Danny Corona celebrates after his go-ahead hit:

On June 17th, Wake Forest embarked on their College World Series journey. It was the first time the Deacs had reached that stage since 1955, when they won the national championship. This year, their opponent in the opener was Stanford. The Cardinal had a rough Pac-12 tournament, being eliminated after just three games. However, they showed grit in both the regional and super regional they hosted. After losing their second regional game to Texas A&M, they proceeded to pick up three straight victories, including two in a row over the Aggies, to advance to the super regionals against Texas. They lost the first game against Texas, but again rallied to win the next two and move on to Omaha.
Rhett Lowder got the start in the opener. Wake was undefeated in games that Lowder started. However, the Cardinal took an early 1-0 lead in the first on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded. It didn't take long before the Demon Deacons evened the score. Brock Wilken put the Deacs on the board in the second inning with a long solo home run over the left field wall. It was his 31st home run of the season, tying him with J.D. Drew for the most in a single season in ACC history. At the time, it moved him into a tie for first in the nation in home runs with Jac Caglianone of Florida (who was also in the College World Series). However, Stanford got the run back immediately with a single into right center to score star third baseman Tommy Troy. Wake Forest was able to get runners on base in some of the following innings, but wasn't able to capitalize. After getting the first out in the top of the sixth, Walter brought lefty starter Sean Sullivan into the game to relieve Rhett Lowder. Sullivan pitched a dominant 1.1 innings, picking off two runners in the process. The outing would've likely lasted longer if it wasn't for a rain delay. After the rain delay, the Deacs brought in their third starting pitcher of the game, Seth Keener. Keener struck out the final batter of the seventh inning. Wake was able to get multiple runners on in the bottom of the frame, but was again unable to get either one of them home. Keener dominated the eighth innings, striking out the side and putting his final line at 1.1 innings pitched and four strikeouts. In the bottom of the eighth, Nick Kurtz and Brock Wilken reached via the walk in consecutive plate appearances to start the half-inning. Walter then had one of his primary RBI guys in Justin Johnson lay down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to move Kurtz and Wilken up a base. With one out and runners on second and third, Danny Corona stepped up the plate. After a conversation with third base coach Bill Cilento, Corona grounded a ball sharply up the middle into center to score both runners, much to the delight of the thousands of Wake Forest fans in attendance. Cam Minacci took over in the top of the ninth and induced a ground ball double play to end the game, with the final being Wake Forest three and Stanford two.
No doubt the hit from Danny Corona was one of the most exciting moments of this historic season. Not only were Deac fans going crazy after the hit, but I believe a lot of us were letting out a huge sigh of relief. In a bracket that included Stanford, LSU, and Tennessee, it was paramount to win the first game. And thanks to the heroics of Corona, the Deacs did exactly that.
Video:
Credit to Wake Forest Sports Network and ESPN
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