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The Wake Forest Demon Deacons could not defeat Minnesota for the second time in three days, and have been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. Wake Forest won Friday's game 5-3, but fell 8-3 on Sunday afternoon.
The Deacs won the first contest against Minnesota thanks to a very strong outing from starting pitcher Parker Dunshee, but the pitching was not there on Sunday for Wake. Connor Johnstone threw 93 pitches in just 4.2 innings, and allowed 3 earned runs (4 in total). Wake needed a longer outing from Johnstone today. Will Craig, who is normally a reliable pitcher, allowed 4 runs in just 1.1 innings of work.
Wake didn't just lose this game because of pitching, however. Wake Forest had 8 hits in this contest, but were horrific with runners in scoring position, and as a result stranded 12 runners on base. The heart of the lineup typically did a strong job of getting on base, but the bottom of the lineup could not convert in necessary positions.
Wake Forest finishes the season with a 35-27 record, which is the program's best since 2002. In the coming weeks we will have some season in review articles and take a very early look at what next years Diamond Deacs will look like.