Blue Devils rally for series win after being blown out in ACC opener
Giving up two touchdowns on a baseball scoreboard is hardly the way you want to start ACC play.
The best-case scenario after that is winning the series, which is the path Duke followed this weekend.
The Blue Devils were blown out in the first game of the first ACC series, and then notched a couple of four-run wins to win the first ACC series of the season.
“I am proud of our coaching staff, and I want to single out (pitching coach) Brady Kirkpatrick,” coach Chris Pollard said via news release. “After Friday night, it is easy to scratch your head and wonder what is happening. It is easy to start questioning your pitch calling.
“Brady is one of the best pitching coaches in the country, and it showed over the last two games. They [Cal] are going to be a good offense in our league, and I thought we executed well. We showed off our toughness the last two days, especially (Sunday).”
Here is a recap of each game this weekend:
California 14, Duke 1
On Friday, the ACC newcomer wasted little time in jumping out to a big lead to win its first league game.
The first two batters of the game against Kyle Johnson reached on the first two pitches, a single and a hit batter. The second pitch to Cade Campbell was launched over the fence in left field for a three-run home run.
Dominic Smaldino lifted a two-run homer later in the first inning for a five-run cushion before Duke came to bat.
Johnson (1-3) gave up another homer in the second and hit a batter before exiting. He was charged with allowing seven runs and only recorded four outs.
Henry Zatkowski pitched two innings and gave up four runs on five hits. Jack Hedrick gave up three runs on six hits across his 1 2/3 innings, and then Collins Black pitched the last two innings for Duke, keeping the Golden Bears off the scoreboard. The game ended after seven innings because of the ACC’s 10-run mercy rule.
Despite giving up the gaudy run total, Duke’s four pitchers didn’t walk a batter. They gave up 17 hits and hit two batters, though.
The Blue Devils’ only run came on Wallace Clark’s homer to lead off the bottom of the first.
Duke 6, California 2
On Saturday, Duke evened the series with some clutch hitting.
It was a 2-2 game in the sixth inning when Clark hit a two-run single to drive in the go-ahead run, which was Ben Rounds after leading off the inning with a walk. Jake Berger followed that with a double, driving in Clark.
The Blue Devils padded the lead in the seventh with Macon Winslow’s RBI groundout and a bases-loaded walk by Berger.
Berger and Andrew Yu, who hit a solo homer in the fourth, had two-hit games.
Ryan Higgins started on the mound and went 3 2/3, allowing one run on five hits and a walk. He had four strikeouts. Reid Easterly (2-0) picked up the decision by pitching the next three innings, allowing one run on three hits.
Gabe Nard retired all four batters he faced, entering in the seventh, and Owen Proksch finished the game by working around a walk in the ninth.
Duke 7, California 3
On Sunday, Ben Miller hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, which proved to be enough for Duke’s bullpen to finish off the series.
Duke (10-6, 2-1 ACC) had an early two-run lead on Winslow’s two-run homer in the second inning. California (7-8, 1-2) scratched back with a run in each of the third and fourth innings to tie the game.
Miller’s opposite-field shot was part of a 4-for-5 game from the third baseman. He drove in another run in the sixth, after California had cut the lead to one.
For insurance runs, Berger had an RBI groundout and Tyler Albright doubled in Duke’s last run — both of those coming in the eighth.
Duke needed five pitchers to win the series’ rubber game and none of them were Nard, Easterly or Proksch, three of the Blue Devils’ best bullpen arms.
Andrew Healy pitched the first three innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks. Ryan Calvert (2-0) earned the decision by pitching the next two innings, giving up a run but striking out three.
Edward Hart (1 1/3) and Mark Hindy (1 2/3) combined for three scoreless innings, and then Zatkowski struck out the side in the ninth to end the series-clinching win.
