed Mascolo
• 2- Camden Minacci
• 1- Eric Adler and Cole McNamee
Wilken Off to Historic Pace
Through his first 10 career games, freshman Brock Wilken hit four home runs to lead the Wake Forest bats. His four homers are the most through a Demon Deacons' first 10 games since 2009 when Carlos Lopez hit six homers in his first 10 contests for Wake Forest.
Wilken is on pace to finish the 2021 season with 20 home runs. The record for most home runs in a season by a freshman is 17, held by Jamie D'Antona (2001).
Additionally, current Deacs Brendan Tinsman (10) and Chris Lanzilli (9) sit in the top 10 after their freshman season in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Last Time Out
The Deacs earned their sixth win of the season on Tuesday in a non-conference battle against Elon by a score of 4-2. A trio of home runs from Lucas Costello, Adam Cecere, and Pierce Bennett led Wake Forest's bats in the victory. The homers marked the first of the season for the trio, and the first of Costello and Bennett's careers.
The Deacs relied on the arms of six pitchers on Tuesday evening- Reed Mascolo, Brennen Oxford, Cole McNamee, Crawford Wade, Hunter Furtado, and Eric Adler- taking the mound and blanking the Phoenix for eight innings. Wake Forest held Elon to just five hits and two runs, both of which came in the seventh inning.
Opponent & Series History
Wake Forest trails the all-time series against the Seminoles by a tally of 31-91, but has won the previous two games including in the first round of the 2019 ACC Baseball Championship by a final score of 7-4. Prior to the ACC championship, Wake Forest outlasted Florida State at Tallahassee in a slugfest, 16-12. Bobby Seymour and Shane Muntz combined for 11 RBIs, highlighted by Muntz's grand slam in the third inning. Additionally, Chris Lanzilli reached base five times in the win. The two teams first met in 1962 in the NCAA championship where the Seminoles won 3-2.
Seminoles Preview
The No. 17 Seminoles come into the weekend on a six-game winning streak, highlighted by a home victory against Florida and a sweep of No. 6 Miami in Coral Gables.
In three games versus the Hurricanes, Florida State outscored the nationally-ranked Canes by a tally of 34-2, including a 12-0 victory in the series finale on Sunday, March 21.
The team most recently defeated UCF on a walk-off walk in the bottom of the 10th inning on Wednesday night. After the Golden Knights picked up a run in the top half of the inning, Florida State was hit by two pitches and drew three walks to plate the winning run.
On Deck
The Deacs return home for a non-conference matchup against Appalachian State on March 30th at David F. Couch Ballpark before traveling to face No.7 Louisville on April 2-4.
Wake Forest plays seven of eight games away from home before returning to The Couch for a series against Virginia Tech on April 9-11.
