In the midst of a brutal ACC stretch, it’s vital for Duke to take advantage of its nonconference matchups as an opportunity to build confidence and pick up a win.
Against Wofford last night, Robert Huber pitched six scoreless innings, and the Blue Devils survived a late rally to beat the Terriers 7-5 at Jack Coombs Field.
Huber was dominant in his second career start for Duke (17-14). The freshman gave up only two hits and didn’t surrender a walk.
“That was as good a start as we’ve had this year,” head coach Sean McNally said. “He mixed three pitches and really commanded his fastball well. I’m really excited for Robert. He’s worked very hard, and it’s great to see him get results.”
Huber gave up two hits in the second inning, but the freshman caught fire in the third as he retired 12 straight batters before he was relieved at the start of the seventh.
“I was just going with the flow,” Huber said. “[My pitches] were working well together…. I was just getting up there and throwing strikes, and I knew the infielders were making plays behind me.”
The Blue Devils jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the second. After three consecutive singles from Jordan Betts, Will Piwnica-Worms and Dennis O’Grady to begin the inning, Marcus Stroman dropped a triple down the right field line to score all three baserunners.
“I think everyone is just starting to feed off each other,” McNally said. “It’s nice to see Worms get going. Stroman got a big hit. That really helps the young guys and helps our offense.”
Stroman scored soon after when Angelo LaBruna slapped a grounder to second base for the RBI. After Ryan Munger walked, Chris Marconcini added the fifth run by ripping an RBI double.
Alex Wilson replaced Terrier starter Eric Eck in the third and was effective in shutting down the Blue Devils in his four innings of work. He scattered three hits and gave up zero runs.
But Duke added two more insurance runs in the seventh after Wilson was relieved by Ryan Traylor. The Blue Devils loaded the bases, and after O’Grady struck out and Stroman grounded into a fielder’s choice at home, it looked as though Duke would leave three baserunners stranded.
But LaBruna came through again by stroking a line-drive to center field that drove in two runs. He was 2-3 on the night with three RBIs.
“The bats are starting to come on,” LaBruna said. “Guys are starting to feel really good at the plate…. Especially in the mid-week games, we have to work on doing the little things and playing well so that when we get to the ACC games, we can just execute.”
The Terriers’ bats came alive in the eighth during a five-run rally that put the pressure on the Blue Devils. In his second inning of relief, Ben Grisz struggled as Wofford (14-16) strung together four hits, including two doubles.
Stroman switched from second base to the mound, and although he gave up a single that scored two of Grisz’s baserunners, he struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
Stroman took care of business in the ninth and picked up the save. Tonight the Blue Devils look to gain more momentum and earn another nonconference win against UNC-Greensboro.
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