Wake Forest wins 3rd straight elimination game at regional to force deciding game against host Vols
Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Wake Forest won its third straight elimination game at the Knoxville Regional, this time on a bases-loaded walk by Jack Winnay for a 7-6 victory over No. 14 national seed Tennessee on Sunday night.
Wake Forest (39-21) forced a deciding game on Monday against Tennessee, which is looking for its fifth consecutive super regional appearance. The Vols (45-17) had their 14-game win streak in regionals come to an end.
Haiden Leffew (4-1) struck out the side in the top of the ninth inning to give Wake Forest a chance for a walk-off in the bottom half.
Matt Scannell led off the ninth with a walk and he scored when Winnay drew a four-pitch walk against Nate Snead.
Marek Houston homered in the first and singled up the middle in the ninth for Wake Forest. Javar Williams added a two-run shot in the fourth — the 14th of the regional for the Demon Deacons — for a 6-2 lead.
Andrew Fischer and Levi Clark each had a two-run homer for Tennessee to tie it at 6-6.
Tennessee reliever Brandon Arvidson allowed five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings, while striking out 12. Snead (4-2) fielded a bunt in the ninth but Kade Lewis reached safely to load the bases for Winnay.
Houston also homered in the first game of the day for Wake Forest.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
recommended
in this topic
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
13 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Hurricanes' Brind'Amour plans return to handshake lines after coaches sat out in Eastern final
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour plans to return to the handshake line between teams at the conclusion of a playoff series, coming after Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice convinced Brind'Amour the coaches should sit out after their Eastern Conference final series. Maurice has said he believes long-running hockey tradition should be solely between and keeping focus on the players. That led to an animated discussion between Maurice and Brind'Amour as players went through the on-ice line after Florida's clinching Game 5 win at Carolina last Wednesday, which sent the reigning champion Panthers back to the Stanley Cup Final for a rematch with Edmonton. Speaking at his end-of-season news conference with general manager Eric Tulsky, Brind'Amour said he 'wasn't expecting' Maurice's position 'but I understood his point of view' after an explanation. 'So I get his point, that it is about the players,' Brind'Amour said Tuesday. 'Moving forward, I think I'll probably go back to it just because it's a sign of respect – that's the way I look at it,' Brind'Amour added later. 'We're not out there on the ice battling, but we're right in there with these guys. So that that's my take. I think you're entitled to whatever one you want. He won, so I kind of went, 'OK, I'm going to follow your lead in that.' But I do think it's important, to me anyway, to show respect to the players.' Brind'Amour pointed to the Hurricanes' first-round win against New Jersey, which featured former Carolina players like Brett Pesce, Dougie Hamilton and Stefan Noesen. Notably, when Brind'Amour reached Pesce — who rose from Carolina draft pick to play nine seasons with the Hurricanes reaching back to Brind'Amour's time as an assistant coach -- the two had a hearty hug and amiable chat. 'I've had some pretty impactful memories and moments in that line as a coach going through,' Brind'Amour said, adding of players he formerly coached: 'So it meant something to me to go through there and shake their hand.' Maurice had said he wasn't sure when coaches joined the post-series handshake line and wondered if it was someone looking to get more TV time. Brind'Amour shrugged that off with an inadvertent quip and nod to his often-animated reaction to officiating calls. 'For me, I'm not thinking about a TV moment,' Brind'Amour said. 'I get enough of that every time there's a penalty.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
Associated Press
17 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Top-ranked Sabalenka plays in front of empty seats at French Open, calls for fairer scheduling
PARIS (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka is the top-ranked player in women's tennis. Yet even that status didn't spare her from competing in front of empty seats at Roland-Garros, something she says isn't fair. The three-time Grand Slam champion faced China's Zheng Qinwen in the first quarterfinal match on Tuesday, beginning at 11 a.m. on Court Philippe-Chatrier. When play began, large sections of the 15,000-seat stadium were still unoccupied — a common sight in the early hours at the French Open, when many ticket holders opt for lunch or arrive later in the day. 'It was a big match and probably would make more sense to put us a little bit later just so more people could watch it,' Sabalenka said after her 7-6 (3), 6-3 win. ' I definitely think that would make more sense to kind of like move our match for a little bit later.' But scheduling more night sessions for women is proving a tough issue to resolve for French Open tournament director Amélie Mauresmo. Since the introduction of night sessions in 2021, only four women's singles matches have been featured in that marquee time slot. Serena Williams played in the first-ever night match at Roland-Garros, but pandemic restrictions meant the stands were empty. No women's matches have been scheduled for the evening session this year, something Sabalenka said should change. Asked about her views on the fact that women haven't played a single night match this year, the player from Belarus said they deserve 'equal treatment.' 'There was a lot of ... great battles, a lot of great matches which would be cool to see as night sessions,' she said. 'Just more people in the stands watching these incredible battles. And just to show ourselves to more people. I definitely agree that we deserve to be put on a bigger stage. Like better timing, more people watching.' There was, however, one upside to the early start for Sabalenka ahead of her semifinal against four-time champion Iga Swiatek. 'I'm happy to finish earlier and then I have a half day off and I can just enjoy the city and do all the things that I have to do,' she said. ___ More AP tennis:
Associated Press
23 minutes ago
- Associated Press
French Open: Lorenzo Musetti beats Frances Tiafoe to reach the French Open semifinals
PARIS (AP) — Lorenzo Musetti used his sleek one-handed backhand and sprint-then-slide court coverage to reach his first semifinal at the French Open, and second at a Grand Slam tournament, by beating Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 Tuesday in the same stadium where he won a bronze medal at last year's Olympics. The eighth-seeded Musetti, a 23-year-old Italian, improved to 19-3 this season on red clay. When the match ended, he rolled up the right sleeve of his green shirt and flexed his biceps. He'll face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Tommy Paul on Friday for a berth in the championship match. Musetti and No. 1 Jannik Sinner — who faces unseeded Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals Wednesday — gave Italy two male quarterfinalists at Roland-Garros for the first time since 1973. Tiafoe also was part of a rare duo: He and Paul were the first American men to get to the round of eight in Paris since Andre Agassi in 2003 — and the first duo to do it in the same year since Jim Courier and Pete Sampras in 1996. And the 15th-seeded Tiafoe, a 27-year-old from Maryland, made it all the way to the quarterfinals without dropping a single set. But he was not quite up to the task against Musetti, who was a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2024, and it showed right away. Wearing a chain around his neck with a pendant reading 'Big Foe' in capital letters, Tiafoe missed all eight first serves in his initial service game and sent a backhand wide to give Musetti a break and a 2-0 lead. He looked up at his coach, David Witt — who's worked with Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula in the past — and complained about the wind. The deficit was 3-0 after 13 minutes. By the time that set was over, 21 of Musetti's 30 points had arrived via mistakes by Tiafoe, nine forced and 12 unforced. Two-time U.S. Open semifinalist Tiafoe's first break delivered a 2-1 lead in the second, and when he smacked a forehand winner to even the match at a set apiece, he let out a roar and shouted, 'Let's go! Let's go!' During that set, Musetti was warned for unsportsmanlike conduct for kicking a tennis ball that inadvertently hit a linesperson. Unlike most top-level tennis tournaments, which rely on electronic line-calling, there are still humans on court at Roland-Garros to decide whether shots land in or out. The point of the match came in the third set's sixth game. Musetti stretched wide of the doubles alley near the net to reach a shot at a seemingly impossible angle. Tiafoe then did the same in response, sending his near the baseline. Musetti ran and, with his back to the net, twisted his body to somehow flick a low ball back with a half-swing. It worked, though, and Tiafoe — perhaps startled to see the point wasn't over — netted an awkward, shoulder-high volley. That set swung Musetti's way when he broke in its last game. On a 12-stroke exchange, Tiafoe tried an ill-advised and ill-struck drop shot that the speedy Musetti got to, conjuring up a down-the-line backhand winner. Now it was his turn to celebrate, punching the air and yelling. Musetti broke again to lead 2-0 in the fourth, and soon it was over. He is now 13-4 in his French Open career, and three of those losses came against an opponent ranked No. 1 — Novak Djokovic twice, Alcaraz once. The only way he'll need to deal with the top-ranked man again in Paris is if it's his pal Sinner standing across the net on Sunday with the trophy in the offing. ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis:
