Leadoff hitter Matt Scannell provided an instant spark to the offense, homering in the top of the first for his third of the year. Scannell finished the day 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and his third home run as a Demon Deacon.
Sophomore Kade Lewis had a big day, leading the Wake (14-4, 3-0 ACC) offense with three hits on a 3-for-4 effort with a trio of doubles. Lewis joins teammate Dalton Wentz as Demon Deacons with three doubles in a game this season, after the feat had not been accomplished by a Deacs hitter since Chris Lanzilli during the 2019 season.
Shortstop Marek Houston added his 12th RBI of the weekend, driving in at least one run in each game of the series, and has now reached back safely in the last 12 contests for Wake Forest.
With a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, including his sixth homer of the year and second of the weekend, junior Ethan Conrad extended his hit streak to nine games and has reached base safely in every contest so far this season.
Left fielder Javar Williams drove in three runs in a game for the first time in his Demon Deacon career as part of his third multi-hit and second multi-RBI effort in his sophomore campaign.
Starting pitcher Blake Morningstar was sharp once again, limiting Notre Dame (8-4, 0-3 ACC) to just one run on three hits over 5.0 innings pitched. The righty notched a career-high eight strikeouts to move to 3-0 on the season.
Relievers Griffin Green and Joe Ariola held the Irish hitless over the final three innings to cap off the sweep.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Sophomore Blake Morningstar worked a scoreless top of the first to get the series finale started.
- Wake Forest jumped out to a 3-0 advantage after one complete inning.
- Leadoff hitter Matt Scannell took a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall for his third home run of the season to make it 1-0 in favor of Wake Forest.
- A single through the right side by junior Ethan Conrad gave the Deacs a one-out baserunner.
- Designated hitter Kade Lewis lasered a double down the right field line to put a pair of runners in scoring position.
- With two away, freshman Dalton Wentz took a 1-1 pitch to the opposite way to bring in Conrad and Lewis and stretch the lead to three.
- Morningstar recorded his first two strikeouts of the contest in another quick frame in the second.
- After Morningstar struck out the side in the third, Wake’s offense went to work with another crooked number to add to its lead.
- First baseman Jack Winnay was hit by a pitch to put a runner on with one away and came home to score on the second double of the afternoon for Lewis to make it 4-0.
- Left fielder Javar Williams chopped a single over the Irish third baseman to plate Lewis and push the Wake Forest lead to 5-0 after three innings.
- For the third-straight outing, Morningstar ran his strikeout total to seven with a pair in the fourth.
- The Deacs added another run in the bottom half of the inning, courtesy of junior Marek Houston’s 12th RBI of the weekend.
- Notre Dame got on the board with a two-out double in the top of the fifth.
- Reliever Griffin Green made quick work of Notre Dame in the sixth and seventh innings, retiring the Irish in order in both frames on just 19 pitches.
- Wake Forest padded the lead with three runs in the bottom of the seventh, all coming with two outs.
- Conrad worked an eight-pitch walk.
- Lewis lasered his third double of the game to the left field wall to plate Conrad, who was off on the pitch on the hit-and-run.
- A single by Wentz moved runners to the corners and he stole his first bag of the year to put two in scoring position.
- Williams’ second hit of the day drove in both runners to make it 9-1.
- A pair of strikeouts and a lineout from junior Joe Ariola helped the Demon Deacons retire nine-straight Notre Dame hitters.
- After a walk to Houston, Conrad ended the game in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run shot over the right-field fence to cap the run-rule victory.
- Wake Forest defeated Notre Dame, 11-1.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
- Blake Morningstar has been lights out over his last three outings for the Demon Deacons, allowing just one earned run over 15.1 innings.
- One of the keys to success for Morningstar has been his 3.71 K/BB ratio, allowing just seven free passes on the year to 26 punchouts.
- The sophomore has punched out 22 batters over the three-game span, including at least seven in each appearance, and a career-high eight punchouts against the Fighting Irish.
- Morningstar’s ERA moved to 1.40 on the year, as he is limiting opponents to just a .157 batting average.
- The Wyalusing, Pa. native moved to 3-0 on the season, surpassing his win total as a freshman.
- With the victory on Sunday, head coach Tom Walter becomes one of just 14 active DI coaches to reach 900 career wins.
- Walter’s milestone victories include:
| Milestone Number | Opponent | Date | Score |
| 900 at Wake Forest | Notre Dame | Mar. 9, 2025 | 11-1 |
| 800 at Wake Forest | Mount St. Mary’s | Feb. 24, 2023 | 18-2 |
| 700 at Wake Forest | Furman | Mar. 3, 2019 | 5-1 |
| 600 at Wake Forest | Clemson | Mar. 11, 2016 | 6-4 |
| 500 at Wake Forest | Charlotte | May 15, 2012 | 18-2 |
| 400 at New Orleans | Arkansas Little Rock | May 11, 2008 | 12-4 |
| 300 at New Orleans | Fordham | Feb. 24, 2006 | 12-11 |
| 200 at George Washington | Sacred Heart | Feb. 22, 2003 | 3-2 |
| 100 at George Washington | St. Bonaventure | Apr. 2, 2000 | 6-4 |
STAGGERING STATISTIC
- The Demon Deacons are off to their first 3-0 start in ACC play since a sweep of Maryland to open conference play during the 2012 season.
- Wake Forest has opened Atlantic Coast Conference play on two other occasions against Notre Dame, with the 2025 squad capturing the first series victory.
- The sweep of the Irish marks the first time the Demon Deacons have won all three games in the series at The Couch since doing so in 2017.
- As a pitching staff, Wake Forest finished the weekend with 42 strikeouts, running the season total to an astonishing 223 over the first 18 contests.
- Averaging over 12 punchouts per game, 52.0% of the Demon Deacons outs recorded have come via the K.
FROM COACH WALTER
“It was a great weekend. I’m really proud and happy for our ball club. I told our guys that other than the four-out stretch yesterday, we threw the ball really well. In regards to our pitching staff, I thought [Blake] Morningstar was great. He didn’t have as good of a breaking ball but he threw more changeups than he normally throws. I believe he also moved his fastball around to both sides of the plate. I think Blake has really turned into a guy and that’s really exciting to see. We got three good starts and that always sets you up well and saves you some bullets [out of the bullpen]. Notre Dame has a really good ball club and they came in here playing really good baseball. This is a great way for us to start conference play. Offensively, [Matt Scannell] got us going with the home run. Ethan Conrad and Kade Lewis both had great days for us and helped us score 11 when Marek [Houston] and Jack [Winnay] went 0-for-their at bats, which doesn’t happen very often. I give credit to the other guys in our lineup who stepped up. I was really happy to see Griffin Greene throw the ball so well and then Joe Ariola was right there behind him. Overall, really great weekend and it was a great win. I’m really proud of our guys and happy for them.” – Head Coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
The Demon Deacons go on the road during the midweek, traveling to Conway, S.C. to take on Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, Mar. 11. First pitch against the Chanticleers is set for 6 p.m. ET.
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