One year after losing all 18 of its road games, Duke won its second consecutive ACC road series this weekend. The Blue Devils (14-30, 6-15 ACC) exploded for 29 runs in three games to take two of three from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
"It's a great win for us to take two out of three in an ACC series," head coach Sean McNally said. "To do it on the road says a lot for this team and for our maturity and growth."
Duke responded to an 8-4 loss Friday night with two of its best offensive efforts of the year, combining for 25 runs and 33 hits in the two wins. The Blue Devils used the long ball Sunday, capitalizing on home runs by Jimmy Gallagher, Brett Bartles and Adam Murray to win the rubber game, 10-9.
Gallagher's blast to right, his second in as many games, punctuated a four-run fourth inning that broke the game open. Duke had already scored twice in the frame on a single by Matt Williams and a sacrifice bunt by Daniel Palmer before Gallagher's two-run shot made it 5-0.
"We did a lot of things well," McNally said. "Obviously we scored a bunch of runs-we manufactured some runs, we stole some bases, we hit some balls out of the park."
The middle of the order sparked another rally in the fifth. Javier Socorro led off the inning with a single and scored on Jonathan Nicolla's double. Murray's second hit of the game moved Nicolla to third before Williams drove him in with another RBI single for a 7-0 advantage.
The Hokies (17-24, 3-18 ACC) battled back with four runs off Duke starter Tony Bajoczky (2-8) in the bottom of the inning, but Bartles led off the sixth with his seventh homer of the season to push the advantage to 8-4. After Virginia Tech again rallied in the bottom of the inning to cut the margin to 8-6, Murray put an exclamation point on his day with a solo shot to left.
Duke added its 10th and final run in the eighth on a Nicolla RBI single. Ryan Perry earned his first save of the season, limiting the Hokies to one run in the ninth.
Sunday's offensive execution came on the heels of Saturday's fireworks. The Blue Devils romped the Hokies, 15-1, recording their second-highest run total of the season.
Duke took control early, plating five runs in the second and six in the third to quickly put the game out of reach.
In the second, Nicolla and Williams' doubles and an error led to the first run. Daniel Palmer followed with a two-run single to make it 3-0. Gallagher then crushed his fourth homer of the season for a 5-0 lead.
The third inning was less about Duke's offense and more about the Hokies' lack of control on the mound. Three Virginia Tech pitchers combined to walk six Blue Devils, including four with the bases loaded, each forcing in a run. Nate Freiman added a two-RBI single in the six-run frame.
The 11 runs were more than enough for starting pitcher Jonathan Anderson (3-5), who held the Hokies to a Nate Parks solo homer over eight innings. He struck out four while walking none.
"Jonathan kept them off balance the whole game," McNally said. "We scored some runs and that always helps, but he was able to breeze through eight innings, and that's tough to do in this league."
Freiman, a freshman designated hitter, attributed the team's offensive explosion to a meeting prior to Saturday's game.
"We reviewed our entire approach to hitting and it was really helpful to go over that," Freiman said. "Coach McNally says hitting is contagious, and once a couple people started swinging, that really set the tone for the rest of our hitters."
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