After eking out a 9-8 victory against Davidson April 20 in Durham, the baseball team may have a chance to win its first road game of the season tonight in Davidson, N.C. The Blue Devils will then take on conference newcomer and bottom-dweller Virginia Tech in a three-game series at Jack Coombs Field this weekend.
On the mound, Duke (12-30, 3-18 in the ACC) will likely employ a pitcher-by-committee strategy against its in-state rival as it did in the teams’ previous meeting this season. During that game, eight Blue Devils took the mound, none of whom pitched more than two full innings.
“We need to show Davidson a new arm every inning or two,” pitcher Sean O’Brien said. “They’re probably only going to see the pitcher one time, and so they can’t get used to him.”
Duke had one of its more impressive offensive games against the Wildcats, recording 16 hits. Even though Davidson tied the game in the eighth inning, Bryan Smith’s ninth-inning single knocked in the winning run.
“Another team effort is again what we’re looking for,” junior Adam Murray said of today’s game. “It’s important to have good at bats and try to get the bats swinging again to keep us in the ballgame.”
Davidson’s pitching staff has been far from stellar this season, as none of its pitchers has an ERA lower than 4.08. That is not to say that Duke’s throwers are posting figures much better. Ryan Sember, who has pitched just 18 innings, is the only Blue Devil pitcher with an ERA below 5.0.
This weekend the Blue Devils will take on the Hokies (15-18, 2-12), who have also struggled in the ACC this year. Currently sitting in last place, just a game behind Duke, Virginia Tech has taken one game each from Maryland and N.C. State. The upcoming conference series, therefore, may determine the 11th and final seed for the ACC Championship.
“We don’t want to finish last in the conference,” Murray said. “Nobody does, and nobody thought the season was going to turn out as it has. So getting a couple victories here would really help us out.”
At the plate, the Blue Devils most recently ran into trouble against No. 7 North Carolina, which boasts one of the strongest pitching staffs in the country, Murray said. Quieted by the Tar Heels, Duke has seen the team batting average drop to .267. Freshman Brett Bartles, who continues to lead the team with 29 RBIs, went a mere 1-for-11 last weekend.
“It’s definitely going to be important for us to play better than we did this weekend,” Murray said. “We ran into a really good North Carolina team—they’re like in the top three in the country in pitching.”
Against Virginia Tech, a team with a comparable record, the Blue Devils seem to have more confidence.
“Virginia Tech is a team that I think we can play well against,” Murray said. “It’s going to be important trying to compete against the team right behind us in the standings.”
With three more conference series after this weekend’s, the regular season is far from over for the Blue Devils. This weekend, however, will likely be decisive for Duke.
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