Duke pitcher Tony Bajoczky is quickly establishing himself as a giant killer.
Last weekend, he led the way as the Blue Devils slayed No. 1 Florida State 8-5.
Bajoczky went back to work Saturday, this time at third-ranked Virginia (29-7, 10-5 in the ACC). Once again, his strong start propelled Duke (22-13, 3-12) to victory.
The 13-9 road win was the first of the 2007 season for the Blue Devils. Duke was swept at Clemson March 16-18.
"Tony went up there and really competed," head coach Sean McNally said. "He didn't have his best stuff, but we know that he's going to find a way to get people out, and he did that this weekend."
Bajoczky threw six strong innings, surrendering four runs on six hits. All four of those runs came in the third inning, as the Cavaliers bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 4-2 lead.
Duke responded immediately, though, scoring four in the fourth inning and seven more in the fifth and sixth to blow the game open.
"That said a lot about the resiliency of our guys-the fact that we kept swinging the bats and we got a lot of momentum there," McNally said.
It was the second time in the last week that Duke bounced back from a mid-game deficit with an offensive explosion. Against Davidson April 3, the Blue Devils knocked home 11 runs in the fifth and sixth innings to recover from a 7-5 deficit and lift themselves to a 17-12 win. Those responses were signs of life from the dormant Duke offense, which had been hitting .241 in conference play prior to the Virginia series.
But Duke hit .395 and notched 17 hits Saturday, which-along with Bajoczky's solid pitching-was a large reason for the upset. Brett Bartles was 3-for-6 with five RBIs-including a three-run triple in the fifth inning.
Even though the Blue Devils hit well Saturday, they still struggled at other points in the series. Duke had just four hits in Friday's 4-0 loss, as Virginia's Jacob Thompson threw a complete game shutout. The Blue Devils managed only four hits Sunday as well, failing to bring home a run after the first inning in an 8-1 loss.
Yet Saturday's output demonstrated what the Blue Devils are capable of when they are playing their best.
"We have very, very capable hitters," McNally said. "[Saturday's game] was again tangible evidence that we can swing the bats against arguably the best pitching staff in the country on a given day."
Duke will need its best offensive effort to survive another slugfest with Davidson in its next game, Wednesday-and if it hopes to tackle fifth-ranked North Carolina this weekend.
"To have success against both Florida State and Virginia certainly is encouraging," McNally said. "There's a growing confidence in our club and a growing expectation of not just winning one game in an ACC series, but continuing to strive and do better."
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