Deacs return to The Couch beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.- The Deacs continue their six-game homestand with a Big Four ACC series against NC State at David F. Couch Ballpark on April 30- May 2.
The Deacs (14-20, 6-17 ACC) welcome the Wolfpack (20-13, 12-12) after scoring a season-high 17 runs in a back-and-forth contest against Davidson on Tuesday, posting their third-straight non-conference victory. NC State heads to Winston-Salem on a four-game win streak.
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 4 p.m. ET, while the teams will hit the diamond at 1:00 p.m. ET for the series finale on Sunday. Fans can also stream the radio broadcast live through the Wake Forest Athletics app.
Stay tuned to the Demon Deacons social media accounts (@WakeBaseball) for all in-game updates and information.
First-Ever Fight Against Pediatric Cancer Game
After two years of planning, Wake Forest baseball is finally able to put together a “Fight Pediatric Cancer Game” at David F. Couch Ballpark as the team will be wearing special-edition, light yellow jerseys to match the pediatric cancer ribbon to support the cause.
Fans will have the opportunity to bid on the game-worn jerseys through our website until 8 p.m. on the night of the game. The starting bid for each jersey is $100. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to Brenner Children's Hospital.
Bid now!
Other Weekend Promotions
-Friday Night Fireworks
- Free Shirt Saturday- Free script shirts for the first 150 students
- Health Care Heroes Sunday- Join us in recognizing doctors, nurses and athletic trainers who have helped keep our campus and community safe during the pandemic.
Seymour Makes History
Bobby Seymour, the 2019 ACC Player of the Year, became the 28th player in program history to amass 200 career hits in the first game of Wake Forest’s doubleheader with a single in the fourth inning.
With 204 career hits, see where the junior stands with 12 games remaining in the 2021 season:
Wake Forest 200-Hit Club
25. Corey Sullivan, 205 (2000-01)
Evan Ocheltree, 205 (2006-09)
27. Bobby Seymour, 204 (2018-Pres.)
28. Jake Mueller, 203 (2016-19)
Beginning April 11, Seymour has been on a tear in Wake Forest. Dating back to the series finale against Virginia Tech on April 11, Seymour is batting .357 with 15 hits, 23 RBIs, eight home runs, 15 runs scored and three doubles. Currently, the St. Johns, Ind. native is fourth in the ACC in RBIs and home runs.
Lanzilli Cements Himself Among Wake Forest Greats
In Wake Forest’s 12-0 midweek victory against App State, Chris Lanzilli smashed a grand slam to deep left center field, marking his 37th career home run to jump into the top-10 list for home runs in Demon Deacons history.
In Wake Forest’s doubleheader on April 25 at Clemson, the Stoneham, Mass. native took sole possession of 10th place with a home run in each game, upping his career total to 39. Previously, Lanzilli was tied with Will Craig (2014-16), Danny Borrell (1998-00) and Jason Kramer (1992-95) all sit in 10th with 37.
His 39 HRs is currently tied for fifth-most amongst active players in Division I Baseball.
Lanzilli needs one more HR to move into ninth all-time:
All-Time Wake Forest Home Run Leaders
9. Carlos Lopez, 40 (2009-12)
10. Chris Lanzilli , 39 (2018-Pres)
Jamie D’Antonna is the all-time leader in program history with 58 homers.
Friday Night Fire
With 13 games left in the season, Ryan Cusick has already set a new career high with 74 strikeouts in 46.1 innings of action, tossing four double-digit strikeout games this season. Additionally, the right hander is just 28 K’s away from reaching 200 career strikeouts.
This season, the Sudbury, Mass. native has reached double-digit strikeouts in four starts and leads the ACC with an average of 14.37 strikeouts per nine innings. Additionally, he currently has the fourth-lowest ERA in the ACC.
Cusick was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week for the first time of his career after his best performance of the season on Friday, April 16 at Duke. The sophomore struck out 11 batters in seven scoreless innings to help the Deacs take the series opener 11-0.
In his start at Louisville, Cusick fired a 101 mph fastball, which is tied for the fastest in the nation this season.
One of Two
Wake Forest is just one of two teams in the nation with five active players that have tallied at least 100 hits during their collegiate careers:
• Bobby Seymour- 204
• Chris Lanzilli- 179
• Shane Muntz- 130
• Michael Ludowig- 125
• Michael Turconi - 107
Now that Seymour has hit the 200-hit mark, Lanzilli will look to become the 29th player in program history to join the club as the junior is just 21 hits away.
Turconi joined the group on Tuesday against Western Carolina with his second base hit in the second inning.
Instant Impact
Freshman Brock Wilken has smashed 12 home runs, the most by a true freshman in the entire nation.
The Valrico, Fla. native is currently tied for sixth-time for HRs by a freshman and became the second Wake Forest batter since 2009 to reach the double-digit mark in just 25 games, joining Brendan Tinsman (2019) with 10 blasts.
Wilken needs six more home runs in the Deacs’ 12 remaining games to set the freshman record held by Jamie D’Antona in 2001.
All-Time Freshman Home Run Leaders
4. Pat Malloy, 14 (1996)
Kevin Bunn, 14 (1981)
6. Carlos Lopez, 12 (2009)
Brock Wilken, 12 (2021)
Nine of his 12 home runs have come in Wake Forest wins. Additionally, he has posted a pair of two-home run games in a span of four games.
Additionally, he leads true freshman in multiple categories in the conference:
Wilken Stats Breakdown in ACC (True Freshman/Overall):
- Home Runs - 12 (1st/3rd)
- RBIs- 34 (1st/T-6th)
- Slugging %- .624 (1st/6th)
Long Ball Powering Offense
The Deacs have been using the long ball to lead their offensive punch, totaling 55 in 34 games so far in 2021, good for second in the ACC with 1.62 per game.
Of Wake Forest’s 206 runs this season, 104 have come from home runs, good for 50.5 percent of all runs scored.
Here’s how the HRs breakdown:
• 31 runs by 31 solo home runs (Led by Lanzilli with 6)
• 16 runs by 8 two-run home runs (Led by Wilken with 5)
• 21 runs by 7 three-run home runs (Led by Seymour with 3)
• 36 runs by 9 grand slams (Led by Wilken with 3)
The Deacs have hit six home runs in two games this season, with the first coming against App State on March 30, the most since 2017. The second came in their latest game against Davidson on April 27.
Six HR Games:
• April 27, 2021- Turconi (2), Wilken, Seymour (2), Costello
• March 30, 2021- Wilken (2), Muntz, Ludowig, Cecere, Costello
• Feb. 24, 2017- Rios, Pryor, Fairchild, Sheets (3)
Additionally, in those same games, the Deacs hit back to back to back HRs:
• Wilken, Michael Ludowig and Shane Muntz- App State (first time since March 26, 1991 against Division II C.W. Post)
• Turconi, Wilken, Seymour- Davidson
Brock Wilken is currently in third for most HRs in the conference, while Bobby Seymour sits in fourth.
Last Time Out
The Deacs prevailed in a slugfest, earning a 17-12 victory, their third-straight non-conference victory, over Davidson on April 27.
The Demon Deacons hit six home runs for the second time this season, earning big flies off the bats of Lucas Costello, Michael Turconi, Brock Wilken and Bobby Seymour. The Turconi-Wilken-Seymour trio hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the first inning, the second time this season Wake Forest has hit three consecutive home runs in a game. Reed Mascolo set a career high in strikeouts in his sixth start of the season, fanning seven Wildcats over 4.2 innings. Camden Minacci earned his first career win in relief for Wake Forest.
On Deck
The Demon Deacons welcome a pair of non-conference opponents to The Couch, starting on Tuesday, May 4 against Liberty. Elon will make the trip to Winston-Salem on May 9 for the second meeting of a home-and-home series.
