Duke wins baseball opener

Duke started its baseball season with a win at the beach.

The Blue Devils beat Indiana 6-3 on Friday at Coastal Carolina, part of the Baseball at the Beach Tournament hosted by the Chanticleers.

Jonathan Santucci made a strong return after only starting seven games last year. Duke’s left-handed ace pitched five scoreless innings, giving up four hits and two hits while striking out seven. He worked around a four-pitch walk to start his season and a one-out single in the first inning by striking out the side.

Wallace Clark, a transfer from Oklahoma, broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth — Duke was the designed road team — with a double to drive in Kyle Johnson, a freshman.

The Blue Devils tacked on solo homers by senior Alex Stone and Logan Bravo, a transfer from Harvard, in the sixth. That duo in the middle of Duke’s lineup added RBIs in the seventh; Stone with a sac fly and Bravo with a single.

Those seventh inning runs were big, timing wise, as Duke’s three-run lead became a 3-2 lead after Indiana’s Tyler Cerny hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.

Tyler Albright tacked on Duke’s last run with a solo homer in the eighth.

Owen Proksch relieved Santucci and gave up all three of Indiana’s runs, recording four outs and giving up four hits.

Charlie Beilenson came in and closed things out, retiring eight of the nine batters he faced and earning a save. He had five strikeouts.