Wake Forest rolls over CCU in lopsided shutout

This was the worst-case-scenario game coach Gary Gilmore had probably thought about at some point through the early part of this season while lamenting Coastal Carolina’s inconsistent pitching and erratic defense.

What happens when the offense can’t cover for the rest of it and keep the Chanticleers competitive?

The Chants had seem glimpses of their vulnerability before, but nothing like this.

Wake Forest scored six runs in the top of the first inning on three walks, two hit batters and two hits and cruised the rest of the way to an 11-0 win over Coastal Carolina before a crowd of 1,326 at Springs Brooks Stadium.

The Chants (6-6), who dropped out of Baseball America’s top-25 poll this week, also committed three errors in the loss and tallied just six hits while losing for the fourth time in five games.

“I’m not really quite sure what to say to be very honest,” said Gilmore, who had not yet addressed the team before speaking after the game. “Just massive frustration at this point in time across the board.”

Freshman left-hander Chris Davidson (0-1) made his first career start after three relief appearances and struggled to find his control in the opening frame while failing to record an out before exiting the game. He was charged with six earned runs while facing just seven batters.

Joey Rodriguez led off for Wake Forest (10-3) with a four-pitch walk, Kevin Conway was hit by a pitch and Nate Mondou drew a full-count walk to load the bases. Will Craig, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, followed with an RBI single to left, Ben Breazeale added an RBI infield single, Stuart Fairchild drew a four-pitch bases-loaded walk to plate another run and Gavin Sheets was hit by the next pitch to make it 4-0 and prompt a pitching change.

Junior Andrew Beckwith took over and got Keegan Maronpot to ground into a fielder’s choice while one of those inherited runners came in to score, and Johnny Aiello reached on a fielding error by junior shortstop Michael Paez as the Demon Deacons made it 6-0 before Beckwith induced an inning-ending double play.

“When you give up six in the first it becomes a difficult situation,” Gilmore said. “It’s not a give-up situation, [but] it kind of demoralizes you and this has become commonplace at this point in time. That’s the part that’s frustrating.”

The score stayed like that until Wake Forest tacked on five more runs in the seventh.

It marked the first time the Chants have been shutout since their series finale with Winthrop last March 29.

Sophomore Seth Lancaster was the only Coastal Carolina player to record multiple hits, going 2-for-3. Junior G.K. Young, meanwhile, was kept off the bases for the first time all season.

Christian Bartholomew (3-0) earned the win for Wake Forest, giving up three hits and a walk over four scoreless innings while picking up three strikeouts.

The Chants get another shot at the Demon Deacons on Wednesday, sending right-hander Adam Hall to the mound. Hall, an offseason graduate transfer from Xavier, gave up four runs in his only inning of work so far this season. He was 1-5 with a 5.11 earned-run average last season with the Musketeers.

He was initially expected to be a big part of the Chants’ pitching plans before an inconsistent preseason.

“We have to keep running somebody out there until we can get somebody to get us to the sixth or seventh inning with a chance to win,” Gilmore said. “I wish I could sit here and look you in the eye and say I have a plan. Everything we try is not working at this moment in time, but we’ll keep trying. The only way we’re going to ever become a good team again is we’re going to have to pitch our way to that point. Some guys have got to step up.”

This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Wake Forest rolls over CCU in lopsided shutout."