Duke used a 5-run eighth inning Sunday to propel itself to a series win this weekend against California.
The Blue Devils won the season opener Friday 7-1 behind a dominant performance from ace Michael Matuella, dropped the second game 3-2 Saturday but recovered to take the rubber match Sunday 12-7. Duke entered the top of the eighth inning down 7-6 before storming back and taking a commanding 11-7 lead that it would not let go of. This is the second season in a row that Blue Devils opened their campaign with a series win.
“We showed a lot of resilience,” head coach Chris Pollard said. “After having our struggles at the plate [Saturday] night and in the first two innings [Sunday] we showed a lot of toughness.”
No. 2 overall MLB prospect Michael Matuella lived up to his billing Friday night at Evans Diamond, hurling six shut-out innings. The junior from Great Falls, Va., allowed only four hits and two walks during the outing and struck out eight batters.
Senior Andrew Istler turned in an inconsistent performance for the Blue Devils (2-1) Saturday. The Wellington, Fla., native turned in 4.2 innings, giving up only two earned runs but allowing eight hits and a walk during the contest.
Bailey Clark—making the first start of his career—tossed a solid five innings in the rubber match Sunday. The sophomore allowed just two earned runs and eight base runners during the game and struck out five batters.
“We had three good starts this weekend,” Pollard said. “I was really proud of Bailey Clark in the first start of his career…. Overall it was a good weekend for our guys.”
The offense, which came in as a question mark this season due to its youth, was effective for most of the weekend against the Golden Bears (1-2), and really came to life in the series finale. The freshmen in particular had a positive start to the year.
First baseman Justin Bellinger went just 1-for-11 with three walks but had three RBIs and two runs scored, including a home run in the victory Friday night. Third baseman Jack Labosky went 4-for-10 with three runs scored and three RBIs. And centerfielder Evan Dougherty finished just 2-for-11 with three walks but had five runs scored.
The veteran members of the lineup also faired well against California this weekend. Co-captain Mike Rosenfeld—who played right field in addition to his traditional role behind the plate for the Blue Devils—went 3-for-10 at the plate with two runs scored, three RBIs and an extra base hit.
Junior shortstop Kenny Koplove started off the weekend slow with an 0-for-7 combined performance Friday and Saturday but recovered Sunday, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk. Second baseman and lead-off batter Andy Perez was also cold in the first two contests of the series—he went 0-for-9 in the two games—but was one of the focal points of the Blue Devil offense Sunday, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
“We made great adjustments [at the plate],” Pollard said. “Jalen Phillips had a great at-bat in the eighth inning that really exemplified our weekend, battling back then getting the hit.”
Duke was also a bit sloppy in the field this weekend, committing at least one error in each contest—and some of the errors were costly. An error by freshman pitcher Mitch Stallings in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday led to the game-deciding run for the Golden Bears.
The Blue Devils will have the beginning of the week off to rest as they gear up for the second annual Duke Baseball Classic at Jack Coombs Field, which begins Friday. Duke will have games against Hartford, Delaware State and Iona this coming weekend and will look to build on this weekend’s performance.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.