Chase Burns Leads Wake Forest To Key Win Against Clemson, Highlighting College Baseball Roundup

Image credit: Wake Forest RHP Chase Burns (Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images)

No. 15 Wake Forest on Friday defeated No. 4 Clemson to earn its biggest victory of the season and continue its second-half surge. The Demon Deacons extended their winning streak to seven games and are 17-6 since April 1.

Leading the charge against the Tigers was ace Chase Burns. The righthander struck out a career high 16 batters to push his season total to 156, breaking the program’s single-season record. He held Clemson to one run on two hits and a walk in seven innings, throwing 101 pitches.

“He can’t pitch any better than that,” coach Tom Walter said. “He kept his pitch count down, only allowed one walk and one hit by pitch with 16 strikeouts. That’s as dominant of a pitching performance as I’ve ever seen in college baseball. It was really special.”

Burns, who transferred from Tennessee, has quickly made his mark at Wake. He is 10-1, 2.85 on the season and the Deacs have lost just one game he has started. He now owns seven of the top 10 single-game strikeout performances in program history. He’s shattered the single-season program record, which was set just last season when Rhett Lowder (143) and Josh Hartle (142) both broke a record Mike Buddie had held since he struck out 138 batters in 1992.

Burns leads the nation in strikeouts and is averaging 17.12 strikeouts per nine innings, giving him a chance to make a run at the ACC’s single-season strikeout record. That record stands out 208, set in 1989 by Clemson’s Brian Barnes. At his current rate, Burns would likely need Wake Forest to advance to super regionals to challenge the record.

Friday’s victory helps push Wake further in the direction of a deep postseason run. The Deacs are 34-16 and, crucially, 13-12 in ACC play and rank in the top 10 of both RPI (10) and strength of schedule (9), two key metrics the selection committee uses when evaluating teams as potential regional hosts. If Wake can beat Clemson one more time this weekend to clinch a significant series win, it would probably be playing for a host site in next week’s regular-season finale at NC State.

As good as Burns was Friday, the Wake lineup had its hands full with Clemson starter Ethan Darden (7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K). They broke through with two critical home runs – a solo shot from Jack Winnay in the second inning and a three-run blast from Antonio Morales in the fourth, which proved to be the difference in the game.

Clemson (37-11, 17-8) tightened things up once Burns left the game. The Tigers pushed a run home in the eighth inning against Zach Johnston and brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning. But closer Cole Roland finished off the victory with a four-out save.

After Friday’s thriller, the rest of the weekend also promises plenty of excitement. Clemson has lost just one series all season and is battling with North Carolina (37-11, 18-7) for the ACC title. Wake is trying to make the most of its homefield advantage in its push to host regionals. The next two games figure to also be high-level affairs.

Ace Watch

Friday night is for the aces. Here we highlight some of the best pitching performances of the day, in addition to Burns and Pittsburgh righthander Ryan Andrade and Florida State lefthander Jamie Arnold (see below).

Merritt Beeker, LHP, Ball State: Beeker struck out 13 batters in seven innings to lead Ball State to a 6-1 victory against Central Michigan. The junior scattered three hits and a walk and held the Chippewas to one unearned run. Beeker is 7-3, 4.66 with 105 strikeouts and 30 walks in 65.2 innings this season.

Ryan Gallagher, RHP, UC Santa Barbara: Gallagher struck out 13 batters in eight scoreless innings to lead No. 19 UCSB to an 8-3 victory at Cal State Bakersfield. He carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and finished his night holding the Roadrunners to two hits and a walk. Gallagher improved to 7-1, 2.34 with 82 strikeouts and 17 walks in 69.1 innings.

Aidan May, RHP, Oregon State: May struck out nine batters in six scoreless innings against UCLA. He held the Bruins to four hits and a walk, while extending his scoreless innings streak to 22.1. May has thrown at least six scoreless innings in three straight starts and four of his last five, to lower his ERA to 2.77.

Dayne Pengelly, RHP, New Mexico: Pengelly threw seven scoreless innings to help the Lobos to a 16-0 victory against Nevada. The junior struck out a career high 12 batters and scattered four hits and three walks. Pengelly is 4-4, 6.95 with 52 strikeouts in 44 innings this season.

Bryson Van Sickle, LHP, Utah: In a matchup of the top two teams in the Pac-12 standings, Van Sickle led the Utes to a 6-1 victory against No. 23 Arizona in the series opener. He threw a complete game, holding the Wildcats to one run on three hits and two walks, striking out eight. It was Van Sickle’s second complete game of the season, as he improved to 4-1, 2.80 with 58 strikeouts and 18 walks in 80.1 innings.

Around The Horn

• No. 1 Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt, 8-4, in Nashville. The Volunteers, who came into the series second in the nation in home runs, bashed three in the victory. That total includes a two-run, go-ahead blast from Kavares Tears in the eighth inning. Tennessee (41-9, 18-7) has now won eight straight games against Vanderbilt (33-17, 11-14).
• No. 3 Arkansas defeated No. 12 Mississippi State, 7-5, in one of the best games of the night. The Bulldogs edged in front with two runs in the eighth inning, but Arkansas answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning, including a two-run, go-ahead hit from Hudson White. Mississippi State wasn’t done, however. The Bulldogs loaded the bases to start the ninth inning, but Arkansas turned to righthander Gage Wood out of the bullpen, and he retired three straight hitters to escape the jam and earn the save. The Razorbacks (41-9, 18-7) remain in first place in the SEC West.
• In a classic pitcher’s duel at Pittsburgh’s Cost Field, the Panthers edged No. 5 Florida State, 1-0. Righthanders Ryan Andrade (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K) and Phil Fox (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K) combined for the shutout, which was the first time this season that the Seminoles (36-11, 14-10) were blanked. On the other side, lefthander Jamie Arnold struck out 17 batters in seven innings, the most by a Florida State pitcher since 1987. He allowed one run on a solo home run in the sixth inning by Luke Cantwell, which proved to be the difference in the game. The win was a critical one for Pitt (22-25, 7-18), which is fighting for a spot in the ACC Tournament.
• No. 6 Kentucky battled for a 12-11 victory in 10 innings in a wild game at Florida. The Wildcats (36-10, 19-6) trailed nearly the entire game and were behind, 8-6, with two outs and nobody on in the ninth inning. But Nick Lopez and Mitchell Daly worked walks and Ryan Nicholson hit a three-run home run, his second homer of the game. Florida tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, but Lopez played hero the next inning with a three-run, two-out double. While the Gators (25-24, 10-15) plated two runs in the bottom of the 10th, they couldn’t complete the comeback and instead took a brutal loss.
• No. 14 Georgia rolled to an 11-6 victory at No. 16 South Carolina to clinch the series. The Bulldogs pounded out 15 hits and Leighton Finley (5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K) and Brian Zeldin (4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K) combined on the mound to hold down the Gamecocks. Georgia (37-12, 15-11) extended its winning streak to seven games, but Charlie Condon did not homer, snapping his streak of eight straight games with a home run. The Bulldogs are now probably one win away from locking in a home regional.