Despite racking up 12 hits, Duke could only muster four runs against Campbell, as it dropped its home opener 10-4.
After losing two of three games in a weekend series against No. 13 Texas, the Blue Devils (1-2) looked to rebound Tuesday. But the Fighting Camels (3-1) played flawless defense and tallied 12 base hits of their own, including six doubles, on the way to an easy victory.
“We didn’t play well,” Duke head coach Sean McNally said. “Campbell is a team that you’ve really got to be mentally sharp against. They make you think. They find ways to get on base. They run the bases well. We just weren’t sharp in any phase of the game, especially early.”
The Fighting Camels capitalized on a Duke error in the top of the first to bring in three runs, and the Blue Devils never came close to drawing even. Duke starter Chase Bebout gave up another run in the fourth and was chased in the fifth after a pair of Campbell doubles to lead off the inning. The Blue Devils rolled out five relievers—all sophomores and freshmen—to close out the remainder of the game, but none lasted more than an inning and two-thirds.
“It is important for us during this period of 15 games, before we get into ACC play, to take a look at everybody on our pitching staff,” McNally said. “I thought that was the one positive I would take out of [today’s game] was to see a couple more freshmen get in there and get their first couple outs under their belts and build some confidence.”
Freshmen relievers Dalton Brown and Sarkis Ohanian were two of Duke’s few bright spots, each appearing in situational relief roles to record two outs. Ohanian, a Boynton Beach, Fla. native, entered in the top of the ninth inning with one out and a runner on third and needed only eight pitches to record a pop up and a strike out while stranding the runner 90 feet away.
Plaguing Bebout and the Duke bullpen all afternoon, though, was Ben McQuown. The Fighting Camels’ junior centerfielder reached base safely in all four of his plate appearances, driving in four runs, all with two outs. Junior designated hitter Josh Holskey also wore out the Blue Devil pitching staff, going 4-for-4 and scoring two runs.
In contrast to the Fighting Camels’ disciplined hitting with runners in scoring position, Duke stranded two runners in four different innings.
“It’s early in the year,” McNally admitted about his team’s lack of clutch hitting. “I thought we pressed with guys in scoring position. It’s just a matter of getting more at-bats under our belts.”
Despite the disappointing performance against a squad projected to finish ninth in the Big South, McNally was upbeat about his young team’s improvement early in the year.
“We are still trying to define roles in the early part of the season,” he said. “But we’ll have to be better, and I know our guys will be.”
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