After a last-place finish in the ACC and the resignation of head coach Sean McNally last year following a seven-year tenure, Duke baseball underwent a facelift, overhauling the entire coaching staff. And when the unranked Blue Devils (1-2) took down No. 13 Florida (2-1) in Gainesville, Fla. Friday, the shake-up paid off.
Duke defeated the Gators 4-3 Friday before falling 4-2 Saturday and 16-5 Sunday in the three-game series at McKethan Stadium.
“We got a tremendous start from Trent Swart,” Blue Devil head coach Chris Pollard said of Friday’s game. “He pitched six really strong innings and really kept [Florida’s] lineup in check.”
Swart, a left-handed sophomore, held Florida to two runs in six innings before he was relieved by junior right-hander Robert Huber, who surrendered the Gators’ third run while recording five outs. Sophomore righty Andrew Istler took the mound in the eighth inning and finished the game, retiring all four batters he faced.
At the plate, junior Mike Rosenfeld led the Blue Devils, going 3-for-5 with a double and triple, earning an RBI and scoring a run. Duke third baseman Jordan Betts added the game’s only longball, a two-run shot in the fourth inning.
“We were opportunistic offensively,” Pollard said. “We took advantage of a couple mistakes that [Florida] made. Our guys competed really well.”
Saturday, Marconcini recorded a two-run homer in the fifth inning, but the Blue Devils could not overcome their sluggish start. The Gators took advantage of Duke’s scoreless opening innings, hitting a three-run homer in the bottom of the first that proved to be the difference in the game. Never trailing, they added an insurance run in the sixth inning.
“[Marconcini] didn’t have a great first at-bat in Saturday’s game,” Pollard said. “But then he adjusted, got a pitch he could handle at a big spot and put us right back in the ball game.”
In the final game of the series, Duke had a 3-2 lead at the bottom of the sixth inning. The Blue Devils blew their chance of earning another signature win as they fell apart in the final innings of the game, surrendering 14 runs.
“I give Florida credit for scoring 11 runs when they had two outs,” Pollard said. “They got key hits when they needed them.”
Duke junior Matt Berezo provided an offensive spark for the Blue Devils in the series finale, going 2-for-3 with a single, double and two RBIs.
“Matt is a great example of being patient until your number is called,” Pollard said. “You don’t have control as a player over when your number is called. All you can do is be ready....and Matt waited patiently, came in today and had really good at-bats.”
The game wasn’t as lopsided as the score suggests, Pollard noted.
“We were just a pitch or two away from having a chance to win that ball game,” he said.
The Blue Devils hope to build on the momentum of Friday’s success as they prepare to open their home slate this weekend against Bucknell with a three-game series.
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