Wake Forest slugger Brock Wilken becomes ACC's all-time home run leader with 70 amid offensive onslaught vs. Alabama

The way Wake Forest was hitting on Sunday, it should come as no surprise that Brock Wilken was having a field day against Alabama during game two of the Winston-Salem Super Regional.

He knocked three balls out of the David F. Couch Ballpark, totaling 4-for-5 at the plate with a walk. The hot afternoon earned him his 68th, 69th and his record-setting 70th career home run to break the all-time ACC record.

Wilken wasn’t the only player that was hot at the plate. In fact, his whole team was on fire hitting a total of nine home runs — which tied an NCAA record — en route to defeating Alabama 22-5 to finish off the Super Regional sweep of the Crimson Tide. Five other Demon Deacons scored home runs during the game.

Coming into the matchup, Wilken was batting .317, having scored 46 runs (90 total bases) at 120 at-bats. He’s now hit 18 home runs on the season, but he does more than just hit. He’s drawn a team-high 30 walks but has struck out 32 times.

His game two performance looked like he was a completely different player from the one on the field in game one. He went hitless in four at-bats and was struck out once.

Now, Wake Forest advances to its first College World Series since 1955, which is the same year they won their first and only national championship. They’ll look to mirror that same success in Omaha next weekend.

Tom Walter analyzes Josh Hartle’s performance on the mound vs. Alabama

Wake Forest is on track to make its first College World Series since 1955. Leading Alabama 10-3 through three innings on Sunday, Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter discussed his starting pitcher Josh Hartle’s performance on the mound during the early-going.

“He doesn’t have his cutter today. He’s gotten hurt on cutters and balls that he has left up. We’ve just got to get him back to the bottom of the zone,” Walter said during Game 2’s broadcast. “He got a big shut-down [third] inning there for us, so I’m proud of him.”

Through three innings, Hartle had given up three earned runs on six hits, including two home runs. Although he’s had some trouble with the long ball, he was still able to manage seven strikeouts. He’s also thrown 41 strikes on 59 pitches. 

Luckily for Wake Forest, their offensive-heavy park is playing to their advantage because of Hartle’s command.

“You’ve got to make pitches, there’s no doubt about that,” Walter said. “Fortunately, we’re on the right side of it so far but there’s a lot of game to go, and that Alabama club sure is good.”