Kurtz homers twice to rally Wake Forest over Notre Dame 7-5 in ACC tourney

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Nick Kurtz hit two solo home runs and Wake Forest rallied to beat Notre Dame 7-5 on Friday night to advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

Top-seeded Wake Forest (47-9), ranked first in the coaches poll, plays No. 4 seed Miami on Saturday.

Kurtz homered in the bottom of the first inning to give the Demon Deacons a 1-0 lead. Tommy Hawke's RBI double in the second made it 2-0.

Notre Dame (30-24) scored a run in the top of the third on No. 9 hitter Estevan Moreno's RBI double and tied the game in the fourth on a two-run double by DM Jefferson. The Fighting Irish took a 4-3 lead in the fifth on Zack Prajzner's run-scoring double. It didn't last long.

Kurtz homered to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning. Brock Wilken was hit by a pitch and scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Hawke singled in the go-ahead run and Wake Forest stayed in front.

Derek Crum retired five batters in relief of starter Seth Keener to get the win for the Deacons. Keener allowed four runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Reliever Jackson Dennies was tagged with the loss for the Fighting Irish. He allowed three runs — two earned — on three hits and four walks.

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