The Blue Devil offense broke through in a big way Sunday afternoon against the Tar Heels and it will look to continue its hot hitting Tuesday.
Duke returns home to Jack Coombs field Tuesday to face Yale at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs have only played three games entering this contest with the Blue Devils but will provide an opportunity for head coach Chris Pollard’s offense to continue to improve.
One way or another, there are likely to be offensive fireworks Tuesday. Yale surrendered a combined 56 runs in its first three games and has not played a contest decided by fewer than 19 runs this season.
“Just staying in an aggressive mentality is a big part of [improving offensively],” Pollard said. “When we’ve gotten in trouble it’s when we’ve gotten really passive at the plate—we start taking too many fastballs. When we’ve been at our best we’re really aggressive.”
In its first two games against North Carolina last weekend, Duke (11-3) was only able to come up with three runs but exploded for nine in Sunday’s series finale as the “feast or famine” style of offense continues for the Blue Devils.
Duke has scored three or fewer runs seven times in its first 14 games and has scored at least five in its other seven. Three times the Blue Devils have broken double digits and they have yet to lose when they score at least three runs.
Co-captain Mike Rosenfeld leads the offense for Duke. The redshirt senior is the only Blue Devil starter hitting .300 and the only starter with on-base percentages and slugging percentages better than .400. Rosenfeld is also second on the team in hits and RBIs and is tied for the lead in extra-base hits with sophomore Cris Perez.
The story of the Duke offense all season, though, has been the development of the freshmen. Three Blue Devil rookies are regular starters and a total of eight freshmen have gone to the plate in the first 14 games.
Third baseman Jack Labosky leads the young crew in production with a .294 batting average, a .383 on-base percentage and 15 hits, but he is far from the only freshman to make an impact at the dish this season.
First baseman Justin Bellinger struggled offensively to start the season but has seen his numbers rise during the past week. The Weston, Mass., native has watched his batting average rise from below the Mendoza line to .245 and boasts the best slugging percentage among freshmen at .367. Bellinger had a career day Sunday against North Carolina, becoming the first Blue Devil to collect five RBIs in a game since second baseman Andy Perez did it in 2013.
Center fielder Evan Dougherty has done his job by getting on base and scoring runs despite hitting just .231. The Fort Meyers, Fla., native sports a .359 on-base percentage and has scored a team-high 14 runs.
“It’s no secret that the biggest thing we have to do is do a better job when we get into two-strike counts,” Pollard said. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure out we’re striking out too much…. We just have to do a better job of [putting the ball in play] and some of that’s just maturation.”
Duke is also looking to extend its eight-game winning streak at home. The Blue Devils are unbeaten in Durham this season, their longest home winning streak to open a season since 2010.
To continue the success within the friendly confines of Jack Coombs Field, Duke will look to its pitching staff as it has all season, just in case the offense reverts back to the squad that struck out 27 times in the first two games against the Tar Heels.
Giving up his starting spot at the hot corner, Labosky will get the start for the Blue Devils on the mound Tuesday. The Clovis, Calif., native is 1-0 on the season and has given up two runs on four hits in three innings in his two appearances. Labosky (1-0) will look to whittle down his 6.00 ERA against a Yale lineup that has taken Duke's "feast or famine" offensive approach to new heights.
In their two losses, the Bulldogs (1-2) scored four total runs and gave up a combined 55. But after a 30-2 loss to Richmond March 7, Yale bounced back later that afternoon with a 22-3 rout of Davidson. The Wildcats got their revenge the next day by a 23-2 margin. Senior Eric Hsieh leads the Bulldogs at the plate with six hits in 11 at-bats, including a pair of doubles and RBIs.
Duke pitchers have started off the year continuing the success enjoyed by last year's record-setting staff. The Blue Devils currently hold a team ERA of 2.27 with a .232 opponent's batting average. Led by No. 2 major league prospect Michael Matuella—who has yet to relinquish a run this season—Duke’s ERA is second in the ACC to No. 3 Virginia.
Tuesday's game is the start of a 10-game homestand for the Blue Devils, which continues Wednesday against against Bryant.
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