Sometimes a little change makes all the difference.
After sustaining a disappointing 7-2 loss to the Campbell Camels last week and dropping two-of-three home games to Maryland this past weekend, Duke coach Steve Traylor decided to try to jump-start his team by making a switch in the pitching rotation. The results were better than he had imagined.
Stephen Cowie, inserted back into the starting rotation, threw four no-hit innings, sparking his team to a 10-0 shutout of Campbell (13-28) Tuesday night in Buies Creek, N.C. The win was the first shutout of the year for Duke.
"He threw very strongly," Traylor said. "He was just overpowering tonight."
The sophomore, who improved his record to 5-0, was pulled after the fourth inning, as the Duke coaching staff was holding him to a 60-65 pitch count. Cowie struck out five Camels while walking just one.
Chris Capuano, moved into middle relief, began the fifth inning by allowing a single to Camel Robert Marcano. That would be the only hit Capuano would surrender, however, as the freshman allowed only one more runner to reach base over the next four innings.
"We didn't really talk about making the changes," Traylor said. "But I think Chris is very excited about it. He went in and gave us just what we needed."
Vaughn Schill struck out the side in the ninth, three of 12 strikeouts recorded by Blue Devil pitchers, closing out the game for Duke. The Blue Devils' record improved to 25-13, 7-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"Pitching was the story tonight," Traylor said. "This was really a great performance all the way around. We reworked the rotation, trying to shore up middle relief. It all worked tonight."
The Blue Devils got on the board right from the start. Schill, who began the game at shortstop, led off the inning with a double to right field. Sophomore third baseman Jeff Becker's flyout advanced Schill to third, where he scored on a sacrifice fly by junior right fielder Michael Fletcher.
A hit and two Campbell errors in the fourth inning moved three more Blue Devils across the plate, extending the lead to 4-0. Duke tallied another run in the fifth on a Fletcher RBI single, and two more in the sixth on a wild pitch and an RBI base hit by junior Adam Geis.
Mike Corbitt started for the Camels, yielding six runs (three earned) on five hits over five-plus innings. Last Tuesday, Corbitt was the winning pitcher, as he surrendered only four hits in five innings. He also struck out seven Blue Devils while collecting three hits at the plate.
The Blue Devils managed just seven hits, and Schill's double was the only one for extra bases. But unlike the last loss to Campbell, in which the Blue Devils failed to get clutch hits, this time Duke came through.
"We hit with people in scoring position this time," Traylor said. "We were making things happen on offense."
Traylor was aggressive on offense, calling for senior left fielder Randy Goodroe to both attempt a steal of home and lay down a safety squeeze with the bases loaded. While the former attempt failed, the latter was successful when Campbell threw the ball away, scoring two runners.
Clutch offensive performances were turned in by Geis, who went two-for-three with three runs scored, and senior second baseman Frankie Chiou, who went one-for-three with two walks and scored three runs.
Campbell pitcher Keith Dail walked four Blue Devils in the eighth, followed by an infield hit and a sacrifice fly to plate three more Blue Devils. Camel pitchers walked seven Duke players on the night while striking out eight.
The Blue Devils now prepare for this weekend, when they will travel to Clemson for a three-game series with the No. 25 Tigers.
"They're a great team, a dominating home team," Traylor said. "But if we play the way we played tonight, we'll give them all they can handle."
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