ELON, N.C. — Back-to-back groundouts by the Elon University baseball team's defense had Wake Forest backed into a corner, but the Demon Deacons were able to start a two-out rally. 

Thanks to two singles and a walk, the bases were juiced with the go-ahead run at the plate, as Sam Nomura faced the top of the opposing lineup. With just four pitches, he retired the final batter for his second strikeout of the night and escaped the bases-loaded jam.

The Elon dugout flooded out onto the diamond as Nomura ran off the mound to celebrate with his teammates, experiencing a rush of emotions after securing the victory and his third save of the season.

"[I felt] every single one in the book — relieved, excited…relieved," Nomura said. "I made it a little too close at the end, but I was just really happy I got that last out."

Elon defeated No. 8 Wake Forest 3-0 Tuesday night behind a strong pitching performance from the team's bullpen. After being shut out in the first meeting between the two teams, Elon looked to flip the script. The stands were packed to the brim at Latham Park as fans watched intently to see if Elon could recreate  the magic from last season's big win over the then-No. 2 ranked Demon Deacons.

The fans clad in maroon and gold were treated with a strong performance from the Phoenix pitching staff, led by Carson Wehner and Nomura.

"It's just a great opportunity," Nomura said. "Our mindset was just [we had] nothing to lose. We just go out there and obviously the crowd gave us a big boost. That was awesome to hear. That was really awesome for the fans to come out. We just got the job done."

Wehner entered the game to relieve starter Kolby Pascarelli in the top of the second. With two runners on and two outs on the board, the redshirt freshman was ready to prove himself on the mound. He forced a flyout before going on to throw his longest outing of the season of 3.1 innings.

"I mean, really [I was] executing my pitches," Wehner said. "[My] slider looked good. Got a few swings on a changeup. [It's] just executing everything though. I think everything was working pretty well for me."

Tristan Corcoran came in and pitched a clean inning before handing the ball to Nomura to close the door on the Demon Deacons, taking inspiration in his approach from the pitchers who were in the game before him.

"[I was] doing the same thing that everybody else did," Nomura said. "Kolby had a good start. [Wehner] came in, Tristan came in. Shout out [to] the Phoenix bullpen."

"Shout out to the staff," Wehner added. 

The Phoenix needed just three more outs to complete the shutout. Nomura toed the rubber for his third inning of work. The process for Nomura was simple.

"Just throw the pitch. Just throw it," Nomura said. "Then once I got the strikeout, that was an awesome feeling. It was awesome."

Wehner watched on from the dugout as the final out was recorded and he got his first win with the Phoenix.

"Kolby started off pretty strong and then just to see everyone filing after throw up zeros, it was just awesome to watch," Wehner said. "[It was] so much fun and so much fun to be a part of."

The shutout marks Elon's first such victory over an ACC opponent since 2012. On the heels of one of Phoenix bullpen's best outings of the season, Nomura hopes the group can use this momentum going into a big weekend against a conference foe in the Northeastern Huskies.

"Never get too high, never get too low," Nomura said. "Never ride that rollercoaster, baby."
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.

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