Duke rallies with 10 runs in 8th

Highlighted by a 10-run eighth inning, the Blue Devils (18-3) came from behind for a resounding 11-4 win to sweep their two-game series against Hartford (2-5) Wednesday at Jack Coombs Field.

Trailing 4-0 going into the sixth, Duke notched a spot on the scoreboard with a ground out RBI from Jonathan Nicolla to score sophomore Jeremy Gould from third. A down-the-line double from Kyle Kreick the play before had placed Gould and the senior in scoring position to set up Nicolla's scoring shot. Kreick, who started behind the plate to rest regular catcher Matt Williams, went 2-for-5 in the batter's box with two RBI's and his first career triple.

Despite taking a break from the field, Williams made his presence known with a pinch-hit two-run double to score the go-ahead run for Duke in the bottom of the eighth. The Blue Devils never looked back as they rallied to send 14 hitters to the plate, stringing together five consecutive base hits to manufacture 10 runs in the inning. Sophomore Ryan McCurdy went 2-for-4 with two RBI's, and sophomore Alex Hassan, freshman Grant Monroe and Gould all went 1-for-3 on the day to contribute to the team's combined .342 average at the plate. The rally finally knocked out Hartford starter Weston Szymanski, who had held Duke to one run and three hits through the seventh inning and took the loss.

On the mound for the Blue Devils, starter Jonathan Foreman pitched six innings for both six hits and strikeouts while giving up four runs. Freshman reliever Dennis O'Grady came in for two innings with a one hit, two strikeout performance to earn the win for Duke. Sophomore Hassan, who had helped his cause on the mound batting .333 and driving in a run during the game, pitched a perfect closing inning with two strikeouts to seal the victory. Hassan was also named to College Baseball Foundation's "National All-Star Lineup" for this week.

Finishing out their two game hiatus from non-conference play, the Blue Devils return to their ACC schedule with a three game road series against No. 23 Georgia Tech this weekend.