Comeback gets Duke baseball to .500

With one out and no one on in the bottom of the ninth, Duke trailed 8-5 and appeared on the brink of losing its second straight game.

Then the Blue Devils (5-5) put five straight men on base—capped off by David Perkins’ pinch-hit, walk-off, three-run double—and snatched a 9-8 victory away from Eastern Michigan (1-5).

Jeff Kremer struck out to begin the final frame, but after a pair of singles and a free pass, Duke had the bases loaded. Freshman Grant McCabe continued the rally—and his hot start, going 2-for-3 with two walks, and two RBIs—with an RBI single to bring the Blue Devils within two and put the winning run on base.

Head coach Sean McNally then called on Perkins to pinch hit for Mark Lumpa. Perkins, after working the count in his favor, doubled to left-center to clear the bases and pull Duke back up to .500. It was the first base knock of the season for the sophomore utility man, and came in just his second at-bat.

Freshman Nick Piscotty made his starting debut for the Blue Devils, but did not make it out of the second frame. The right-hander went just 1 2/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs while issuing two walks and striking out none.

Piscotty was pulled in favor of fellow freshman Remy Janco with two outs and the bases loaded. Janco allowed a bases-clearing double that put the Eagles up 8-0. For the next 7 1/3 innings, though, the Duke bullpen—Janco, Drew Van Orden and David Putnam—would not allow another run.

Center fielder Will Piwnica-Worms went 2-for-5 on the day, including his team-leading second home run of the season. The senior raised his slugging percentage to .737 throughout the Blue Devils’ first 10 games.