Wake Forest defeats Virginia, evens series

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – A day after giving up 16 runs in a Friday loss to Virginia, Wake Forest cut that number to three in a six-run, series-evening victory Saturday afternoon.

Chase Burns shined again on the mound, earning his second ACC win of the season with seven near-flawless innings. The Tennessee transfer finished with just one run — a solo homer in the second — and 13 strikeouts, his third-straight game with at least 10.

Burns retired seven consecutive batters from the final out of the second inning through the end of the fourth, when he struck out the side. In his seventh trip to the mound, battling a pitch count that ran above 100, Burns maneuvered through a situation with runners on second and third to keep additional runs off the scoreboard.

The junior’s performance kept Wake Forest from having to further expend its bullpen — the Deacs used seven pitchers Friday including starter Josh Hartle. Will Ray recorded four outs before closer David Falco nabbed the final two. The pair combined for just 27 pitches.

The Wake Forest bats maintained their heat Saturday, knocking 14 hits. Marek Houston and Adam Tellier led with three each, while Jack Winnay, Seaver King and Javar Williams all tacked on two.

Tellier singled home the initial run in the first inning, but the Deacs hit a lull until catcher Cameron Gill’s RBI triple in the fourth.

Winnay cracked his first home run of the afternoon in the team’s ensuing trip to the plate, his second led off the seventh for a three-RBI day.

The latter homer was the beginning of a critical insurance-run effort in the final three innings. Wake Forest found its sixth score on a bases-loaded walk in the eighth before plating three more in the ninth off the bats of Williams, Tellier and Seaver King.

Without the five extra runs, a Virginia ninth-inning, two-run blast to right-center would’ve tightened Wake Forest’s lead to one.

With the series tied at one, the Deacs enter Sunday with their second-straight rubber match — they fell in the first to Duke last week. Wake Forest will do so potentially without two vital players. Per the ACCN broadcast, coach Tom Walter said Nick Kurtz is expected to be out several weeks with a shoulder injury. It was also noted that Sunday starting pitcher Michael Massey potentially might not be available.

According to a source, freshman Haiden Leffew is likely to start on the mound tomorrow for Wake Forest.

First pitch is set for 1pm ET on ACCNX.