Duke was outscored in its first four ACC games by a combined total of 43-6.
But those days were long ago, and the Blue Devil offense has now found its groove.
Despite trailing 2-0 and 3-1 early, Duke extended its winning streak to four games with a 5-3 victory against No. 21 Clemson Friday night at Jack Coombs Field, the Blue Devils' first weekend game at their on-campus ballpark this season. Sophomore Peter Zyla paved the way at the plate with three hits and two RBIs in three at-bats, and the bullpen came up clutch again, tossing four scoreless innings in relief of starter Bailey Clark.
The Blue Devils trailed 4-0 Tuesday night against UNC Greensboro before scoring seven unanswered runs, and came up big with their backs against the wall yet again Friday.
“They’ve essentially taught themselves how to [come back],” Duke head coach Chris Pollard said. “Guys stayed very loose, had an answer…. It’s just a part of maturation.”
In the top of the fifth with the game tied at three, Zyla stepped to the plate with runners on second and third and two outs. The right fielder had already recorded two hits, but this time he would need a little help to put his team in front.
The Alpharetta, Ga., native, hit a sharp grounder up the middle that took a high bounce off the artificial turf behind second base, handcuffing shortstop Eli White. The ball deflected off the orange lettering of White’s jersey and fell to the ground, giving Zyla the go-ahead hit as sophomore Jack Labosky trotted home.
“I was picking better pitches to hit and not trying to do too much—just keep it on the ground or on a line and luckily it dropped for me today,” Zyla said.
The bullpen had trouble in the top of the sixth, with reliever James Ziemba in. Ziemba faced Chris Williams with runners on the corners with only one out holding onto a one-run lead, but the Hillsborough, N.J., native fooled the Tiger hitter to get out of the jam.
Williams hit a grounder to third, which Labosky flipped to second for one out and sophomore Max Miller sent on to first to complete the double play.
“I got a fastball away and he kind of just lunged at it a little bit and got a roll over, which is what we’re looking for,” Ziemba said. “Experience is the biggest thing that gets you through those situations.”
The Blue Devils (16-14, 5-8 in the ACC) added an insurance run in the next inning. After scoring five runs in the seventh Tuesday against the Spartans, Duke struck again after the seventh-inning stretch.
Justin Bellinger—inserted into the starting lineup March 26 and hitting .405 this year—reached first base on an infield single to the left side, and the Blue Devils found a way to get him around the bases without a hit.
Bellinger reached second after a walk, arrived on third base on a fielder’s choice and crossed home plate on the first ball of the inning hit out of the infield—a sacrifice fly to left field off the bat of Zyla.
“That’s what we have to do. Our team has to be opportunistic offensively,” Pollard said. “We need to try to force mistakes because of our speed…and when we do force a team to make a mistake, we have to take advantage of it. And we did a good job of that tonight.”
Duke’s relievers went a combined four innings and allowed only two hits against the Tigers (22-8, 7-6), who had scored 53 runs in their previous six games. One of those relievers, Labosky, worked a scoreless eighth, continuing to impress both on the mound and at the plate
The Clovis, Calif., native entered the weekend on a six-game tear featuring 10 hits and 11 RBIs and headed to the plate with Duke trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the third with runners on second and third with two outs. Labosky met the challenge, taking Clate Schmidt's offering and singling home Jimmy Herron and Miller to tie the game.
“That was huge. I was just so proud of him, [with] two-strikes—just golfing something out there and getting two runs,” Zyla said. “You’ve got to do that on Friday nights in the ACC.”
The next inning, Clark allowed a single to Weston Wilson, a walk to Robert Jolly and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases with only one out. But like Ziemba in the sixth, the junior minimized the damage.
Jordan Greene—who finished 0-for-1 with two walks—flew out to right to bring home Wilson on a sacrifice fly, but Chase Pinder grounded into an inning-ending double play to get the Blue Devils off the field.
In the bottom of the fourth, Duke tied the game thanks to a single from Zyla to start things off. Kone then bunted and reached safely, and Miller promptly singled up the middle.
“We’re hitting from one to nine [in the order] right now—obviously Jack’s on a different planet,” Ziemba said. “A different guy every game is getting hits.”
Duke returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. at Jack Coombs Field against the Tigers, hoping to win its fifth straight game and third series this year against a ranked opponent. The Blue Devils have not taken a series from Clemson since 2010.
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