Tag: Wake Forest baseball

Four first-inning home runs lead UNC in ACC Baseball Championship rout of Pitt

Can the North Carolina Tar Heels ride their power hitting to a second ACC Baseball Championship title in three seasons?

All season long, the North Carolina Tar Heels’ baseball team has been defined by its strong hitting ability.

UNC entered its first ACC Baseball Championship clash – Thursday afternoon against Pitt – with a .310 team batting average that ranks 24th in Division I. Seven Diamond Heels are mashing .300, with Georgia transfer Parks Harber owning a team-best .358.

North Carolina also hits for power, as star center fielder Vance Honeycutt is one of five players with double-digit home runs (team-high 22), while five hitters have a minimum 50 RBIs.

That power was on display in full force during Thursday’s ACC Championship opener against Pitt, as Harber, Anthony Donofrio, Casey Cook and Alberto Osuna all mashed first-inning home runs en route to a 12-2 victory.

After blowing the game open early, UNC added a fifth run on Donofrio’s fourth-inning single. The Panthers closed their deficit to 5-2 in the bottom of the fourth, only for Cook to mash a 2-run homer in the sixth.

The Diamond Heels then added on to their lead with an Osuna groundout (sixth) and a Jackson Van De Brake single (ninth inning), capping their scoring later in the ninth on Cook’s 3-run bomb.

North Carolina also got a rockstar outing from freshman ace Jason DeCaro on the mound, as he pitched seven innings of 2-run, 5-hit baseball with six strikeouts. Connor Bovair and Kyle Percival finished the game and allowed just two hits.

UNC next lines up with Wake Forest on Friday, May 24 at 7 p.m. ET for a trip to the ACC Semifinals. The Demon Deacons, whom the Diamond Heels swept in Winston-Salem late March, dominated Pitt 8-1 on Wednesday.

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Weekend sweep vaults Diamond Heels into Top 10

Not only did the UNC baseball team sweep Preseason Number One Wake Forest over the weekend, but it scored 30 runs in doing so.

A majority of Tar Heel Nation’s attention was on the Sweet 16 over Easter Weekend, which didn’t end the way we all wanted it to, but the UNC baseball gave fans something to cheer about.

North Carolina faced arguably its toughest series of the season, heading out to Winston-Salem, NC for a 3-game series with the Preseason Number One Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Wake Forest is clearly not the same team that made a deep College World Series run last year, but still a talented one nonetheless.

Diamond Heels fans were hoping for their boys to win the series, but UNC did more than that.

North Carolina swept Wake Forest in three games – 6-5, 10-6 and 14-10 – hanging a whopping 30 runs on the defending, ACC Regular Season Champions.

As a result, UNC shot up to the Top 10 in the latest D1 Baseball Rankings.

The Diamond Heels (25-4, 10-2), who are tied atop the ACC Coastal Division with Virginia Tech, were fueled by 14 home runs in the Wake Forest Series. Georgia transfer Parks Harber showcased why he’s such a crucial part of the batting order, mashing four of those home runs, while Casey Cook and Luke Stevenson each belted three.

UNC will not playing any mid-week games this week, but then heads up to Charlottesville for another ranked ACC matchup with 15th-ranked UVA (22-6, 7-5).

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Diamond Heels sweep Preseason No. 1 Wake Forest on road

Scoring 30 runs in three games is impressive. But to do it against the Preseason Number One ranked team? The UNC baseball team did.

There are few teams hotter in college baseball than UNC right now.

The Diamond Heels are atop the ACC Coastal Division. Their pitching staff has made massive strides from last year, but it’s the lights-out offense capturing fans’ attention.

Not only has UNC been winning games, but they’ve been doing it against strong competition, too.

North Carolina added onto its historic start to the season, as it swept preseason Number One Wake Forest over Easter weekend, extending its win streak to nine games.

The Tar Heels (25-4, 10-2) scored 30 runs in a series for the first time since early March, when they dropped 36 against Princeton. The Demon Deacons (17-10, 4-8), who are normally known for their pitching, couldn’t slow down the red-hot UNC bats.

Game 1: UNC 6, Wake Forest 5

This isn’t a low-scoring game by any means, but for this series, it certainly was.

It was Casey Cook’s turn to lead the North Carolina offense, driving in four runs on just two hits. Colby Wilkerson had a team-high three hits, while he and Cook both scored two runs.

UNC dealt Wake Forest ace Chase Burns his first loss of the year, as Burns was 5-0 comin into the game.

The Diamond Heels worked around a bases-loaded jam to win game one, with Dalton Pence notching his first save.

Game 2: UNC 10, Wake Forest 6

Unlike Game One, North Carolina actually came back from a small deficit on Saturday.

UNC jumped out to a 2-0 lead after four innings, thanks to two Parks Harber home runs, then fell behind in the fifth. After Roberto Osuna tied things up in the sixth on a fielder’s choice, Harber mashed his third home run and gave the Tar Heels a lead they’d never give back up.

Harber drove in four runs to lead North Carolina, while catcher Luke Stevenson added three. Cook registered a 3-hit game, while six different Tar Heels scored.

Kyle Percival improved upon his perfect record for UNC out of the bullpen, winning his fourth game by pitching two-thirds of an inning in relief of Jason DeCaro.

Game 3: UNC 14, Wake Forest 10

Just like Saturday, North Carolina came back from an early deficit to win on Easter and sweep the series.

This game wasn’t decided until the ninth inning, when Stevenson essentially ended things with a 3-run bomb. This was part of a career-high, 6-RBI day for the freshman.

The Demon Deacons blasted a 2-run, third-inning home run to start the scoring, but UNC tied things up the next inning on a double-steal. The Diamond Heels took their first of three leads in the fifth, when Osuna blasted a three-run jack of his own.

Gallagher, who mashed two hits in this one, raised his team-best batting average to an even .400. Despite giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits, Matthew Matthijs notched his 11th win to extend his NCAA-best win total.

North Carolina is off until Thursday, when it heads to No. 9 UVA for a 3-game series.

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Casey Cook’s monster season continues in UNC’s Friday upset of Wake Forest

Casey Cook is one of the hottest names in college baseball right now.

If you don’t know the name Casey Cook in the college baseball world, you definitely will by season’s end.

Cook, the UNC baseball team’s starting left fielder, is an RBI machine with an insane batting average. He’s tied for the NCAA lead with 42 RBIs, plus he’s second on the Diamond Heels to Roberto Osuna with a .364 batting average.

Oh – and if you’ve been reading our baseball stories, Cook is one of nine regular position players in the starting lineup hitting a minimum .300.

Cook just added on to his breakout campaign on Friday, March 29, mashing two home runs and driving four runs, to lead 14th-ranked North Carolina in a 6-5 upset of 12th-ranked Wake Forest.

This wasn’t the first time Cook homered twice in a game, as he also did on Saturday, March 17 against Miami.

Cook’s first Friday night home run came on a first-inning, bases-loaded pitch against Wake Forest ace Chase Burns, who UNC tagged for his first loss. Cook’s second round-tripper came in the second inning, scoring Colby Wilkerson and Alex Madera on the first pitch of his at-bat.

Players can only get better as the season goes on. If Cook keeps up his early-season tear, the Diamond Heels will be in good shape come ACC and NCAA Tournament play.

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Only one person picked Diamond Heels to beat Wake Forest

UNC is only being picked by one person to beat Wake Forest in a highly-anticipated, Easter weekend ACC baseball series.

Two of the ACC’s premier baseball programs will face off this weekend in Winston-Salem, NC.

The 14th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (22-4, 7-2 ACC), winners of their past six games, will play the Preseason Number One Wake Forest Demon Deacons (17-7, 4-5).

12th-ranked Wake Forest has not lived up to its preseason hype, just fourth in the Atlantic Division and already five losses away from equaling its 2023 loss total. UNC is second in the Coastal Division, largely due to nine of its regular hitters mashing over .300.

Despite both teams’ trajectory already this year, the Demon Deacons are projected by all D1Baseball staff writers – but Pat James – to win the weekend series between the two, in-state rivals which kicks off Friday, March 29 at 6 p.m.

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If you recognize James’ name, he used to be a writer for The Daily Tar Heel and GoHeels.

North Carolina’s most recent game – Tuesday against North Carolina A&T – was interrupted by a rain delay. That break in play appeared to be what UNC needed, as it pulled away for a 10-5 victory behind Parks Harber’s 4-RBI night.

The Demon Deacons were playing good baseball throughout February, but something switched when the calendar turned to March. Wake Forest has lost two of its first three ACC series, but rebounded to take two of three from Louisville last weekend.

A sweep is ideal, but if UNC can take two out of three, that’s a major win early on in conference play.

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Baseball fans were in awe of LSU’s phenomenal walk-off homer to advance to College World Series final

LSU is going to the College World Series finals thanks to a walk-off homer in the 11th inning.

In a scoreless College World Series semifinal game that had stretched out into the 11th inning, LSU sophomore third baseman Tommy White decided he was ready to end things.

In the bottom of that 11th inning, White took Wake Forest to the yard by blasting the ball into the stands and sending the Tigers into the CWS finals to take on Florida for the championship.

It was as dramatic a walk-off homer as you could imagine, as LSU celebrate White’s heroic hit that will give the team a chance to win it all.

Although, it was a crushing defeat for Wake Forest, a team that came a home run away from making it to the finals itself.

It should be a fascinating finals between Florida and LSU, two teams that know each other quite well after playing in the same conference.

While some wondered if the CWS title would go to another conference, it looks like it’ll stay in the SEC this summer.

Alabama Baseball season ends in disheartening fashion, 22-5 loss to Wake Forest

Alabama Baseball looked to bounce back in Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regionals against Wake Forest, but fell flat.

Alabama baseball’s 2023 season has come to an end in the NCAA Super Regionals against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. The Crimson Tide looked to bounce back after a close loss in Game 1, but couldn’t keep it close in Game 2, losing 22-5.

Home runs were the story of this game, and while Alabama managed to rake a few, Wake Forest was couldn’t stop putting barrels on the ball and taking them deep.

Jacob McNairy started on the mound for the Crimson Tide, but only managed to last 2.1 innings in the game. Getting those seven outs proved to be a struggle for McNairy, as he gave up six hits, four home runs, seven earned runs and only struck out three. The Demon Deacons hit nine total home runs en route to a 22-run performance.

Alabama finishes the season with 43 wins, but fell two wins short of reaching Omaha to participate in the College World Series.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama Baseball as the offseason gets underway and the program begins its search for a new manager.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM. 

How to watch Alabama baseball vs. Wake Forest in NCAA Super Regional on Sunday

How to watch game two of Alabama baseball vs. Wake Forest in the 2023 NCAA Super Regional from Winston Salem, North Carolina on Saturday.

The Alabama baseball team is now in a win-or-go-home state following Saturday’s heartbreaking loss to Wake Forest 5-4.

The Crimson Tide went toe-to-toe with the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament but eventually fell short in its effort to upset the Demon Deacons.

Game two is set for Sunday, and the Crimson Tide will need to win in order to force a decisive game three in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

With the first pitch coming up in a few hours, here is everything you need to know to catch all of the action between No. 16 Alabama and No. 1 Wake Forest in the NCAA Super Regionals.

Alabama-Wake Forest NCAA super regional game delayed for medical event

An undisclosed “medical event” is taking place inside the stadium, which will delay the start time of the contest. More updates will be provided.

Update: As of 11:08 a.m. CST, fans are being allowed into the stadium, per a tweet from Wake Forest baseball.

Update: As of 11:11 p.m. CST, the game is scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. CST, per a tweet from Alabama baseball.

Alabama and Wake Forest are set to begin their best-of-three super regional in Winston Salem, North Carolina. However, the start time will be delayed as there was an unspecified non-game-related medical event in the stadium.

Fans are being told to wait outside the stadium and the time of first pitch has been pushed back.

The official Alabama baseball Twitter account shared the news just before 10 a.m. CST.

“Due to a non-game-related medical event, gates will not be open at this time,” the tweet stated. “The start of the game will be delayed as well. More info will be provided as it becomes available. Fans are welcome to await gate entry inside the DEACTOWN Fan Zone inside Gate 5 at Truist Field.”

The game was originally scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CST.

No word has been given as to what is taking place inside the stadium. Neither has the severity of the medical event been disclosed.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to share updates as more become available regarding this matter.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM. 

How to watch Alabama baseball vs. Wake Forest in NCAA Super Regional on Saturday

How to watch Alabama baseball vs. Wake Forest in NCAA Super Regional on Saturday!

For the first time since 2010, the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team is competing in the super regionals of the NCAA Tournament.

On Saturday, Alabama begins its best-of-three series against No. 1 overall seed Wake Forest in Winston Salem, North Carolina. With two more wins, the Crimson Tide will advance to the World Series for the first time since 1999.

The Demon Deacons will not be easy to put away. They are deadly on the mound and at the plate. Alabama will need to be at its best to pull off the upset.

Game 1 is scheduled to get underway shortly from David F. Couch Ballpark. Here is how you can catch all of the action!