As conference play warms up, the Blue Devils are looking to keep their bats hot as well.
Duke welcomes Georgia Tech to Jack Coombs Field for a three-game series beginning Friday at 3 p.m. Winners of three straight, the Blue Devils must continue their success at the plate in order to keep pace with a potent Yellow Jacket lineup.
"They've got a really good offensive club," Duke head coach Chris Pollard said after Wednesday's 7-4 win against Bryant. "We're going through a stretch where we're going to be playing some offensive clubs that are going to push runs across the board, so therefore we've got to be able to match that. We're in a good place offensively right now."
Right-hander Michael Matuella will take the mound for the Blue Devils (13-3, 1-2 in the ACC) in the series opener looking to set the tone against Yellow Jacket southpaw Jonathan King. Matuella—tabbed as the No. 2 major league prospect—threw three scoreless innings March 7 at North Carolina but exited after 39 pitches as he continues to work his way back from arm stiffness.
The Great Falls, Va., native took a tough-luck loss in Atlanta against Georgia Tech last season despite tossing the first complete game of his career. Matuella (1-0) scattered four hits and gave up just a single unearned run in that outing and will look to return to form Friday.
Georgia Tech (12-4, 2-1) put up 22 runs Tuesday in a rout of Georgia Southern, pounding out 20 hits and smacking three home runs. Six Yellow Jackets will make the trip to Durham sporting batting averages north of .300, spearheaded by Kel Johnson. The freshman has taken the college game by storm with six home runs, eight doubles and 25 hits, all of which lead the team.
If Duke wants to make a statement to the rest of the conference, the offense will have to continue to put runs on the scoreboard early. During their three-game winning streak, the Blue Devils have grabbed early multiple-run leads in all three contests, winding up with a combined 29 runs in the three victories.
"It's huge for the team. It's good for momentum going through the game," redshirt sophomore Jalen Phillips said Wednesday when asked about the importance of scoring first. "It gives our pitchers some cushion to feel comfortable and go out there and really pound the strike zone."
Most of the Blue Devils' offensive success has come from stringing together consecutive hits and moving station to station around the diamond. Freshman Justin Bellinger has Duke's only home run so far this season, but doubles in key situations with runners on the basepaths have allowed Pollard's lineup to put crooked numbers on the board. Second baseman Andy Perez has also helped the Blue Devils manufacture runs with his legs, swiping 15 of the team's 27 stolen bases.
Duke and Virginia are the only two schools in the ACC with ERAs less than 2.40, but the Yellow Jackets will send a trio of prolific arms to the hill looking to silence the Blue Devil bats. King (2-0) has racked up 14 strikeouts in 23 innings and will look to outduel Matuella in the opener. Saturday's 1 p.m. tilt will pit Duke senior Andrew Istler against Georgia Tech right-hander Cole Pitts, a senior who has posted a 2.16 ERA in three appearances.
Brandon Gold—who has looked like Georgia Tech's ace in the early going—will take the mound for the Sunday finale opposite Duke's Bailey Clark. Gold has been dominant in 22.1 innings of work this season, surrendering just three earned runs for a 0.81 ERA and piling up 18 strikeouts. But Clark has been just as impressive for the Blue Devils, firing eight innings against the Tar Heels March 8 to keep Duke from falling to 0-3 in league play.
Mid-week wins will help Duke's confidence, but the Blue Devils must translate that success to weekend conference series in order to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1961.
"We're just trying to keep the momentum going," Phillips said.
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