COLLEGE STATION--Parker Dunshee struck out 11 over 7.2 innings and was backed up by three home runs as Wake Forest defeated Minnesota 5-3 Friday afternoon in the NCAA College Station Regional before 5,213 fans at Blue Bell Park.
The Demon Deacons (35-25) advance to Saturday's winner's bracket game against either Texas A&M or Binghamton at 8 p.m. (CT). The Golden Gophers (34-21) will face an elimination game at 3 p.m.
Dunshee entered the eighth with a shutout, limiting one of the nation's top offenses to just three hits. He allowed a one-out double before Matt Fiedler touched him for a two-out, two-run shot to put Minnesota on the board that ended the right-hander's afternoon.
Wake drew first blood in the third, as Joey Rodriguez launched a two-run home run high off the scoreboard in left center field to stake the Demon Deacons to an early 2-0 lead.
An error, groundout and two wild pitches would push across Wake Forest's third run in the fifth inning, and the three seed would add to the lead one inning later on a two-run blast by Conway.
Minnesota would get a one-out home run by Smith in the ninth to pull within two, and would bring the tying run to the plate, but closer Will Craig would induce back-to-back groundouts to end the game and record his ninth save of the season.
Rodriguez would lead the offense, going 2-for-5 with his home run and the two RBI. Micah Coffey had a team-high two hits for the Gophers.
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POSTGAME NOTES
-Wake Forest improves to 4-0 against Minnesota, it was their first meeting at the NCAA Tournament.
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-The Wake Forest-Minnesota matchup was Friday's only game featuring two previous College World Series champions. It was both teams' first NCAA Tournament game in over six years.
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-Demon Deacon All-ACC starter Parker Dunshee worked 7.2 innings fanning 11. His 121 pitches were a career high. After giving up three hits the first time through the Golden Gopher lineup, Dunshee didn't allow a hit the next two times through the order.
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-After Minnesota reached base on a dropped third strike to begin the seventh, Dunshee fanned the next three Minnesota hitters giving the junior a rare four-strikeout inning.
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-Minnesota starter Dalton Sawyer had allowed three homers in 88.2 innings on the season coming into the game, Wake managed to double that total in Sawyer's six innings.
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-Wake Forest posted 12 strikeouts on the ballgame, the most Minnesota has been struck out on the season.
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-The three-homer day by Wake Forest was the most by the Demon Deacons in the NCAA Tournament in over 60 years.
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-Minnesota came with a .325 average, good for fifth in the nation, and were held to 5-for-29 (.179) against the Wake starter Dunshee.
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-Wake is now 3-10 in games where they allow two or more homers.
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-Joey Rodriguez, Kevin Conway and Johnny Aiello of Wake Forest all hit their second homer in three games with each going yard in the ACC Semifinal matchup with Virginia.
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-Will Craig recorded the final two outs of the game, earning his 10th career save.Â
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POSTGAME QUOTES
Wake Forest quotes
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Head Coach Tom Walter
Opening Statement…
"Thank you, great win for our guys today you know Parker Dunshee was obviously the story for today. He was just fantastic, I think 11 strike outs, one walk and gave up the homerun there in the ninth. We might have left him in one hitter too long. I know he wouldn't agree with that but he just threw the ball really well, had two pitches going for strikes, was commanding his fastball and I thought he really dominated that game. Then offensively, we got four home runs I think in the game. Joey Rodriguez obviously the star of the game, hit the big two run home run to get us started. After Jonathan Pryor had the great walk to lead off the inning, Joey homers and gets us to two nothing so it kind of takes the monkey off our back a little bit. I thought we had a chance to break it open there with the bases loaded and nobody out but give credit to [Dalton] Sawyer, he's got a really good arm and really good stuff. I think we got played big strikeouts there, kind of keep the game within range and our bullpen was a little shaky at times but Donnie Sellers got a big out, Garrett Kelly got a big out and then Will Craig does what Will Craig does and comes in and gets the last two outs so just really happy for this club, really proud of this club. We'll enjoy this one and then get ready to play tomorrow."
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Senior Outfielder Joey Rodriguez
On his home run…
"Actually right when I hit it, I looked up for a split second and put my head down. I knew I had gotten all of it. It was probably the best ball I've hit all year to be honest."
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Junior pitcher Parker Dunshee
On how it feels to start tournament off with strong outing…
"Obviously it's just good to get a team win, going 1-0 against 0-1 changes your whole mindset for the tournament. I just try to do my part, throw up some zeros and I knew our offense was going to be able to put up some runs so it's all just about shutting it down after we score and filling up the zone, so not giving them anything free because if you give a team like Minnesota anything free, walk, walk and then a double then all of the sudden it's a big inning. Eliminating big innings is obviously something big against that team."
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Minnesota quotes
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Head Coach John Anderson
Opening Statement…
"Good ballgame out there, I thought (Parker) Dunshee pitched extremely well. If you look at his pitching numbers, I think he struck out 91 in 93 innings. You look at some of the games he's pitched in a very good league in the ACC, and he's able to pitch the fastball to the four corners of the strike zone. Moves in and out and mixes in just enough breaking balls and changeups to keep you honest. I thought he was the difference in the game today, no doubt about it. He pitched outstanding and we had some chances the first four innings. Dalton Sawyer just as the game went along didn't throw enough first pitch strikes. He was behind in the count a lot, the homeruns came from being behind in the count and making mistakes. Dunshee didn't make many mistakes. I thought we had a chance to get back in the game there in the eighth. I thought we did a better job as the game went along offensively. I thought (Dunshee) was the story of the day. He pitched better than our starter did and Dalton got us out of a jam there with the bases loaded. I think it probably took a lot out of him. He kept the game in balance and I thought that was a big point in the game as well."
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On the tribute to Coach Todd Oakes…
"I was alerted to that this morning. It's a very classy move. This is about life and losing a great man, to see the baseball community pay tribute to him is pretty special. Rob Childress knew Coach Oakes when he was at Nebraska. I don't know whose idea it was, but Coach Childress is a class act. Always has been. I've had great respect for him since his days at Nebraska. We thank Texas A&M for paying their tribute to Coach Oakes."
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Sophomore Infielder Micah Coffey
On offense in the early stages of the game…
"I guess like coach said, we did have opportunities early in the game but he's a really talented pitcher, works all four corners of the zone, ended up being able to establish his breaking ball. We just missed those opportunities."
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On the rally at the end of the game…
"Gave ourselves a shot, and that's all we can really ask for. Wish we would have been in more of a competitive spot a little bit earlier in the game, being able to execute a little bit more, but that's all you can ask for, to have a chance towards the end of the game. We felt good about where we were with the top of the lineup coming up, just weren't able to string together enough quality at-bats to get the job done. Flush that, take the good from today, and move on to tomorrow."
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Junior Pitcher/Outfielder Matt Fiedler
On the tribute to Coach Todd Oakes…
"I saw them laying it down when we got here before BP. I didn't know what it was at first. I went over and looked at it. It means a lot to us. It's a great tribute. A&M is very, very classy for doing that. We appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers we got from around the entire country. It's a baseball community and that's just another sign of how close college baseball is. Tragedy brings us all closer, so we appreciate them doing that for us."
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On getting out of a bases-loaded jam…
"We were definitely hoping to draw some momentum from that. We thought that it was going to be a shifting point in the game, but (Parker) Dunshee, as he did the entire game, was able to keep us off of the board. I think the real issue for us for those first six or seven innings was a lack of being able to string together quality at-bats. I think we had good at-bats overall on the day, but not being able to string them together when we had the opportunities kind of shot us in the foot. We're a very dangerous offense. We got back in the game at the very end. The key for us will be better, consistent at-bats throughout the lineup, earlier in the game so we're not so much against the wall at the very end."
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On the rest of the weekend…
"We're battle-tested. Adversity is nothing new to us, going 0-1 doesn't phase us at all. We're going to bring it and give it our all for the rest of the weekend. We're planning on being here until the very end. For us, the most important game is tomorrow. We're not worried, and expect us to get on a little roll."
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The Demon Deacons (35-25) advance to Saturday's winner's bracket game against either Texas A&M or Binghamton at 8 p.m. (CT). The Golden Gophers (34-21) will face an elimination game at 3 p.m.
Dunshee entered the eighth with a shutout, limiting one of the nation's top offenses to just three hits. He allowed a one-out double before Matt Fiedler touched him for a two-out, two-run shot to put Minnesota on the board that ended the right-hander's afternoon.
Wake drew first blood in the third, as Joey Rodriguez launched a two-run home run high off the scoreboard in left center field to stake the Demon Deacons to an early 2-0 lead.
An error, groundout and two wild pitches would push across Wake Forest's third run in the fifth inning, and the three seed would add to the lead one inning later on a two-run blast by Conway.
Minnesota would get a one-out home run by Smith in the ninth to pull within two, and would bring the tying run to the plate, but closer Will Craig would induce back-to-back groundouts to end the game and record his ninth save of the season.
Rodriguez would lead the offense, going 2-for-5 with his home run and the two RBI. Micah Coffey had a team-high two hits for the Gophers.
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POSTGAME NOTES
-Wake Forest improves to 4-0 against Minnesota, it was their first meeting at the NCAA Tournament.
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-The Wake Forest-Minnesota matchup was Friday's only game featuring two previous College World Series champions. It was both teams' first NCAA Tournament game in over six years.
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-Demon Deacon All-ACC starter Parker Dunshee worked 7.2 innings fanning 11. His 121 pitches were a career high. After giving up three hits the first time through the Golden Gopher lineup, Dunshee didn't allow a hit the next two times through the order.
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-After Minnesota reached base on a dropped third strike to begin the seventh, Dunshee fanned the next three Minnesota hitters giving the junior a rare four-strikeout inning.
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-Minnesota starter Dalton Sawyer had allowed three homers in 88.2 innings on the season coming into the game, Wake managed to double that total in Sawyer's six innings.
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-Wake Forest posted 12 strikeouts on the ballgame, the most Minnesota has been struck out on the season.
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-The three-homer day by Wake Forest was the most by the Demon Deacons in the NCAA Tournament in over 60 years.
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-Minnesota came with a .325 average, good for fifth in the nation, and were held to 5-for-29 (.179) against the Wake starter Dunshee.
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-Wake is now 3-10 in games where they allow two or more homers.
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-Joey Rodriguez, Kevin Conway and Johnny Aiello of Wake Forest all hit their second homer in three games with each going yard in the ACC Semifinal matchup with Virginia.
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-Will Craig recorded the final two outs of the game, earning his 10th career save.Â
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POSTGAME QUOTES
Wake Forest quotes
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Head Coach Tom Walter
Opening Statement…
"Thank you, great win for our guys today you know Parker Dunshee was obviously the story for today. He was just fantastic, I think 11 strike outs, one walk and gave up the homerun there in the ninth. We might have left him in one hitter too long. I know he wouldn't agree with that but he just threw the ball really well, had two pitches going for strikes, was commanding his fastball and I thought he really dominated that game. Then offensively, we got four home runs I think in the game. Joey Rodriguez obviously the star of the game, hit the big two run home run to get us started. After Jonathan Pryor had the great walk to lead off the inning, Joey homers and gets us to two nothing so it kind of takes the monkey off our back a little bit. I thought we had a chance to break it open there with the bases loaded and nobody out but give credit to [Dalton] Sawyer, he's got a really good arm and really good stuff. I think we got played big strikeouts there, kind of keep the game within range and our bullpen was a little shaky at times but Donnie Sellers got a big out, Garrett Kelly got a big out and then Will Craig does what Will Craig does and comes in and gets the last two outs so just really happy for this club, really proud of this club. We'll enjoy this one and then get ready to play tomorrow."
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Senior Outfielder Joey Rodriguez
On his home run…
"Actually right when I hit it, I looked up for a split second and put my head down. I knew I had gotten all of it. It was probably the best ball I've hit all year to be honest."
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Junior pitcher Parker Dunshee
On how it feels to start tournament off with strong outing…
"Obviously it's just good to get a team win, going 1-0 against 0-1 changes your whole mindset for the tournament. I just try to do my part, throw up some zeros and I knew our offense was going to be able to put up some runs so it's all just about shutting it down after we score and filling up the zone, so not giving them anything free because if you give a team like Minnesota anything free, walk, walk and then a double then all of the sudden it's a big inning. Eliminating big innings is obviously something big against that team."
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Minnesota quotes
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Head Coach John Anderson
Opening Statement…
"Good ballgame out there, I thought (Parker) Dunshee pitched extremely well. If you look at his pitching numbers, I think he struck out 91 in 93 innings. You look at some of the games he's pitched in a very good league in the ACC, and he's able to pitch the fastball to the four corners of the strike zone. Moves in and out and mixes in just enough breaking balls and changeups to keep you honest. I thought he was the difference in the game today, no doubt about it. He pitched outstanding and we had some chances the first four innings. Dalton Sawyer just as the game went along didn't throw enough first pitch strikes. He was behind in the count a lot, the homeruns came from being behind in the count and making mistakes. Dunshee didn't make many mistakes. I thought we had a chance to get back in the game there in the eighth. I thought we did a better job as the game went along offensively. I thought (Dunshee) was the story of the day. He pitched better than our starter did and Dalton got us out of a jam there with the bases loaded. I think it probably took a lot out of him. He kept the game in balance and I thought that was a big point in the game as well."
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On the tribute to Coach Todd Oakes…
"I was alerted to that this morning. It's a very classy move. This is about life and losing a great man, to see the baseball community pay tribute to him is pretty special. Rob Childress knew Coach Oakes when he was at Nebraska. I don't know whose idea it was, but Coach Childress is a class act. Always has been. I've had great respect for him since his days at Nebraska. We thank Texas A&M for paying their tribute to Coach Oakes."
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Sophomore Infielder Micah Coffey
On offense in the early stages of the game…
"I guess like coach said, we did have opportunities early in the game but he's a really talented pitcher, works all four corners of the zone, ended up being able to establish his breaking ball. We just missed those opportunities."
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On the rally at the end of the game…
"Gave ourselves a shot, and that's all we can really ask for. Wish we would have been in more of a competitive spot a little bit earlier in the game, being able to execute a little bit more, but that's all you can ask for, to have a chance towards the end of the game. We felt good about where we were with the top of the lineup coming up, just weren't able to string together enough quality at-bats to get the job done. Flush that, take the good from today, and move on to tomorrow."
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Junior Pitcher/Outfielder Matt Fiedler
On the tribute to Coach Todd Oakes…
"I saw them laying it down when we got here before BP. I didn't know what it was at first. I went over and looked at it. It means a lot to us. It's a great tribute. A&M is very, very classy for doing that. We appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers we got from around the entire country. It's a baseball community and that's just another sign of how close college baseball is. Tragedy brings us all closer, so we appreciate them doing that for us."
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On getting out of a bases-loaded jam…
"We were definitely hoping to draw some momentum from that. We thought that it was going to be a shifting point in the game, but (Parker) Dunshee, as he did the entire game, was able to keep us off of the board. I think the real issue for us for those first six or seven innings was a lack of being able to string together quality at-bats. I think we had good at-bats overall on the day, but not being able to string them together when we had the opportunities kind of shot us in the foot. We're a very dangerous offense. We got back in the game at the very end. The key for us will be better, consistent at-bats throughout the lineup, earlier in the game so we're not so much against the wall at the very end."
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On the rest of the weekend…
"We're battle-tested. Adversity is nothing new to us, going 0-1 doesn't phase us at all. We're going to bring it and give it our all for the rest of the weekend. We're planning on being here until the very end. For us, the most important game is tomorrow. We're not worried, and expect us to get on a little roll."
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