Wake Forest Falls to Kentucky 6-5

[ASFN Admin]

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CORAL GABLES, FL - APRIL 11: Wake Forest pitcher Will Ray (2) pitches in relief in the ninth inning as the Miami Hurricanes faced the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on April 11, 2026, at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

For the third year in a row, the Deacs have lost their opening game of regionals in the NCAA Tournament, narrowly losing to the Kentucky Wildcats by a score of 6-5.

pic.twitter.com/6fnPD31KWl

— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 29, 2026

Starting pitcher Chris Levonas did his job for the Deacs, striking out 6 batters and giving up just 1 run in 5 innings. When he left the mound, he had Wake Forest in front 3-1 with some help from a Matt Conte 2-run homer in the 4th inning.

107 mph, 416 ft https://t.co/hgrJUKIGXGpic.twitter.com/WkOV7StuzO

— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 29, 2026

The 6th inning is where things started to fall apart for Wake Forest. With Rhys Bowie on the mound, the Deacs started the inning by loading up the bases on a HBP and 2 walks. A Wildcat double brought in 2 runs to tie the game, and then a wild pitch allowed Kentucky to score another run to take a 4-3 lead. The damage continued when a deep fly ball to center brought in a 4th run in the inning to give Kentucky a 5-3 lead.

An Andrew Costello homer in the 6th inning brought the Deacs back within 1. Two innings later, Wake tied the game at 5-5 on Dalton Wentz’s 18th home run of the season.

Now we go https://t.co/JfsAhjb6xFpic.twitter.com/7x3zUD1JzT

— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 29, 2026

The winning run for Kentucky came in the top of the 9th inning. After a single to right field, the Deacs allowed Jayce Tharnish to steal both second and third base, which gave him an easy path to home plate after a wild pitch from Will Ray to give the Wildcats a 6-5 lead. The Deacs went 3 up, 3 down in the bottom of the 9th and dropped their 3rd game in a row.

Wake just had too many mistakes to come away with a win in a close game, and it cost them. With the opening day loss, Wake will now need to win 4 games in a row to make it out of the regional, starting with Binghamton tomorrow at noon.

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