For the fourth straight game, the Blue Devils must adjust to conditions out of their control. For Tuesday's game, that was supposed to mean an unexpected home contest before the latest bout of inclement weather.
Duke was slated to host UNC Greensboro Tuesday at Jack Coombs Field, with first pitch set for 3 p.m., before the contest was postponed Tuesday morning because of the amount of snow falling in Durham. The game was originally scheduled as a 4 p.m. road contest for the Blue Devils, but poor field conditions at the Spartans' ballpark necessitated a change of venue.
The Blue Devils (5-1) completed their first home weekend of the year with a three-game sweep, claiming victories against Hartford, Delaware State and Iona in the second annual Duke Baseball Classic. The event had to be pushed back to Saturday due to the poor weather of the past week, but it did not faze the hometown club.
Duke's pitching staff continued its strong start to the season in the weekend tournament, allowing just five runs. Sophomore Bailey Clark racked up 11 strikeouts and fired eight shutout innings of scoreless baseball in Sunday night's win against Iona, combining with junior Kenny Koplove for the first Blue Devil shutout of the season. Clark was tabbed with ACC Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance.
Freshman left-hander Chris McGrath would have been Tuesday's probable starter for Duke. The southpaw made his college debut on the bump the second game of Saturday's doubleheader and pitched two scoreless innings before giving way to fellow rookie Jack Labosky. The Spartans (2-3) were planning to counter with junior Keaton Haack. The 6-foot-4 right-hander last pitched in relief in a Feb. 14 loss to High Point, walking two without recording an out.
The teams split their two meetings last season. UNC Greensboro won the first contest after on a two-run walk-off homer, but the Blue Devils responded with a 2-0 win two months later in Durham.
UNC Greensboro went 1-1 in its opening series with High Point and has also suffered defeats against East Carolina and St. John's, but did pick up a 6-5 win against No. 24 Liberty last Friday. The offense has been feast or famine for the Spartans early in the year, with 18 runs in their two wins, but just five runs in the three losses.
Senior outfielder Zac MacAneney has been productive at the plate early this season, posting a .421 batting average with eight hits in 19 at-bats. Aaron Wright is UNC Greensboro's biggest power threat, already with a home run and three doubles to his credit.
Sophomore Cris Perez has been in the middle of the action for the Duke offense with three doubles and a team-high eight RBIs through six games. The cleanup hitter plated the game's only run Sunday with a first-inning double.
The Blue Devils had been scheduled to host the Spartans in Durham April 14 as part of a home-and-home series. It is unclear what the teams will do now to make up the game, and no make-up date has been announced at this time.
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