No. 17 Wake Forest picked up an 9-0 victory over Northeastern behind 15 hits and a shutout defensive performance on Saturday night at David F. Couch Ballpark.
The Deacs' offense came out hot again in the non-conference contest, scoring eight of their nine runs in the first three innings. Wake Forest knocked in a pair of runs in the opening frame, followed by back-to-back three-run innings.
The trio of Michael Ludowig, Pierce Bennett and Bobby Seymour smacked three hits a piece to lead Wake Forest's (2-0) bats versus the Huskies (0-2). Ludowig (four) and Seymour (three) led the Deacs in RBIs, while Bennett (four) and Michael Turconi (two) led the team in runs.
Additionally, Turconi went a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate with a double and a walk.
On the mound, junior William Fleming pitched six shutout innings, holding Northeastern to just six hits and eight baserunners across his start to earn his first win of the season.
Redshirt sophomore Brennen Oxford and junior Cole McNamee combined for the scoreless seventh and eighth innings, before freshman Rhett Lowder slammed the door in the top of the ninth, striking out the side in his first collegiate appearance to secure the shutout.
The last time the Deacs shut out an opponent was on March 3, 2020 with a 9-0 win over Sacred Heart.
Standout Stat
Leadoff hitter Pierce Bennett set the table perfectly for Wake Forest. The freshman second baseman got on base in four of his five plate appearances, smacking three hits and drawing a walk. The Baltimore, Md. native would come around to score each time he got on base, leading the Deacs with four runs.
Further down the scorecard, juniors Bobby Seymour and Michael Ludowig each tied with Bennett for the most hits in the game with three a piece. Seymour drove in three runs from the cleanup spot, all on base hits, while Ludowig added four RBIs off a double, a single and a walk.
In The Spotlight
Will Fleming showed out in his first start of the season, tossing six scoreless innings with five strikeouts to earn the win. The junior right-hander sprinkled six hits across his six frames, stranding eight Huskies on base to keep Northeastern off the board.
Words from Walter
"Obviously Will Fleming came out and was sharp. It's great to see two consecutive starts where our guy comes out in the first inning and he's sharp. I loved seeing Will bang a first pitch breaking ball right in there, and that really set the tone for the day. I can't count how many times he dropped the 2-0 breaking ball in there, maybe three or four times. A bunch of 0-0 breaking balls and 1-0 breaking balls, and as a hitter, you couple that with a 92 to 95 mile an hour fastball and it just makes it really hard to get in there and be comfortable. (He) also threw a couple good changeups, I was glad to see he had his changeup going a little bit too.
I thought our at-bats were much better today than they were yesterday, so it was good to see that. Their starter, (Sebastian) Keane, is good. He's really good. I thought we just had great at-bats up and down the lineup against him. Obviously Michael Ludowig, Pierce Bennett, Michael Turconi, set the table all day today for starters. Bobby Seymour, good to see him get going, and Michael Ludowig had a big day too. So really pleased. Our left handed bats did a great job, in addition to Pierce Bennett."
On Deck
Wake Forest will look to sweep the non-conference series against the Huskies on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
The Deacs will be right back on the diamond on Tuesday, Feb. 23 against Coastal Carolina at 4:00 p.m. before opening ACC play against Notre Dame on Feb. 26-28 at The Couch.
