Duke threatened to score inning after inning Saturday afternoon, but never came up with a big hit to push a run across.
A day after four home runs powered the Blue Devils to a convincing win, their four-game win streak ended with a 1-0 loss to Liberty at TicketReturn.com Field in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Duke went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and the Flames manufactured the game’s only run in the seventh inning.
“There were a couple of times where we had a runner at third with less than two outs where we just didn’t execute in the moment, so we had our chances,” Duke head coach Chris Pollard said. “Both sides had some opportunities offensively, but both teams made some really good defensive plays to get their team off the field.”
Graduate student Trent Swart pitched six scoreless frames for his first quality start since 2014 after missing all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, but redshirt sophomore James Ziemba relieved him to start the seventh inning and immediately fell into trouble. Junior Eric Grabowski led off with a single against the southpaw and circled the bases on two wild pitches and an error to score.
The run came in the midst of a flurry of scoring chances for Duke (4-2), which put runners in scoring position in four straight innings from the fifth through the eighth. Liberty starter Victor Cole gave up just one hit in five scoreless innings, but the Blue Devils kept the pressure on him and the Flames' bullpen all afternoon.
Freshman Jimmy Herron ended the fifth frame with a groundout to the pitcher to leave runners stranded on second and third, and sophomore Peter Zyla led off the sixth inning with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but could only watch as the next three batters could not drive him home. Zyla went 2-for-4 with two singles and was the only Blue Devil with multiple hits.
Sophomore Evan Dougherty reached third base with one out in the seventh after a single, passed ball and sacrifice bunt, but a popup and a flyout ended that threat, and freshman Zack Kone grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning.
“It’s a combination of bad luck and a little bit of a poor approach at times…. We hit some balls really hard with runners in scoring position,” Pollard said. “I told our guys after the ballgame, ‘If you pitch and play defense like that and you give yourself that many opportunities with runners in scoring position, you’re going to come out on the right side of those ballgames more often than not.’"
Duke’s defense kept the game scoreless in the early going, as the Flames (4-2) squandered their share of chances as well. Liberty also suffered through an 0-for-10 afternoon with runners in scoring position.
The Flames put runners on the corners with one out in the fourth inning after singles by Grabowski and junior Andrew Kowalo—who both went 2-for-3 Saturday—but senior Dalton Britt hit a grounder to second baseman Max Miller that the Blue Devils turned into a double play.
In the third inning, Herron ran down a deep fly ball and made a leaping catch to rob Will Shepherd of an extra-base hit and end the frame.
Liberty’s biggest scoring threat before its lone run came in the second inning, when Kowalo doubled after classmate Andrew Kacyk drew a leadoff walk to put runners on second and third with no outs. But Swart buckled down with two strikeouts sandwiched around a harmless walk and induced a soft swinging bunt that catcher Cris Perez threw to first for the out to escape the jam.
“Today was a really good step for [Swart]—the next step in the progression,” said Pollard, who kept the southpaw on a short pitch count for his start last weekend against No. 10 California as he eases his way back from Tommy John surgery. “His stuff was better today than it was at this time last week. He was able to extend his pitch count and I thought he was very good, so that’s a good sign for us."
Duke nearly responded right away in the bottom half of the second, putting runners on the corners with one out, but Perez was thrown out at home on a squeeze attempt by Dougherty, beginning the recurring theme of missed opportunities.
The Blue Devils will round out their weekend in Myrtle Beach with a tough test against No. 19 Coastal Carolina Sunday at 2 p.m.
“There’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves,” Pollard said. “We’ve got to wake up tomorrow morning and play a nationally ranked opponent on their home field, so it’s a great opportunity for our guys to get right back at it.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.