Coming off a weekend series in which the Blue Devils were outplayed and swept by No. 7 Florida State, Duke will look to rebound 6 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts North Carolina A&T at Jack Coombs Field.
“We need to regroup and come out playing hard,” Duke head coach Chris Pollard said.
The Blue Devils were outscored 32-10 by the Seminoles, though Duke (21-17) recorded at least eight hits in each game. Senior Jeff Kremer led the Blue Devils at the plate, collecting seven hits and four RBIs. Mark Lumpa, a junior, added five hits, extending his hitting streak to nine games.
“[Lumpa] has had great at-bats recently for us,” Pollard said. “He’s continued to provide a spark on offense.”
The matchup with North Carolina A&T (13-23) is the teams’ second of the season. Duke coasted to a 15-1 victory March 27 in Greensboro in the opening game against the Aggies.
In that game, James Marvel got the win for Duke, giving up one run on three hits in five innings. The Blue Devils used a four-run third inning and seven-run fourth inning to bust open the game against Aggie starter Tim Jones.
The outburst was a balanced team effort—all nine Duke starters reached base and scored at least one run. Third baseman Jordan Betts had two hits and four RBIs, while first baseman Chris Marconcini had two hits and three RBIs. The redshirt sophomore also scored three runs.
Neither side was clean defensively in the game—both Duke and North Carolina A&T committed two errors. Pollard expects a much better showing from the Aggies in game two.
“They didn’t play well when we played them down at their place, but they’re playing much better of late,” Pollard said.
While the Blue Devils were being beaten soundly in Tallahassee, the Aggies spent this weekend winning two out of three games against Gardner Webb. They are 6-6 in 12 games since their first meeting with Duke.
Freshman Michael Matuella will start on the mound for the Blue Devils. In his last outing, Matuella pitched five innings to earn the win against UNC Greensboro, giving up two runs on five hits while striking out two. Matuella’s record now stands at 3-2 on the season with a 3.23 ERA.
Tuesday’s tilt against the Aggies could be a trap game for the Blue Devils, who are in the midst of a brutal stretch in ACC play. After facing North Carolina A&T, Duke will travel to nearby Chapel Hill this weekend to battle the No. 1 team in the country: North Carolina.
Pollard knows his team will need to come to play Tuesday to regain some momentum before taking on the top-ranked team in the nation.
“We can’t be looking past [North Carolina A&T] to the weekend,” Pollard said.
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