MIAMI \u2013 The Wake Forest baseball team (23-12, 8-8 ACC) fell, 3-1, in the opening game of the series against Miami (26-8, 7-6 ACC) on Friday night at Mark Light Field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Freshman JD Stein<\/a> led the Demon Deacons at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the seventh inning. Since the start of the month, Stein has raised his batting average by nearly 50 points, going 8-for-22 (.363) with six RBIs and a pair of extra-base hits.\u00a0
FROM COACH WALTER
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\nFirst baseman Luke Costello<\/a> roped a two-out double in the first inning for his fifth extra-base hit since the start of April and has hit safely in 10 of the last 12 contests for Wake Forest.\u00a0
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\nJunior Kade Lewis<\/a> extended his hit streak to six games with a single back up the middle to open the fourth inning.\u00a0
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\nStarting pitcher Chris Levonas<\/a> suffered just his second loss of the 2026 campaign, allowing just two earned runs on three hits over 5.1 innings with a trio of strikeouts. The sophomore retired the first 12 batters of the game before the Hurricanes got in the hit column in the fifth.\u00a0
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\nFreshman Marcelo Harsch<\/a> put the Demon Deacon bullpen in good position for the remainder of the series, tossing the final 2.2 innings on just 34 pitches. The Montclair, N.J., native retired the final six batters he faced in order, including needing just seven pitches to get through Miami in the bottom of the eighth inning.\u00a0
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\nHOW IT HAPPENED
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\n\tDespite a two-out double by sophomore Luke Costello<\/a>, the Demon Deacons were unable to get on the board in the top of the first.
\n\tSophomore right-hander Chris Levonas<\/a> made quick work of the Hurricanes in the bottom of the first, forcing three consecutive flyouts.
\n\tFreshman Andrew Costello<\/a> hit a two-out double down the first-base line, but the Deacs were unable to capitalize in the second.
\n\tLevonas logged his first strikeout of the evening en route to a clean frame in the home half of the second.
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\n\t\tThe Holmdel, N.J., native retired his ninth consecutive batter to end the third.
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\n\tLevonas added another hitless inning in the bottom of the fourth.
\n\tThe Deacs continued to put runners on the basepaths in the top of the fifth, but were unable to break the scoreless tie.
\n\tMiami plated a run in the bottom half of the fifth.
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\n\t\tThe Hurricanes added two more in the sixth.
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\n\tWake Forest got a run back in the seventh as freshman JD Stein<\/a> singled to shallow center to plate junior Boston Torres<\/a> from second.
\n\tFreshman reliever Marcelo Harsch<\/a> struck out a pair during a scoreless bottom of the seventh.
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\n\t\tThe Montclair, N.J., native continued to keep the Demon Deacons in the game as he retired the side in the eighth.
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\n\tThe Demon Deacons fell, 3-1.
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\n“We had runners on base every inning, sometimes multiple base runners, and we just couldn’t cash in. We just didn’t get it done when we needed to. I didn’t think either team swung the bat very well today, but they had a well-placed ground ball that got down the line on us, and we didn’t, and that was really the difference in today’s game. It’s disappointing that we’ve wasted another good outing by our pitching staff, and didn’t find a way to come out with a win. But, this is what Friday night baseball in our league looks like, and we have to come out ready to play tomorrow.” – Head Coach Tom Walter<\/a>\u00a0
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\nUP NEXT
\nThe Demon Deacons will look to even the series tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
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\nFOLLOW THE DEACS
\nGoDeacs.com<\/a> | Twitter<\/a> | Instagram<\/a> | Facebook<\/a>
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