Capitalizing on scoring opportunities continues to be a problem for Duke.
In a pitcher's duel, the Blue Devils came up short Tuesday night, falling 3-2 to Davidson at Wilson Field. Duke was held to just six hits on the night against six different Wildcat pitchers and has now lost four straight games.
After leaving 36 teammates on base during last weekend's three-game sweep at the hands of Pittsburgh, the Blue Devils struggled once again to get a key hit with runners in scoring position Tuesday night, stranding nine runners on the basepaths.
"If you get opportunities to play for a big inning—you get an opportunity with multiple guys on base, you've got to be able to take advantage of it," Duke head coach Chris Pollard said.
Duke jumped out to an early lead as leadoff hitter Mark Lumpa got on with a single—extending his on-base streak to 13 games—and gave the Blue Devils the 1-0 edge when redshirt junior outfielder Chris Marconcini brought him home with a sacrifice fly. The RBI was Marconcini's 28th of the campaign, which leads the ACC.
Freshman Karl Blum started on the mound for the Blue Devils (14-12), shutting down the Wildcats in the first. The right-hander's stint was a short one, though, as he ran into trouble in the bottom of the second inning. The first two batters singled for Davidson (14-7), bringing Pollard out of the dugout to replace Blum with Kevin Lewallyn. The southpaw surrendered an RBI groundout, a walk and a double as Davidson grabbed a 2-1 advantage.
The Blue Devils mounted a scoring threat of their own in the top of third. Lumpa drew a leadoff walk and came around to score his second run of the game on a Mike Rosenfeld single, tying the game at two. Duke continued to put pressure on the Wildcat pitching staff, loading the bases, but Davidson was able to escape the jam with the help of a double play.
Davidson countered in the bottom of the fourth, when Ty Middlebrooks brought home Ben Arkin with a single, giving the Wildcats a 3-2 lead. It was a lead Davidson would not relinquish.
Duke's best chances to mount a comeback were in the sixth and ninth innings. Aaron Cohn started a two-out rally for the Blue Devils in the sixth by blasting his second double of the game. After Kenny Koplove reached on a Davidson error, Duke had runners at the corners, but couldn't take advantage of the Wildcat miscue.
Pollard said he was pleased with his team’s performance on the mound against a tough Wildcat lineup. The Blue Devils sent five different pitchers to the rubber Tuesday, accumulating six strikeouts and allowing nine hits.
"We pitched very well against a team who's been very good this season, probably the best team we've played so far offensively,” Pollard said. “To hold them to one run over the final six innings of the ballgame was a terrific job."
The Blue Devils will return home to Jack Coombs Stadium Friday night to begin a three-game weekend series with crosstown rival North Carolina.
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