Duke baseball weekend update

Duke’s baseball team lost its season-opening game but bounced back with two wins to take the series against VMI this weekend.

The Blue Devils lost Friday night’s game 10-5 before winning games by 9-1 and 8-7 in the past two days.

Here’s a brief recap of each game:

VMI 10, Duke 5

VMI opened up a 7-1 lead in the 6th inning and Duke couldn’t keep the Keydets from adding a few insurance runs even as the Blue Devils got some runs on the board.

Duke starter Marcus Johnson allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits, and Josh Allen and Colten Smith allowed the other five runs in the subsequent innings.

Duke committed three errors, two of them by second baseman Wil Hoyle.

Among the highlights for the Blue Devils was catcher Alex Stone’s two-run home run in the 8th inning.

Duke 9, VMI 1

The Blue Devils bounced back behind a stellar one-two combination of pitching from Luke Fox and Billy Seidl, plus a five-RBI day from Damon Lux.

Fox gave up a run in the first inning but settled in to pitch five innings, only allowing four hits. Seidl was even better, holding VMI hitless across the final four innings, walking two and striking out six.

Lux had a sacrifice fly in the 1st inning, another one to cap a three-run 4th inning, and then launched a three-run homer in the 8th to provide breathing room.

Duke 8, VMI 7

Duke held on for a series-clinching win behind a three-RBI game from first baseman Chris Crabtree and a three-inning save by Jimmy Loper.

This series finale went back and forth, with VMI leading 1-0 and 2-1. Duke scored five straight runs to go up 6-2, VMI narrowed the margin to two, but the Blue Devils stayed ahead thanks to an RBI groundout by Crabtree and an RBI single by Luke Storm.

Loper limited damage when he entered in the 7th, gave up two-out, two-run single in the 8th, and closed things out with a 1-2-3 9th to secure the one-run win. He struck out six batters.