In its previous series, Duke was able to rally from a one-run deficit Sunday to secure a series victory against N.C. State.
But despite their best efforts, a nine-run hole proved too deep this weekend, as the Blue Devils (27-15, 10-11 in the ACC) dropped their game and the series to Maryland (18-21, 6-15) Sunday.
"We're disappointed with the results," head coach Sean McNally said. "We played hard all the way through, but two out of three days, Maryland was better."
In the opener Friday afternoon, senior starting pitcher Andrew Wolcott put together another virtuoso performance, pitching an eight-inning complete game with 10 strikeouts and only allowing four runs. But his counterpart, Maryland's Scott Swinson, was better. He went eight and two-thirds innings, allowing only one run, as Duke dropped the opener 4-1.
Wolcott allowed a run in the first inning, but did not allow another until the eighth. Walks doomed the senior in that frame-after not walking a single batter in the first seven innings, Wolcott walked three in the eighth. Swinson, meanwhile, didn't give up a run until the final frame.
"Swinson was good. He located his fastball to both sides of the plate, really attacked us and went after us," McNally said. "It did overshadow another outstanding effort from Andrew Wolcott. When you get your frontline guy on the mound, you've got to score some runs behind him.... That was a frustrating night."
The Blue Devils rebounded definitively on Saturday, though, defeating the Terrapins 8-4. The game was a back and forth affair until shortstop Jake Lemmerman put Duke up for good with a grand slam in the top of the 12th inning.
Chrisopher Manno went a solid six innings for the Blue Devils, allowing only five hits and two earned runs, and Nate Freiman and Jeremy Gould hit back-to-back solo home runs in the fourth inning.
"We showed a lot of resilience," McNally said. "Maryland battled... and tied it at four, and then we got the big hit to stretch it out. We showed a lot of character on Saturday."
But while the first two games of the series were defined by solid Duke pitching, the Blue Devil arms failed them early in the rubber match. Duke needed three pitchers to get through the first two innings, and fell into an early 11-2 hole.
Despite the early deficit, though, the Blue Devils slowly chipped away at the lead, scoring two runs in each of the fourth, fifth, and eighth innings. But the rally fell short, and Duke dropped the game 12-8.
Starter Eric Pfisterer gave up five earned runs in only two-thirds of an inning, although relievers Dennis O'Grady and Michael Ness combined for five innings of one-run ball to give the Blue Devils the opportunity to come back. Freiman contributed two RBIs for Duke and second baseman Gabriel Saade added three RBIs hitting out of the eight-slot.
"We came out excited, passionate, and ready to play, and all of a sudden it's 11-2," McNally said. "That's really difficult mentally but our club really responded well. O'Grady and Ness really stabilized the game for us. We chipped away, two runs, two runs, two runs.... If the game was an inning longer the outcome might've been different, but the reality is you get 27 outs."
Even with this setback, though, the Blue Devils remain in position to secure a spot in the ACC tournament.
But they must regain the momentum they appeared to earn with the victory over N.C. State two weekends ago.
"We're going to have to force our way into the tournament," McNally said. "It's not going to happen by hoping or wishing it works out."
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