CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — After squandering leads in the first two games of the series, it finally looked as though Duke was going to hold on and end its six-game losing streak.
Then, with one out in bottom of the ninth, Joe Pedevillano left a fastball up and Tar Heel third baseman Colin Moran launched it well over the right field wall to tie the game. No. 12 North Carolina (23-7, 7-2 in the ACC) would go on to win 7-6 in 11 innings, sweeping the weekend series.
“Mentally I don’t think we were that sharp over the course of the game,” head coach Sean McNally said. “[You’ve] got to finish games. Teams are going to battle you until the last out. They played better at the end.”
Duke got on the board early, scoring on a wild pitch with the bases loaded in the first and on a sacrifice fly in the second.
Sophomore right-hander Marcus Stroman started for the Blue Devils (15-11, 2-7) and kept North Carolina scoreless until two doubles and a single tied the game up in the fourth. Stroman was relieved after 101 pitches over five innings, allowing seven hits and two earned while striking out six and walking two.
Angelo LaBruna broke the tie in the sixth with an RBI single that was misplayed into a triple. A pop out, strikeout and flyout stranded LaBruna on third. Overall, Duke left 13 men on base, a problem until Dennis O’Grady hit a triple in the top of the ninth inning that extended Duke’s lead to 6-3.
But with men on the corners and one out in the ninth, Moran—who went 3-for-4 on the day with two doubles, a homer and three RBIs—tied the game with his fifth long ball of the season.
Ben Grisz came in for Pedevillano in the tenth inning and promptly gave up what first appeared to be a double. But the first base umpire ruled that the runner never touched first base, and O’Grady was credited with an unassisted putout despite never touching the ball.
Duke’s rally in the 11th was cut short after a batter’s interference call resulted in the second out of the inning and forced Will Piwnica-Worms back to first.
After a single led off the Tar Heel half of the 11th, Grisz fielded an attempted sacrifice bunt and tried to throw out the lead runner, but he misfired to center field, leading to men on first and third with no outs. Catcher Jacob Stallings hit a walk–off single over a drawn-in infield in the ensuing at-bat.
The Blue Devils scored first in each game of the series. Duke jumped out to a 4-0 lead Friday night but fell 8-5. Saturday, they led 2-0, but another Moran homer gave North Carolina a 3-2 lead, and an eight-run eighth dashed any hopes of a Blue Devil comeback.
Duke now hasn’t won since a home victory against Charlotte Mar. 16. They’ll look to end their current skid at Campbell Tuesday.
“I don’t believe in losing streaks,” McNally said. “We take it one game at a time. [You’ve] just got to play better than the team across from you on that given day to win. Plain and simple.”
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