By: Daniel Matthews
LOUISVILLE, KY – Gavin Sheets hit a two-run home run off Brendan McKay in the 4th inning to put Wake Forest up for good and lead the #17 Demon Deacons to a 2-1 win over #2 Louisville on Friday night.
The Cardinals got on the board first when Colby Fitch drove in Logan Taylor in the 3rd inning, but Wake Forest answered right back in the top of the 4th when Sheets took McKay deep over the right field wall.
“To give up two runs on a Friday night and lose is definitely frustrating,” Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell said. “He’s great,” McDonnell said of McKay’s performance. “You give up two runs on a Friday night with our offense you would like to think we got a chance.”
The 2015 and 2016 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award winner entered Friday night’s game with a 4-1 record in six starts, a 1.18 ERA, 57 strikeouts and nine walks. He also came into the game batting .409/.522/.659, with five home runs and 20 RBI.
On the mound Friday night, McKay was dominant. He pitched 7.0 innings, gave up five hits and two runs (both earned), struck out 11 and walked one.
“They got two runs but you just keep attacking, hitting spots, throwing strikes, and forcing them to put the ball in play,” McKay said.
Of the five hits, all were given up to only two Wake Forest batters (Stuart Fairchild and Sheets). It was also the fourth time in his last five starts McKay struck out at least 10 batters. Wake Forest scored both its runs off McKay in the 4th inning, but he struck out more batters after Sheets’s home run (8) than before it (3).
At the plate, McKay went 1-4 with a double and a strikeout. Wake Forest starter Parker Dunshee held McKay in check (0-3). He reached base in the 2nd inning on an error when first baseman Sheets dropped a routine throw from second baseman Jake Mueller but was stranded when the next three batters were retired in order. Then he struck out looking in the 4th inning and flew out to right field in the 6th. His double came in the 8th inning off reliever Griffin Roberts with two outs and Louisville still trailing 2-1. Ryan Summers pinch ran for him, but Drew Ellis struck out to end the inning.
The Demon Deacons came into this weekend series opener ranked second in the nation in home runs (55) and 18th in batting average (.312); McKay had only given up one home run all season (March 24 @ N.C. State) before Sheets took him deep in the 4th.
The series continues with 1p.m. start times on both Saturday and Sunday at Jim Patterson Stadium.
