After an embarrassing four-loss stretch last week, the Wake Forest baseball team looked to get back on track in Tuesday’s mid-week matchup against Liberty. Considering how disappointing their performance was against both Coastal Carolina and Florida State, a win of any matter would be considered a success for this struggling squad.
On the mound for the Demon Deacons was Cameron Bagwell, the sophomore transfer who took the start against the Chanticleers last Tuesday. With the right-hander unable to find his footing as of late, Bagwell looked to take a step forward against the Flames. Needless to say, he pitched the best game of his young Wake Forest career.
From the first inning and beyond, Bagwell had everything working for him. His highly touted command was on full display throughout his entire 7-inning performance, with the changeup in particular serving as his go-to out pitch. The entire Liberty offense looked lost facing him, and it seemed as though his confidence gained after each inning.
“Cam Bagwell was certainly the difference tonight,” Coach Tom Walter said following the game. “I thought he was outstanding. That’s about as good as you can pitch right there.”
Bagwell’s final line consisted of 9 strikeouts to go along with just one hit allowed. While the competition he faced may not be the most prolific, this outing is certainly nothing to scoff at.
The biggest aspect of Wake’s game under close watch, however, was the offense. Aside from the Sunday game in which the Demon Deacons tallied 6 runs against the Seminoles, this offense was nonexistent last weekend. In the Friday and Saturday games, Wake Forest scraped only 3 hits with no runs to show for it—a pitiful performance for any top 25 team to endure.
After being unable to come up with a single hit in 16 at-bats last week, junior Dalton Wentz finally rediscovered his power stroke on Tuesday. In the second inning, with the Demon Deacons already leading by one, Wentz smacked a low curveball over the short fence in right field for his sixth home run of the year.
The offense was kept quiet up until the seventh, where they exploded for a nine-spot. While the majority of these runs were produced by way of small ball, a game-winning grand slam by Luke Costello was the nail in the coffin for Liberty. This was Costello’s eighth home run of the season, and the righty slugger now has 26 RBI’s.
Despite this being a fairly impressive win, the Demon Deacons still have work to do moving forward. This weekend, Wake Forest will make the trip down to Charlottesville, Va., where they will take on No. 9 Virginia in a three-game slate.
