Duke dodged yet another rainout this weekend-and with its star pitcher, Tony Bajoczky, on fire once again, the North Carolina offense simply dried up.
Although the No. 2 Tar Heels (32-6, 13-5 ACC) poured the runs on in the other two games, the Blue Devils (23-15, 4-14) continued their weekend pattern against ACC teams at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, snaring the second game 9-3 behind the strong pitching of Bajoczky and falling in the other games, 7-0 and 7-4, respectively.
Sunday's game was rescheduled to Saturday in anticipation of Sunday's inclement weather.
Duke's win over its rival was just its first since 2004, breaking a two-year drought over which it was outscored 45-10 in six games.
Bajoczky's pitching befuddled North Carolina, which managed just three runs off six hits against him over eight innings of work. In the game, the Tar Heels were held five hits and five runs below their season average.
Bajockzy's biggest contribution, however, was preventing the explosive North Carolina offense from striking in clutch moments. In the fifth inning, he allowed only two runs despite loading the bases with no outs, and in the eighth he gave up no runs with runners on first and second and two outs.
"[Good pitchers] elevate their game and they elevate their stuff when situations get tough," head coach Sean McNally said. "That was the key element-not allowing any big innings Saturday."
After seeing their offense wither down to nothing Friday, the Blue Devil players suddenly sprang to life on offense to give Bajoczky plenty of support. Duke smacked 11 hits and nine runs-tied for the most given up by the Tar Heels all year.
Nate Freiman, in particular, had a strong game. The sophomore first baseman went 3-for-5 batting with one run batted in-the very first one of the game-after managing just one hit the game before, a single in the eighth inning with Duke already down 6-0 Friday.
His shot to right field jump-started the Blue Devils scoring spurt, driving in junior outfielder Jimmy Gallagher and advancing junior third baseman Brett Bartles to third base. The inning barely continued, though, as sophomore catcher Matt Williams beat out the throw on a potential double-play ball.
A few batters later, Duke loaded the bases still holding on to its 2-0 lead. Tar Heel pitcher Alex White beaned freshman second baseman Ryan McCurdy, and the UNC coaching staff took White out of the game-but by then, the damage was done. With Bajoczky firing away on the mound, the Blue Devils had little doubt they could pull off the upset.
"Playing at North Carolina and knowing what kind of offense they had, I thought what was important was continuing to tack on runs," McNally said. "Certainly we felt good with Tony out there and Mike Seander ready to come in."
In the first game, North Carolina's own star pitcher, Robert Woodward, pitched a complete-game shutout. In the series finale, the game was tied at two going into the fifth inning before the Tar Heels struck for five runs over the next two frames.
The win marks the Blue Devils' third over a top-ranked opponent this year, after defeating then-No. 1 Florida State 8-5 and then-No. 3 Virginia 13-9 over the past two weekends.
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