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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest baseball team (33-17) used three home runs at the plate and a two-hit effort from the pitching staff to take a 6-1 victory over Western Carolina (32-18) on Friday evening at David F. Couch Ballpark.
Handled business 🤝 pic.twitter.com/paqIply3ck
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 9, 2026
Sophomore starting pitcher Chris Levonas was stellar in a planned two-inning outing, logging four strikeouts while not allowing a hit. Levonas leads the ACC with 100 strikeouts this season, becoming the seventh Deac since the turn of the century to eclipse 100 punchouts in a season.
Good team win 🎩 pic.twitter.com/9NSabfUuMK
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 9, 2026
The duo of freshman Evan Jones and senior Zach Johnston recorded the final 21 outs of the game for the Demon Deacons. Overall, Jones and Johnston combined for eight strikeouts while giving up just two hits and one run in 7.0 innings of relief.
Slim sits 'em down 🪑 pic.twitter.com/FMKUmUtQSG
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 9, 2026
Johnston picked up his first career save as he finished with five strikeouts over the course of a career-high 4.0 scoreless frames. The North Yarmouth, Maine, native is currently on an incredible run on the mound, having not allowed a run over his last nine appearances, covering 11.2 innings, with 16 strikeouts and just four walks.
Up after six 📈 pic.twitter.com/6wmeIGVtrs
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 9, 2026
Meanwhile, Jones tallied three strikeouts in 3.0 innings, including a massive punchout to escape a bases-loaded jam unscathed in the fourth.
Deuce's turn 💥 pic.twitter.com/4w3TCovaEd
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 8, 2026
Wake Forest scored all of their runs via the long ball as they left the yard three times on Friday, bringing the season home run total to 81. Over the last 13 games, the Demon Deacons have homered 42 times, including nine games with multiple home runs. The Deacs moved to 16-5 when hitting two or more home runs in a game this season.
13th of the year 🚀 https://t.co/559Jx9bIpt pic.twitter.com/vDswv8ZKGg
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 8, 2026
Junior Kade Lewis opened the scoring in the top of the first as he crushed a three-run blast 450 feet over the scoreboard in right center, marking his 13th home run of the season. Additionally, the Sartell, Minn., native has driven in 54 runs this season, which ranks 12th in the ACC.
Kept carrying 🌬️ pic.twitter.com/4tpt4MNfFt
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 8, 2026
The Deacs added two more home runs in a three-run bottom of the fourth as sophomore Dalton Wentz led off the inning with a solo shot over the right field wall. Moments later, freshman Andrew Costello launched a two-run bomb to left center for his second long ball of the year, highlighting a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.
Two scoreless for Joey ✌️ pic.twitter.com/H29UY1v1cx
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 8, 2026
Catcher Matt Conte had a pair of doubles, marking his first career game with two or more doubles, for his 15th multi-hit game of the year. Meanwhile, sophomore Luke Costello added two singles to give him his third multi-hit performance in his last four games, totaling seven hits in that stretch.
The homer the difference so far 🤘 pic.twitter.com/EHInSc2Kri
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 8, 2026
STAGGERING STATISTICS
Wake Forest scored all of their runs via the long ball as they left the yard three times on Friday, bringing the season home run total to 81.
Over the last 13 games, the Demon Deacons have homered 42 times, including nine games with multiple home runs.
The Deacs also moved to 16-5 when hitting two or more home runs in a game this season.
Left a new pothole on Shorefair Drive 🤯 https://t.co/wZjehe4ewG pic.twitter.com/HqqPseT16e
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 8, 2026
FROM COACH WALTER
“It was good to keep [Chris Levonas] short and give him a refresh, headed into the stretch run here. That’s going to be really important for Chris. [Evan Jones] didn’t have his best stuff but battled and found a way to get us nine outs with only one run. [Zach] Johnston was the story of the game today, obviously. Slim was fantastic. That’s two outings in a row that we’ve been able to run his pitch count up. He’s throwing the ball so well right now. I’m really proud of Slim. We didn’t have a great day offensively. We almost never do when we take a week off like that. It’s been telling the guys 17 years in a row, we never played well in this game, the first game back. The good news is school is behind us now, we can focus on baseball and get to playing well. We had a good team win. I’m proud of our guys, and we need a good start out of [Troy Dressler] tomorrow.” – Head Coach Tom Walter
Pair of swords in the 1st ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/Zp3buS43Pt
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 8, 2026
UP NEXT
The Demon Deacons will look to clinch the series over the Catamounts tomorrow night, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
Join us as Wake Forest honors student managers Peyton Polett and Daniel Gann, along with student-athletes Austin Hawke, Zach Johnston, Luke Schmolke and Jimmy Keenan for their contributions to the program starting at 5:40 p.m. before Saturday’s contest.
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