Wake Forest Demon Deacons ready to meet the LSU Tigers tonight in the NCAA College Baseball World Series
Game time is set for 6pm Central and 7pm Eastern Time….from Omaha, Nebraska…..
from Zack Nagy at www.si.com
LSU is set to face off against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Monday in the College World Series with many prepared to call it the matchup of the tournament.
It’s two star-studded rosters with several potential first round draft picks lacing up their cleats under the bright lights.
The two programs have each been ranked No. 1 this season with Wake Forest turning up the heat to end their 2023 season. With the Demon Deacons clicking on all cylinders, earning the No. 1 national seed, the expectations are significant.
But the Tigers are getting back to their old ways. Jay Johnson and his squad have found their groove as of late with their pitching rotation. An area that was expected to doom them come postseason play, it’s become a position they feel relatively comfortable with.
The highly anticipated matchup will feature a number of the top prospects in all of college baseball, and with the hitting power Wake Forest attains, it’ll put big-time pressure on this Tigers pitching rotation come Monday night.
Led by Brock Wilken, the Demon Deacons All-Conference slugger, it’ll be a challenge, but one this program won’t take lightly.
Getting Familiar With Wake Forest:
The Record: 53-10, 22-7 (ACC)
The Demon Deacons are special. They’ve been destined to reach Omaha all season long with their sheer dominance at the plate. The No. 1 national seed for good reason, Wake Forest entered the College World Series with high odds to bring a title back home with them.
How good are they at the plate? It’s uncanny. Wake Forest has five players with a batting average over .340. Between those five guys? 84 home runs. The program rakes, and heading into the tournament, they’re scorching hot.
Led by Brock Wilken (.357 BA, 31 HR’s and 15 2B’s) and Nick Kurtz (.370 BA, 24 HR’s and 10 2B), the dynamic duo is a nightmare for opponents and certainly had their way against Stanford in the opening round.
On the mound, once again, is more dominance. Wake Forest leads the nation in ERA, hits allowed per nine innings, tied for No. 1 in shutouts (tied with LSU) and No. 1 in strikeouts per nine innings. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Their ace all season long has been Rhett Lowder, and after propelling Wake Forest to an opening win, they’ll fall back on their remaining rotation to get it done. Lowder is a first round lock in the 2023 MLB Draft where he headlines a star-studded pitching rotation.
The Demon Deacons were the favorite heading into the College World Series and it’s for good reason. As special as they come, Wake Forest has everything one is looking for in a title caliber program.
Monday night’s primetime showdown between two of the top programs in college baseball has box office written all over it.
Notes on LSU:
– The LSU pitching staff has established the school single-season record for strikeouts with 709; the previous school mark was 682 set in 1997 … LSU has 135 home runs this season, the third-highest total in school history … LSU hit an NCAA-record 188 homers in 1997 and 157 homers in 1998.
– LSU center fielder Dylan Crews is No. 2 in the nation in on-base percentage (.573); No. 2 in runs scored (90); No. 3 in batting average (.433) and No. 4 in walks (65) … third baseman Tommy White is No. 2 in the nation in RBI (97), and he is No. 4 in the nation in RBI per game (1.64).
– LSU is No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference in 10 offensive categories – batting average (.314), slugging percentage (.570), on-base percentage (.437), runs (594), hits (678), RBI (545), total bases (1,230), home runs (135), sacrifice flies (39) and plate appearances (2,716) … LSU is No. 2 in the SEC in HBP (131) and in triples (16).