WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Scoring two or more runs in each of the first four innings, the Wake Forest baseball team (34-17) secured the series with a 14-2 run-rule victory over Western Carolina on Saturday evening at David F. Couch Ballpark.
Senior Day Dub 😤 pic.twitter.com/s03t3ozl6W
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 10, 2026
Prior to the contest, Wake Forest honored senior student managers Peyton Polett and Dan Gann, along with student-athletes Austin Hawke, Zach Johnston, Luke Schmolke and Jimmy Keenan for their contributions to the program.
Near, far, wherever you are 🚢 pic.twitter.com/n7fG2tOB9Q
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 10, 2026
Five different Wake Forest hitters recorded multi-hit efforts, led by sophomore Dalton Wentz’s 2-for-3 day, with a pair of home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored.
Six-straight in the win column ✔️ pic.twitter.com/8BZVSMjgba
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 10, 2026
For Wentz, it marks the fourth multi-homer game of his career, while the five RBIs matched a career high. Additionally, he surpassed his home run total from a season ago, tying fellow sophomore Luke Costello for the team lead with 15 long balls so far this season.
Good to see ya back, 27 🫡 pic.twitter.com/s7wARgf54E
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 10, 2026
After a pair of doubles yesterday, designated hitter Matt Conte collected his third extra-base hit of the weekend, launching his 10th home run of the season to become the fifth Demon Deacon with double-digit home runs so far this season.
Crooked number in every inning 😎 pic.twitter.com/ZdEmqp3uw5
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 9, 2026
Junior Blake Schaaf launched his fifth home run of the season, taking a full-count pitch over the wall in left field to cap a six-run first inning for Wake Forest.
Javar plates another 👊 pic.twitter.com/aA5arfBAfq
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 9, 2026
On the mound, starting pitcher Troy Dressler earned his seventh win of the season, allowing just two runs on six hits across 5.0 innings while matching his career high with eight strikeouts.
861 feet of bombs for Wentz so far 💣 https://t.co/D6QY5hgehs pic.twitter.com/n27h4gOdxk
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 9, 2026
Reliever Ryan Bosch threw a hitless frame with a pair of strikeouts, while senior Luke Schmolke returned to the mound for the first time since March 24, retiring the Catamounts in order in the final inning.
Mashed by Matt 🥔 https://t.co/JO1MrBzLva pic.twitter.com/uTDf69UUQC
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 9, 2026
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Sophomore Dalton Wentz led the way for the Demon Deacons, going 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored.
This marked the fourth multi-home run game of Wentz’s career, while the five RBIs matched his career high.
The Madison Heights, Va., native has now left the yard a career-best 15 times this season, which is tied with fellow sophomore Luke Costello for the team lead.
Oppo taco 🌮 https://t.co/uPSTz5PkGO pic.twitter.com/F86ngfcw4u
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 9, 2026
FROM COACH WALTER
“That was a good win, and we needed it. We needed to not use a ton of our bullpen pieces with five games coming up in seven days. It was nice that we didn’t need to go to [Rhys] Bowie or [Marcelo] Harsch today, so we can have them available for tomorrow. I’m happy for our seniors, and I’m happy to see Luke Schmolke out there at the end. It’s good to have him back and have him get a three-up, three-down inning. We got good at-bats out of Matt Conte, Kade [Lewis] and Luke Costello. Good to see Dalton Wentz get going, as well as [Blake] Schaaf at the bottom. Overall, it was a good, solid day. We executed well. I told our guys afterwards that we won all of our 3-2 counts, or just about. We might have lost one all day offensively. We lost a couple on the mound, but we executed our situational at-bats, so it was a good overall day. I was proud of our guys. Hopefully, we get one or two innings out of [Cameron] Bagwell tomorrow and then we’ll piece it together with some of the freshmen that haven’t been pitching. [Ryan] Brennecke, [Grant] Nicholson and [Tyler] Wood are going to need to get 12 to 15 outs so we don’t have to extend Bowie, Harsch and [Will] Ray beyond an inning so we can have those guys back on Tuesday against a really good Liberty team.” – Head Coach Tom Walter
UP NEXT
The Demon Deacons close the regular season home slate tomorrow with first pitch set for 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.

