The race to make it into the ACC tournament is tightening, and Duke is currently on the outside looking in—the Blue Devils trail Virginia Tech by a single game for the eighth, and final, spot.
Riding a two-game series sweep of High Point, Duke (24-20, 8-12 in the ACC) will look to improve its hopes of making the conference tournament this weekend. The Blue Devils will host Maryland (23-20, 6-15) in their first ACC series since North Carolina swept Duke in three games last weekend. The opening pitch for all three of this weekend’s games is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
After arriving back home late Wednesday night, Duke will not be taking Thursday off, despite the long week. Head coach Chris Pollard noted the importance of staying focused going into a pivotal conference series.
“We’re going to practice, but it will be exceedingly light,” Pollard said. “We’ll get them out, get them moving around, and have them shake the rust off from the night before.”
As conference play draws to a close, Duke will have to be in top form this weekend if it wants to remain in contention. But it won’t be easy.
Led by senior hurler Jimmy Reed, who sports a 2.70 ERA with a 4-3 record, the Terrapin pitching staff will provide a challenge for the likes of Grant McCabe and Jordan Betts.
Maryland’s team ERA of 3.88 is seventh best in the ACC. The Blue Devils are right behind the Terrapins at eighth with a 4.10 team ERA.
“We know they pitch,” Pollard said. “They have done a good job of being in close ball games in ACC play. I am sure they would have liked winning a few more of those close ball games, but they have done a good job of keeping ballgames close because they pitch well.”
Duke will hope for some clutch pitching of its own Friday night. The team will send out southpaw Trent Swart to begin the series. Swart boasts a 2.63 ERA and leads the Blue Devils with 52 strikeouts this season.
“I need [Swart] to go out and compete like he did on Saturday night against Carolina, because I felt like he pitched well enough to win on Saturday night,” Pollard said. “We need to build off that; we’ll need quality starts and clutch hits.”
As the regular season draws to an end, Duke will need all the conference wins it can muster. The Blue Devils will close their ACC schedule with series against No. 3 Virginia and No. 9 N.C. State—ranked second and third in the conference, respectively—the team’s weekend series against Maryland seems like a must-win.
“We’re going to go out and compete,” Pollard said. “I think it’s a good matchup for us.”
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