Coming off one of the team's best-hitting games of the season, the Blue Devils hope to keep their momentum going this weekend as they wrap up a seven-game homestand with a three-game set against Wake Forest.
Duke (12-26, 4-11 in the ACC), led by Nate Freiman's career-high five RBIs, demolished Davidson's pitching Wednesday, scoring 11 runs on 15 hits in the team's third-highest offensive output of the season.
The Blue Devils will look to build on their success at the plate against Wake Forest (25-12, 9-6) when they open the weekend series tonight under the lights at 7 p.m. at Jack Coombs Field. Saturday and Sunday's games are both scheduled for 1 p.m. to conclude the series.
Freiman's return to the lineup after an injury has helped spark the Blue Devils' offense of late. The freshman, who before the injury was expected to pitch, has played in only 11 of Duke's 38 games.
In limited time, Freiman is batting a team-high .381 with a slugging percentage of .714. Against Davidson Wednesday, he went 4-for-5 as he drove in nearly half of the Blue Devils' runs. Freiman was not the only Blue Devil who hit well as shortstop Brett Bartles went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Duke batted .405 as a team in the game.
"It's great to see the offense get it cranked up," McNally said.
Duke's timely hitting was a departure from what has been the case most of the season. Before last weekend, the Blue Devils were hitting, but not stringing hits together at clutch times to drive in the needed runs.
In last weekend's series against No. 18 Virginia, the Blue Devils scored a total of 10 runs off of 23 hits. Against Davidson, Duke continued to be even more efficient, hammering out 11 runs off a team total of 15 hits.
The outcome against Davidson was unusual for Duke, which often struggles in its mid-week games. Of the 14 games the Blue Devils have played midweek this season, Wednesday's win against Davidson marked only their fourth victory. Duke, however, will hope to channel the momentum from this week's solid performance to a successful series against the Demon Deacons.
"In the midweek, you'd like to play well and we did that," Duke head coach Sean McNally said. "We played well at times against Virginia, so we should be feeling good."
The Blue Devils also hope to mirror the outcome and excitement of last Friday's game against Virginia, in which Duke defeated the Cavaliers, 4-3. The Blue Devils pulled ahead for their first win over a ranked team in two seasons with a walk-off single by third-baseman Adam Murray in the bottom of the ninth.
"We'll be playing a night game with similar conditions," McNally said. "Our guys should really be riding high, feeling good, and ready to compete on Friday."
After a week in Durham, Duke's three games against Wake Forest will be its last ACC home weekend series until North Carolina visits April 28.
McNally said Duke plans to start right-handed junior Danny Otero on the mound for Friday evening's game. Otero (5-2) has put up impressive numbers as the Blue Devils' ace, leading the team in wins and strikeouts. With a team low 1.35 ERA and 41 strikeouts, Otero holds opposing hitters to a .226 average at the plate this season.
"We've got Danny Otero on the mound Friday night and he's pitched very well all year for us," McNally said.
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