Tag: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Santucci sizzles with 11 K’s as No. 6 Duke downs No. 10 Clemson in ACC home opener

No. 6 Duke uses home runs and excellent pitching from Jonathan Santucci to down No. 10 Clemson.

For the second Friday in a row, Duke’s baseball team handed a loss to a top-10 team.

This time, it took place in Durham as Duke opened up its ACC home slate with a decisive 5-2 win over the 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers.

Duke ace Jonathan Santucci was razor-sharp as he bounced back from a short-lived showing against Wake Forest last Friday evening. He didn’t make it through three innings in his previous start, but he tossed five innings of two-run ball against Clemson.

The game started rocky after a fielding error allowed Clemson’s best player and future first-round draft pick, outfielder Cam Cannarella, to reach first. A wild pitch and some productive hitting got him to third before a single by third baseman Blake Wright scored him to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.

In the bottom frame, Duke responded loudly. With one out, a Ben Miller walk and a single by Alex Stone set the stage for Harvard transfer Logan Bravo to hammer a 2-0 pitch from Clemson starter Austin Gordon to right center for a three-run homer, giving the Blue Devils a lead they would never relinquish the rest of the game.

Santucci, from there, would settle down. He pitched two scoreless innings, racking up more strikeouts using his fastball, changeup, and slider in perfect unison.

In the bottom of the third, Bravo added more insurance, ripping a line drive to left field for his second homer of the game, giving Duke a 4-1 lead.

Clemson’s Blake Wright responded with a home run at the top of the fourth to cut Duke’s lead to two runs, but Santucci avoided further damage after maneuvering through a bit of trouble with two runners on.

The Blue Devils’ star pitcher would end his day in the fifth after getting Wright to fly out to right field. He finished with 11 strikeouts, three walks, and two runs allowed (one earned) on 96 pitches through his five innings pitched.

A Macon Winslow home run gave Duke its fifth and final run of the evening, pushing it ahead 5-2. Winslow finished his day three-for-three with a walk.

From there, Duke’s bullpen held down the fort as Owen Proksch pitched 1.1 innings and paved the way for Duke’s do-it-all reliever Charlie Beilenson to close the game with 2.2 innings of work for his eighth save of the season.

Duke held the Tigers to the second-fewest runs they’ve scored in a game all season.

The Blue Devils will lace their cleats back up and get ready to try and secure a series win tomorrow as the two teams get set for game two.

First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

All-ACC first teamer Hunter Sallis latest transfer portal success for Steve Forbes at Wake Forest

Hunter Sallis was named to the All-ACC first team, another successful transfer portal guard addition for Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes.

Wake Forest junior guard Hunter Sallis was among the five players selected to the All-ACC first team on Monday, becoming the third consecutive Demon Deacons guard to earn that honor after transferring to Steve Forbes’ team.

Sallis, who spent the first two years of his career out west at Gonzaga, was joined on the All-ACC first team by RJ Davis at North Carolina, PJ Hall at Clemson, Kyle Filipowski at Duke, and Blake Hinson at Pitt.

This has become a trend at Wake Forest under coach Forbes. First it was Jake Laravia, who transferred from Indiana State and earned All-ACC honors in 2021-22 – and was selected 19th overall in the 2022 NBA draft. Then it was Tyree Appleby, a grad transfer from Florida who averaged 18.8 points for the Demon Deacons in 2022-23 on his way to an All-ACC nod as well.

Now the honor goes to Sallis, who paced Wake Forest in scoring at 18.3 points per night, while adding 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.0 steals per game on 41.6% shooting from three – a huge increase from the 25.8% he shot from distance in two years with the Zags.

Wake’s second leading scorer this year is Kevin Miller, another transfer guard coming over from Central Michigan and averaging 15.4 points per game.

Forbes’ success with transfer portal guards is no accident, as he has been able to find players who fit his system and help them thrive both offensively and defensively.

However, the influx of talented guards has yet to result in an NCAA Tournament for the Demon Deacons under Forbes, and this year’s team is squarely on the bubble heading into the ACC Tournament which gets underway this week.

Duke now top ACC team at No. 6 in latest D1Baseball poll, the highest rank in school history

Duke ascends to No. 6 in latest D1Baseball poll after a series victory over top-ranked Wake Forest, the highest ranking in program history.

Duke’s series win over the then-No. 1 Wake Forest Demon Deacons sent some pretty sizable ripples through the rest of the collegiate baseball landscape.

The series win vindicated Duke as a team that everyone should be cognizant of going forward, and it also sent a message to the rest of the ACC that things will not be a breeze for Wake Forest to just coast to a regular-season title.

Duke made the trip from Durham, NC, to Winston-Salem this past weekend and took two of three from the previously top-ranked Demon Deacons. That win had a massive effect on the latest D1Baseball poll.

Duke is now the highest-ranked ACC team in the country, having leaped from 12th to 6th, which marks the highest ranking in program history by D1Baseball.

Duke had a 3-1 week in total, which started with a 28-2 dismantling of the Appalachian State Mountaineers in the middle of the week before they made their trip to take on Wake Forest to open ACC play.

Arkansas is now the No. 1-ranked team in the country. Wake Forest dropped six spots to seventh.

Elsewhere in the ACC, Clemson remains steady at 10th after another undefeated week of action. NC State moved up one spot to No. 13 in the newest poll. UNC also moved up one place, going from 16th to 15th. Virginia suffered two losses to the Miami Hurricanes last week and fell four spots from 13th to 17th.

In their latest rankings, Baseball America ranked Duke No. 3, and Perfect Game ranked the Blue Devils No. 5.

The Blue Devils will continue its journey to ascend into the top five with two midweek games against Rider starting Tuesday. They follow that up with another top-10 matchup as Clemson gets set to come to town to start a three-game set on Friday.

Three quick takeaways from Duke’s monumental series win over No. 1 Wake Forest

Three takeaways for Duke’s monumental series win over No. 1 Wake Forest.

While it was a tough weekend in Durham for the men’s basketball team as they lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels for the second time this season, another Duke team was making history elsewhere in North Carolina.

Chris Pollard’s team traveled to Winston-Salem for their first ACC matchup. They took on the nation’s No. 1 team, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Not only did Duke compete, they won the series two games to one.

The Duke Blue Devils baseball team clinched a series win over a top-ranked team for the first time in 15 years, last occurring when Duke took down a No. 1-ranked North Carolina team.

Friday, Duke won behind an eight-run offensive explosion that saw the Blue Devils touch up one of college baseball’s best pitchers, Josh Hartle. The Blue Devils took that game 8-5.

On Saturday, Tennessee transfer Chase Burns dominated the Blue Devils, striking out 14 Duke batters in 6 innings. Wake went on to even the series after a 6-3 Saturday victory.

Duke clinched the series in the tie-breaking Sunday game behind a six-run fifth inning, which featured two hits and five walks as the Blue Devils extended their lead to 9-2. Wake would fight back, but a late insurance run in the ninth followed by a save from Charlier Beilenson sealed the 10-8 victory.

With the series over, we have three quick takeaways as Duke has become the talk of the college baseball world with the most significant series win of the young season.

This Duke team is dynamic offensively

One of the most significant developments of the season so far is that Duke’s offense is verifiably legit. The pitching was more proven with the caliber of arms the Blue Devils brought back. Still, with Duke losing as many position players as it did, many felt there would be questions about run production and replacing an entire infield.

They’ve gotten contributions from every direction, including freshman AJ Gracia batting over .340 with an OPS of 1.214. Their new-look infield, with four new players spearheaded by Penn transfer Ben Miller, is batting above .290 while combining for 19 homers and 54 RBI. They lit up Hartle, a top-100 pick in this upcoming MLB draft, and on Sunday, they showcased their plate discipline (14 walks) and worked counts as Wake unraveled on the mound.

We’ve seen the Blue Devils put up 20+ runs multiple times this season. It’s safe to say the new look lineup is just fine, and they can do it against elite competition.

Kyle Johnson is starting to carve out a role

The uber-talented two-way freshman Kyle Johnson is finding himself a lane as a bulk innings guy who may just get stretched out to start in some capacity. In the most significant start of his young career, he tossed four innings of two-run ball on Sunday against a potent Wake Forest lineup on the road. He allowed three hits, but he did more than his job as he was competitive and kept Duke in the ball game, ultimately giving his offense time to break the game open in the fifth inning.

He also tossed 65 pitches. If this becomes a thing, the first-year Blue Devil could be stretched out to 80 pitches by mid-April, giving Pollard another pitching weapon to add to his deep arsenal.

Charlie Beilenson is indispensable

Where would Duke be without Charlie Beilenson this season?

Who knows, but his contributions have been immeasurable. When a fire needs to be put out, or he needs to close a ball game, no one is doing it better than Beilenson. He proved that this weekend against the nation’s best as he had not one but two saves to close both Duke wins. He showcased his versatility, too, as he pitched three scoreless innings for the save on Friday. He followed that up with one inning of work on Sunday to preserve a two-run lead and nail down his seventh save of the season.

Duke returns to the friendly confines of Jack Coombs Field this week as they open a six-game homestand with two midweek contests with Rider. The first pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 4 p.m.

After series win over Akron, Duke remains steady at No.12 in D1Baseball Top 25

Duke remains at No. 12 in D1Baseball ahead of week that features five games. Three of those games are against top ranked Wake Forest.

Despite losing its first game this past weekend, Chris Pollard’s baseball team is a crisp 10-1 and remains the no. 12 team in the latest D1Baseball poll released Monday morning.

D1Baseball released its top 25 this week, with no movement at the top as every team in the top 14 remained the same from last week’s poll. There are still six ACC schools in. the top 25, with Wake Forest pacing the country at number one. Clemson is still the 10th-ranked team in the country after they went 3-0 last week with two big wins over their biggest rivals, the South Carolina Gamecocks. Much like Duke, Virginia suffered its first loss last week, yet they remain at 13. NC State went an impressive 5-0 and remains steady at 14. The Tarheels of North Carolina were the only ACC team to slide as they fell one spot to 17th despite going 5-0 last week themselves.

Duke has two mid-week games this week against Appalachian State and Georgetown before the Blue Devils make their first proper road trip this upcoming weekend to Winston-Salem to take on the top-ranked Demon Deacons to kickstart off conference play.

Duke was 1-2 in their home series versus Wake Forest last year, with both losses to Wake Forest being by two runs apiece, sandwiched between an 8-1 win.

Men’s Basketball: Duke’s ACC opponents for 2024 are set

The ACC released its conference opponent schedule for 2024-25 on Thursday evening. See who Duke will host and travel to here.

The Duke Blue Devils have officially entered the month of March, which means things will get serious for them on the basketball court. The Blue Devils have just three regular-season games remaining before they play in the ACC Tournament and, after that, the NCAA Tournament for a chance to win the program’s sixth national title.

Even while that takes place, there’s an eye on next year’s team as the Blue Devils discover who their conference opponents will be for the 2024-25 season.

Next year is a big year for the ACC as it welcomes three new teams to the conference: SMU, Stanford, and California.

The expansion means some tweaks to the normal ACC schedule, however, and the conference revealed each team’s ACC foes for the 2024-25 season on Thursday.

Duke’s 20-game schedule for 2024-25 features two two-game series (home and away) versus its two current partners, North Carolina and Wake Forest. The Blue Devils are 1-2 currently this year against both teams. They also have a home-and-away series with the Miami Hurricanes for next season.

Duke will host California at Cameron Indoor for the first time. The last time the schools played was in 2019 when Duke blew Cal out by 35 points in an 87-52 win in the 2K Empire Classic.

Florida State, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Stanford, and Virginia Tech will all come to Cameron next year. Duke will travel for road games at Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisville, SMU, Syracuse, and Virginia next season.

Duke is 3-1 all-time against SMU in basketball. The Blue Devils’ road trip to SMU is only their second all-time, having played in Dallas on Dec. 8, 1977 – a game which Duke won by 24 points 91-67.

The ACC recently announced that, with the conference expanding to 18 members, only the top 15 teams in the conference will participate in the ACC Tournament next year, which is set to be played March 11-15 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The full schedule will be announced early this fall, equipped with specific game dates, times, and networks.

Duke drops one spot in KenPom after loss to Wake Forest

Duke slips one spot in KenPom after loss to Wake Forest. Where do they rank now, and did they stay ahead of UNC?

The Duke Blue Devils dropped one spot from eighth to ninth in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin after their 83-79 loss to Wake Forest on Saturday.

It was, of course, the rival North Carolina Tar Heels who replaced the Blue Devils at the eighth overall spot in the rankings.

Duke remains the second-highest-ranked team in the ACC, according to KenPom’s metrics. The Demon Deacons are the next-closest, remaining 20th in the rankings after the statement win.

The Blue Devils average 1.22 adjusted points per possession, good enough to rank seventh in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency and the best mark of any ACC team.

Duke’s defensive metrics have them ranked 26th in adjusted defensive efficiency, which is third-best in the conference behind UNC and Virginia.

The Blue Devils sit at 21-6 on the season, and they are now second in the ACC standings at 12-4, one game behind the Tar Heels.

Wake Forest athletic director releases statement after Saturday’s court-storming incident

Wake Forest athletic director John Currie released a statement on Saturday to express regret for the court-storming incident that injured Kyle Filipowski.

Court-storming became a hot-button issue for all the wrong reasons on Saturday when Duke star Kyle Filipowski got caught in a crowd of Demon Deacons fans and ended up needing to be helped off the court.

Filipowski said he hurt his knee during the debacle, and replay showed some Wake Forest fans made their way onto the court before the final buzzer sounded.

Wake Forest athletic director John Currie released a statement on the incident later on Saturday evening.

“On behalf of Wake Forest, we sincerely regret the unfortunate on-court incident following (Saturday) afternoon’s men’s basketball game and hope the involved Duke student-athlete is doing better,” Currie wrote.

The athletic director added that he called Duke athletic director Nina King to apologize, and he reached out to ACC Senior Associate Commissioner Paul Brazeau to do the same.

Currie also expressed his support for Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, who emphatically asked for court-storming to be banned after the incident.

“I am in complete agreement that something more must be done,” Currie wrote. “And Wake Forest looks forward to being a part of those conversations.”

Filipowski reaches 1,000 career points during Saturday game against Wake Forest

Star forward Kyle Filipowski’s afternoon took a turn after a postgame incident with Wake Forest fans, but he reached a notable milestone beforehand.

Duke star Kyle Filipowski had an eventful Saturday afternoon.

He scored 17 points with eight rebounds and five assists against Wake Forest before he collided with some fans during a postgame court storming, injuring his knee.

However, the 7-footer did cross a major career milestone earlier during the game in Winston-Salem. He scored his 1,000th point as a Blue Devil, becoming the fifth player to reach such a mark within two seasons since the start of the century.

Filipowski averaged 15.1 points in 36 games as a freshman in 2022-23, giving him a total of 543 points in his debut season. The forward is averaging 16.9 points per game through 27 games so far as a sophomore

Only Luke Kennard, Kyle Singler, JJ Redick, and Jason Williams have scored 1,000 points within two seasons in Durham since 2000.

The five biggest takeaways from Duke’s loss to Wake Forest

From the postgame court storming to some crucial turnovers in the closing minutes, here are our biggest takeaways from Saturday’s game against the Demon Deacons.

The Blue Devils lost their third game in 10 weeks on Saturday, a nail-biting four-point loss on the road against Wake Forest.

Duke performed pretty exceptionally for most of the game, given the circumstances. The Blue Devils scored 79 points and shot 53.1% from the floor, and Duke made 11 of its 25 3-point attempts.

The star trio of Kyle Filipowski, Jared McCain, and Jeremy Rooach all scored at least 15 points. McCain made three of his four 3-point attempts, Filipowski had eight rebounds and five assists, and Roach made six of his eight shots from the floor.

The effort wasn’t enough against one of the best teams in the ACC, however, as Demon Deacons were led by 29 points from Gonzaga transfer Hunter Sallis in the statement home win.

The star-making performance was unfortunately overshadowed by a postgame altercation between Wake Forest fans and Filipowski, who was injured amid a court-storming.

How much of Saturday was a compliment to Wake Forest, and how much was a negative toward Duke? Here are our biggest thoughts on the game.