After suffering six consecutive losses earlier this month, the Blue Devils have won two straight, but to keep their winning streak going they will have to knock off one of the hottest teams in the ACC.
Duke will try to return to .500 for the season when the Blue Devils travel to Atlanta for a three-game series against No. 23 Georgia Tech at Russ Chandler Stadium. Junior right-hander Bailey Clark will be on the mound to begin the series Friday at 7 p.m., and Cornell graduate transfers Kellen Urbon and Brian McAfee will close out the series Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m., respectively.
Friday's contest will be a crucial outing for Clark, who will look to slow down a potent Yellow Jacket team that has won seven of its last eight games. Clark began the season strong with two wins in his first three starts, but has struggled since. After surrendering five runs in losses against both Virginia and North Carolina, the Asheville, N.C., native gave up a season-high eight runs in two-thirds of an inning against Wake Forest last Friday.
Duke head coach Chris Pollard noted that Clark was sharp in practice this week, in part because he logged just 49 pitches against the Demon Deacons.
“When you’re the Friday night starter in the ACC, your team is leaning on you to go out and get deep into the ballgame, give yourself a chance in that first game of the series,” Pollard said. “Bailey realizes that. I look forward to him having an opportunity to carry [his success in practice] to Friday night.”
Urbon’s outing against the Yellow Jackets will mark the San Diego native's second weekend start of the season. The right-hander began the season as a mid-week starter, but slid into the end-of-week rotation after graduate student Trent Swart suffered an undisclosed injury March 19.
Duke (12-13, 2-7 in the ACC) avoided a Wake Forest sweep Sunday thanks to seven productive innings by McAfee in a 3-2 win. After the Blue Devils surrendered 12 runs in a shutout loss to the Demon Deacons Friday and fell in extra innings Saturday, McAfee relied on 95 pitches to record his third win of the season.
Two days later against Liberty, Duke rebounded from a slow start at the plate to explode for a four-run sixth inning, and insurance runs in the seventh and eighth frames helped the Blue Devils secure a 6-1 victory.
“We’ve played pretty good baseball over the last three ball games…. We’ve competed well, played good defense and then the offense kind of really broke out tonight,” Pollard said after Tuesday’s game. “We’ve just got to focus on Friday night.”
Throughout Duke’s first 25 games, Pollard has shuffled his lineup to determine which combination provided his squad with the most opportunities to score. But after the Blue Devils’ last two victories, he said he expects to see more continuity in the team's batting order.
Sophomore infielder Jack Labosky has recorded five hits and two RBIs in Duke’s last three games, and freshman catcher Chris Proctor has had consistently strong at-bats as a No. 2 hitter.
“Some guys have solidified some roles in the last week or so. Some guys have started to square the baseball up a little bit more,” Pollard said. “We haven’t swung and missed a lot this year, but a lot our times our contact is not good contact. Some guys have made some adjustments in the last couple of ball games.”
When Duke is on defense, the Blue Devil pitching staff will face a difficult challenge against an explosive Georgia Tech offense that is currently hitting .321 and slugging .457. The Yellow Jackets (19-5, 5-4)—who picked up two wins last weekend against then-No. 4 North Carolina—have scored 6.8 runs per game in their last 11 contests.
With 58 doubles and 21 home runs, Georgia Tech—led by 2015 Freshman All-American outfielder Kel Johnson—relies on its power to threaten opposing defenses.
If the Yellow Jackets continue their strong play at the plate, the Blue Devils will have to capitalize on scoring opportunities. The Yellow Jacket pitching staff has combined for a 3.25 ERA, with Brandon Gold expected to start Friday and Zac Ryan Saturday. Gold has recorded a team-leading 36 strikeouts in six starts and registered his third win against the Tar Heels in 7 1/3 innings of work.
Georgia Tech’s success on the mound is partially a product of the stellar play up the middle. The Yellow Jackets lead the nation with 40 double plays, and turn 1.7 double plays per game.
“They have the best infield defense in the country,” Pollard said. “They have a group of guys that are juniors that have played together for three years, and they don’t beat themselves because of that. [Gold] pounds the strike zone at the knees [and] gets a lot of ground balls.”
The Yellow Jackets have not announced a starter opposite McAfee for Sunday's series finale.
Hank Tucker contributed reporting.
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