WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Notre Dame baseball team fell to No. 15 Wake Forest by a 19-5 final score on Friday night.
The Demon Deacons got on the scoreboard with two runs in the first and three in the second to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
In the top of the third inning, Nick DeMarco got the Irish on the scoreboard with a solo shot to left field to cut the deficit to 5-1. Parker Brzustewicz drew a two-out walk, and Bino Watters crushed a 1-1 pitch well clear of the right field fence to cut the gap to 5-3.
The Irish forced the Demon Deacons into stranding a runner in the bottom of the third. Parker Brzustewicz smothered a ground ball for a force out, and Jack Radel recorded the third out of the inning with a strikeout to end the frame.
Wake Forest plated 11 runs on seven hits in the bottom of the fourth to gain a 16-3 lead. The Demon Deacons added three in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead further.
The Irish continued to battle down the stretch. Bino Watters drew a lead-off walk in the top of the sixth inning. Estevan Moreno punched a home run the opposite way for a two-run boost late in the game. That spark was unable to turn into more for the Irish down the stretch as the Demon Deacons took the game by a 19-5 final score.
Jack Radel shouldered the loss on the mound and struck out a pair. Oisin Lee made his collegiate debut and allowed just one hit and dialed up his first collegiate strike out.
Nick DeMarco had a solo home run, Bino Watters belted a two-run home run, and Estevan Moreno added a two-run home run of his own on the offensive side of the ball for the Irish in the game.
Notre Dame (8-2, 0-1 ACC) takes on Wake Forest for game two of the three-game series on Saturday starting at 5:00 p.m.