After sweeping Toledo in a three-game series March 4-6 and with home meetings against Penn State and then-No. 14 Virginia looming, Duke had an opportunity to begin its ACC campaign with confidence and on a four-game winning streak. But a loss to the Nittany Lions followed by two defeats to Virginia have left the Blue Devils just two games above .500 and off to a slow start in conference play.
Duke will try to regain its momentum and will continue its current 12-game home stand Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Maryland Eastern Shore at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Cornell transfer Kellen Urbon will be on the mound against Hawks right-hander Chris Melrath before Duke hosts North Carolina in another tough three-game conference series this weekend.
The Blue Devils avoided a Virginia sweep Sunday thanks to a shutout by Brian McAfee. The former Cornell transfer retired 12 consecutive batters at one point and needed just 94 pitches and 72 strikes to secure the win.
“We did a good job of battling. I told our guys pregame—I didn’t talk a lot about specifics about UVA—I said 'Listen, really relish opportunities like this,'” Duke head coach Chris Pollard said Sunday after the win. “You get a chance to show off your heart, a chance to show off your fight, a chance to show off your grit.... We did a good job playing through the error, and guys just picking each other up…”
But before Sunday’s victory, Duke (11-5, 2-1 in the ACC) struggled to find a way to win and capitalize on opportunities against Virginia. Although Pollard’s squad recorded eight hits in the first meeting Friday, it failed to string together enough extra-base hits to bring anyone home.
One night later, the Blue Devils held a 4-1 lead until timely hitting and small-ball helped Virginia drive in a combined six consecutive runs in the fifth and seventh innings. Although the Blue Devils continued to fight and sophomore Jack Labosky hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning, Pollard stressed the importance of limiting damage in big innings.
“We’ve just got to try to minimize [giving up extra runs]. We’ve got to try to get off the field, even if a single run scores,” Pollard said Saturday after the game. “We can’t sort of let the one run score and then let it turn into a bigger inning than that. We’ve got to learn from that mistake and not put ourselves in that position again.”
After winning its first two games, the Hawks (4-11) have struggled lately, losing 11 of their last 13. Maryland Eastern Shore’s main weakness has been its pitching staff and defense. All of the of the Hawk pitchers have an ERA of at least 4.00, and Maryland Eastern Shore has surrendered at least 10 runs in nine games.
In six appearances and 13 innings, Melrath—a 5-foot-9 sophomore—has been one of the Hawks’ more stable and consistent pitchers. Although he has not registered a decision, Melrath has posted a 5.54 ERA in 13 innings and surrendered four extra-base hits—including one home run.
Despite its pitching woes, Maryland Eastern Shore has a lineup capable of pressuring opposing defenses and generating runs. Catcher Jessie Valdez leads the Hawks with a .360 batting average, 13 RBIs and 18 hits, and Mike Escanilla and Dallas Cullota each have five doubles and have combined for 27 hits.
But given the way he has begun his first season at Duke, Urbon figures to force the Hawks to find the gaps, something few opponents have done this season. The 6-foot-1 right-hander leads the Blue Devils with a 0.44 ERA and just 10 hits allowed. Although he was a tough-luck loser Wednesday against Penn State, Urban did not surrender an earned run and received little help from his defense.
A win agains the Hawks would send the Blue Devils back into ACC action with a two-game winning streak with the dangerous Tar Heels coming to the DBAP Friday.
Brian Pollack and Hank Tucker contributed reporting.
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