The road to Omaha starts with a first pitch. It’s rare, though, that such pitch ends up out of the park.

Adam Tellier (2-3, 1 RBI) and Wake Forest Baseball made sure that was the case both literally and figuratively Friday night, defeating the Fordham Rams handily, 9-3.

Tellier, a transfer from Ball State, didn’t take long to test the dimensions of Gene Hooks Field. It took a single pitch for the leadoff batter to send a 407-yard missile over the fence in left-center field — and subsequently to receive raucous applause from a packed David F. Couch Ballpark.

Meanwhile, Wake Forest team captain Josh Hartle (5.2 IP, 4 Ks) took command during his first appearance of the season. After a first inning stutter that resulted in the Rams’ first run of the day, the southpaw starting pitcher found his stride throughout the rest of the night. 

Things got chaotic in the bottom of the second inning when Demon Deacon Austin Hawke (0-4, 1 R) hit a flyball towards Rams center fielder Ryan Thiesse (0-3, 1 ERR). Thiesse misplayed the ball, allowing what would be a routine pop-fly to turn into an inside-the-park home run after a few subsequent throwing errors.

Fordham’s offensive production ran through two of their batters — catcher Tommy McAndrews (2-#, 1 RBI) and first baseman Steve Luttazi (1-4, 2 RBI). The latter had a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning off a pitch from Demon Deacon pitcher Blake Morningstar.

Morningstar (2.0 IP, 4 Ks), a freshman from New Albany, Pennsylvania, battled back later on in the inning, finishing the frame with a pair of consecutive strikeouts before closing out the ninth inning to seal the Demon Deacons’ win.

The Demon Deacons feature against the Akron Zips on Sunday, Feb. 18. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. on ACCNX.