With his team trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Duke shortstop Gabriel Saade came up to the plate and jacked a home run to left to tie the game-but the Blue Devils weren't done.
Neither was Saade.
The freshman shortstop drilled a two-out, two-run walk-off home run to dead center in the ninth to give Duke (15-1) a 4-3 victory over Xavier (1-12) Wednesday at Jack Coombs Field.
"I knew I squared it up pretty well, but I didn't know it was gone," said Saade, who went 2-for-4 and had all three of Duke's RBIs. "I put my head down and I was running as hard as I could. Hopefully, it went over-if not, it'd be a double or a triple."
Prior to Saade's game-winning shot, however, Duke looked to be in trouble. Xavier was in control for most of the game, with Musketeer starter Charlie Leesman giving up just two runs in seven and two-thirds innings.
Errors in the field, however only compounded the Blue Devils' problems. Saade had an error in the top of the seventh, although he then made up for it by starting a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. First baseman Jeremy Gould also recorded an error in the fourth, and Duke gave up an unearned run off a Jonathan Anderson wild pitch in the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, Xavier right-hander Brett Greenwell entered the game to retire Nate Freiman, closing out the inning. Musketeer Michael Lucas (0-2) pitched in the ninth, and got Gould to ground-out to second. Tim Sherlock then struck out swinging.
With Duke down to its last out and facing a 3-2 deficit, Alexander Hassan lined a single up the middle to start the Blue Devil rally. Then Saade launched his second decisive shot to center.
"Coach always preaches to us that it's not over till it's over," Anderson said. "It's one of the most exciting moments I've had since I've been here-by far."
Anderson (2-0), who got the win in relief after setting the Musketeers down in order in the top of the ninth, had kept Duke within one, allowing for the team's second comeback of the afternoon.
After Saade's walk-off homer, a delirious Blue Devil squad awaited him at home plate, as his career day gave Duke its 15th win-the same number of games the team won in the entire 2006 season.
"We knew we could win a lot of games this year," Saade said. "As a team, we were confident going in. It feels great."
The game was Duke's last before starting ACC play Friday against Boston College. For a young Blue Devil team, the walk-off win provides another valuable experience.
"It gives us a lot of momentum heading into ACC play," head coach Sean McNally said. "What's exciting for us is we've been in a lot of different kinds of games, which with such a young club-it helps you grow."
Duke's Jonathan Foreman gave up two runs-one earned-in four innings in his first career start. Michael Ness continued the kind of pitching that earned him ACC Pitcher of the Week honors last week, throwing three scoreless innings.
"At the end of the day, it counts for one win like every other-but certainly a special one for us today," McNally said.
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