The Wake Forest Baseball season came to a close with a loss to N.C State that was tough to stomach. Les Johns (found on Twitter here) and Conor O’Neil (on Twitter here) were able to speak with the Deacs Head Man at the conclusion of the season and Coach Walter made it clear that it’s obvious what aspects of the team will need to improve going into next season, especially after missing the NCAA Tournament this year (very well put together article by Les Johns from the Demon Deacon Digest).
Pitching was a clear weakness for the Deacs, especially with consistency (Conor O’Neil of the Journal highlights here).
The Deacs finished either worst or second worst in the ACC for ERA, hits allowed, runs allowed, walks surrendered, home runs allowed and batting average against.
Walter had the following to say about the season:
“You know, at the end of the day it boils down to our pitching wasn’t good enough, and the statistics bear it out. To have a good season, you have to … statistically have the metrics. We got it done offensively, obviously. Had some guys that had great individual years on the offensive side of the ball.”
With the draft coming up on Monday, the program is likely to ironically lose some pitching and an infielder like last year. Colin Peluse, Morgan McSweeney, and Patrick Frick are all likely to garner six-figure signing bonuses although Walter said that the draft could be “fickle”.
Looking into the future, ACC player of the year Bobby Seymour (ACC-leading .377 batting average and 92 RBIs), Shane Muntz (.313 with 14 HR), Michael Ludowig (.300), and Brendan Tinsman (10 HR and 41 RBIs as a freshman) are all expected to return, giving the lineup a strong baseline for the 2020 season. While the team ended with a winning record, the sour taste of the tough loss to end the year while not making the tournament will likely motivate the Deacs Baseball Program going forward.
Updated at 8:10PM
Editor’s Note: It is my sincere apology to Conor O’Neil and Les Johns for not citing their thorough articles regarding the baseball season at the initial posting of the article. BSD and especially myself will hold ourselves to the highest standards of citing and giving due credit.