After a 4-hour, 45-minute inclement weather delay, the highly anticipated matchup was finally underway. Wake Forest got off to a fast start and did not take their foot off the gas from there, winning this one 21-6.

Despite the long delay, the Wake Forest fans were LOUD and the Demons Deacons gave them plenty to cheer about. They immediately opened up the scoring in the first inning, starting with an RBI single from Brock Wilken. Justin Johnson followed that with an RBI double. Wilken and Johnson were brought home after a single to right from Pierce Bennett. The Wake Forest lead was 4-0 after the first.

Rhett Lowder continued his dominance, shutting the door on the Terp’s hopes of a comeback. Lowder had a perfect game through 3.2 innings with a final line of 6.0 innings, striking out 11, allowing only three hits, one walk, and three runs.

Johnson was able to add to the Wake Forest lead in the third with an RBI triple. Johnson has been hot in the first two regional games, posting a combined ten RBIs. 

The Wake Forest lead continued to grow with Nick Dean pitching. Dean ended the game with eight earned runs on just as many hits through 4.2 innings pitched. It was not all bad for Dean as he struck out four and picked up a pair of 1-2-3 innings.

Maryland finally got on the board in the fourth inning when Nick Lorusso hit a solo home run to right-center field. This home run was Lorusso’s 25th, breaking Maryland’s single-season home run record set by Chris Alleyne last season.

This momentum was short-lived as Wake Forest put together another big inning in the fifth. A one-run single from Danny Corona and a two-run single from Marek Houston made it a 9-1 ballgame.

Lorusso was able to get a second home run off Lowder in the seventh, this time a two-run shot, making it 9-3. Maryland was able to load the bases after this with two outs but would leave all three runners stranded in the seventh.

Wake Forest would get those runs right back, but they did it without recording a hit. The Demon Deacons drew six straight walks, scoring three more runs. They would continue to score runs, making the score 15-3 at the end of the seventh.

Ian Petrutz hit a three-run blast in a game that looked all but over. His bomb cut the lead to single digits with a score of 15-6. Wake Forest continued the scoring, including a grand slam, until the game finally ended with a final score of 21-6.

After the loss, Maryland will have to turn around and play again tomorrow against George Mason at 2:00 in an elimination game.