Duke's series win over then-No. 8 Georgia Tech last weekend at Jack Coombs Field propelled the Blue Devils to their first ACC Tournament since 2005-the last year all teams qualified.
Their ACC tournament opener, though, did not exactly go as Duke had planned.
After taking two of three from the Yellow Jackets to clinch a berth in the conference tournament-a sign of the team's progress under head coach Sean Mcnally-the Blue Devils were soundly beaten by No. 4 North Carolina Wednesday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, 8-3.
Nevertheless, qualifying for the tournament with the No. 7 seed was a major achievement and Duke has at least two games remaining in its first postseason with McNally at the helm.
"[The ACC] is such a great league, and it's tough to make progress," McNally said. "We knew what our club was capable of this year, and the ACC tournament was one of our goals this season."
Wednesday, though, Duke did not get the hitting or pitching it needed to take down the Tar Heels, a team it had defeated twice in the regular season.
The Blue Devils managed to stay in the game for six innings thanks to some sparkling defensive plays, but UNC star Dustin Ackley slammed two home runs to help North Carolina pull away.
Starting pitcher Adam Warren helped his own cause with a terrific performance from the mound, throwing 8.1 innings and giving up just three runs in the 7-1 win.
The Blue Devils ((34-22, 15-15) would not have even been on the field Wednesday if not for their efforts against Georgia Tech last weekend. Duke needed at least one win in the three-game series to qualify for the conference tournament.
Junior Christopher Manno took the mound in the series opener Thursday having won four out of his last seven ACC starts. But Georgia Tech's Deck McGuire-the undefeated ACC Pitcher of the Year-outplayed Manno, giving up only two runs over eight innings to lead the Yellow Jackets (34-15-1, 17-10-1) to a 10-3 victory.
Following the loss, the Blue Devils used timely hitting and superb defensive play to break out of their slump and take two out of three from a top-10 opponent for the second time this season.
On Friday, senior Andrew Wolcott put the team on his back for a 6-4 win. Duke's only All-ACC first team selection pitched a complete game, scattering 11 hits and four runs over nine innings.
After junior rightfielder Alex Hassan's three-run home run staked the Blue Devils to a 4-1 lead after two innings, Wolcott ran into trouble during the fourth frame and gave up three runs.
Wolcott did not let the momentary lapse rattle him, however, and proceeded to hold Georgia Tech scoreless for the rest of the game.
The Blue Devils clinched an ACC Tournament berth with the victory, so a win in the rubber game was not essential. But McNally said capturing the series was important to give his seniors a proper send-off in their last home game and to create positive momentum heading into the postseason.
Saturday, Duke's hurlers picked up where they left off, as freshman Eric Pfisterer pitched a gem and made his case for becoming the team's regular No. 3 starter. The rookie allowed only two hits and one run in 5.1 innings of work, while the Blue Devils continued to produce runs under pressure.
With the score tied at three, sophomore shortstop Jake Lemmerman quickly put Duke on top in the seventh frame with arguably the most clutch hit of the series: a two-run, two-out homer on the first pitch he saw that cleared 375 feet in right field.
The blast gave Duke a 5-3 advantage it would not relinquish.
"Our guys are capable of stringing together great performances," McNally said. "We really competed at the highest level this weekend and came up with some big hits at the right time."
Duke continues ACC tournament play Friday at 4 p.m. against Clemson, the third seed. The Blue Devils will close out the round-robin portion of the tournament Saturday against Virginia.
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