Duke’s season picks up speed Tuesday as the Blue Devils travel to play their first weekday game against North Carolina A&T.
This is the first of three consecutive weeks with two midweek games for Duke.
“This is really going to test our depth,” head coach Chris Pollard said.
Duke (4-2) faces the Aggies coming off a three-game sweep of Bucknell. The Blue Devils shined on the mound against the Bison, giving up only one run in 27 innings of pitching. Following a series against Florida where Duke was outscored 23-13, the pitching staff held Bucknell to only nine hits and a .102 batting average.
The Aggies, however, will see a new face on the mound during the first inning: freshman James Marvel, getting his first start of a season.
“James threw very well down at Florida, so we’re trying to build off of that initial outing he had down there,” Pollard said. “We have a lot of depth pitching-wise, and it’s a really great opportunity for some guys like James down in the bullpen who haven’t thrown a lot yet.”
Even though the Blue Devils hope to continue their stellar pitching, Pollard is still tinkering with the lineup. Although Duke scored 15 runs on the weekend, including nine while shutting out the Bison, the Blue Devils left 21 men on base in the series.
“Part of [the reason for] our offensive [problems] is that it’s early in the season and the pitching is ahead of the hitting. Part of it is the fact that I think we’re going to continue to look at some different lineup combinations,” Pollard said. “We certainly don’t want to sacrifice what we’re doing defensively because we’ve been playing very well defensively, but at the same time we have to find a balanced lineup that can score runs.”
Junior outfielder Jeff Kremer and junior third baseman Jordan Betts make up the core of Duke’s offense in the two- and four-holes, respectively. Both Kremer and Betts galvanized the Blue Devils against the Bison, with Kremer going 4-for-9 on the weekend with three walks and Betts getting a hit in each game of the series, including a walk-off homerun to clinch the win in game two. It was the third baseman’s first homer of the season.
Aggie redshirt junior lefty Dustin Myers is set to face Marvel on the mound. Myers, who typically pitches out of the bullpen, will be making his sixth start in three seasons with the Aggies. He has compiled a 15.66 earned run average, giving up 39 runs on 38 hits in only 22.2 innings.
On the offensive side, North Carolina A&T is led by junior designated hitter Cameron Jergens and junior infielder Luke Tendler. Jergens, who also doubles as a relief pitcher, leads the Aggies (4-3) in batting average and hits, going 9-for-26 to post a .346 average. Tendler was named a Freshman All-American for the 2011 season and has been an offensive centerpiece for North Carolina A&T ever since. Not only is Tendler powerful, boasting a team-leading .556 slugging percentage, but his speed has proven to be crucial for the Aggies’ run game, leading the team with four stolen bases in as many tries.
“[Tendler] is doing very, very well,” Pollard said. “One of the things they really like to hang their hat on is that they’re aggressive on the bases. They’ve stolen 18 bases in seven ball games, so we know they’re going to be very aggressive there. We’ve got to work real hard to control their run game.”
If anyone can show the Blue Devils the way to solve North Carolina A&T’s combination of speed and power, it’s Pollard, who faced the Aggies eight times during his tenure as head coach at Appalachian State.
“[North Carolina A&T] has got a lot of guys back from the last couple of years, so I’m familiar with their team because we played them every year I was at Appalachian [State],” Pollard said. “They’re a good club, they’ve got some good wins early in the season, and some confidence. Starting tomorrow, we’ll get a lot of opportunities for guys to step up and figure out their roles. It’ll be a good ball game.”
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