With about two months left in their regular season, the Blue Devils know they have plenty of time to make an NCAA tournament push after a late-season surge got them into the field last year.
But after inconsistent play led to a disappointing first month, Duke needs to start stringing together quality performances to give itself a chance to build on last season’s success.
The Blue Devils’ first ACC road series will give them an opportunity to do just that and make a statement early in conference play.
Duke will look to shake off recent inconsistency when it takes on No. 19 Virginia this weekend at Davenport Field in Charlottesville, Va. The teams will do battle Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. To earn their first victory against a ranked opponent this season, the Blue Devils will need to show more poise on the mound—Duke head coach Chris Pollard’s team has allowed 7.2 runs per game in its last six contests, particularly struggling with walks and wild pitches that gift opponents free offense.
“We’ve seen good clubs offensively speaking over the last 10 ballgames and we’ve got another one ahead of us this weekend,” Pollard said. “The key is the same regardless—force teams to swing the bat early in the count, limit free bases and play solid defense. That’s the formula for success.”
In order for the Blue Devils (12-11, 3-3 in the ACC) to combine the ingredients for that formula, they will need stronger performances from their bullpen. Even when Duke has gotten strong starting pitching, starters like junior southpaw Mitch Stallings and freshman lefty Adam Laskey—who will start Friday and Saturday, with the team’s Sunday starter to be announced—have only been able to watch their teammates blow leads or let opponents pull away.
That was the case Sunday, when junior Ryan Day gave his team five solid innings before the team’s relievers surrendered 10 runs during the next four frames in an ugly 11-2 loss to Wake Forest. The Blue Devils allowed 26 runs in their first three contests against ranked opponents this season and will need both their starters and relievers at their best to give closer Jack Labosky a chance to put the home team away late in games.
“If you get good starting pitching and you play good defense, you’re going to find yourself in a lot of ballgames in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings,” Pollard said. “If you do that consistently, good things are going to happen and I think that’s been something we can build off of.”
Holding Virginia (17-5, 2-4 in the ACC) in check offensively, however, will not be an easy task. The Cavaliers—who lost four of their first six conference games in series against top-10 foes in North Carolina and Clemson—are batting .309 as a team.
The Blue Devils will also have to be especially careful when facing the heart of Virginia’s lineup. Junior Adam Haseley leads the team with his .390 average and seven home runs, and fellow junior Pavin Smith is right behind him with six home runs to go along with 27 RBIs.
Facing one of the most powerful offenses it will see all season, Duke will not be able to survive the self-inflicted wounds that have defined many of its early-season losses—the Cavaliers started the season by scoring at least nine runs in seven of their first eight games, a mark the Blue Devils have only reached four total times this spring.
To that end, Duke will need increased offensive production in order to get above the .500 mark in the ACC. The Blue Devils are hitting a mere .262 as a team and will look to continue to swing the bats like they did in a 10-run outburst against Maryland Eastern Shore Tuesday.
Led by sophomore star Jimmy Herron, Duke will try to counter the Cavaliers’ offense with efficient hitting of its own. Batting leadoff, Herron leads the Blue Devils with his .329 average and nine stolen bases through the first third of the season.
He will look to get on base and threaten Virginia starters Daniel Lynch, Evan Sperling and Haseley early in contests. Although the Cavaliers boast a loaded offense, their pitching staff has allowed opponents to find a rhythm at times—Clemson scored 19 runs combined in its last two games against Virginia.
“I think that certainly Jimmy Herron has played great through the first third of the season as a leadoff hitter, and has really built on what he did last year,” Pollard said. “We’ve got to get one or two more guys going offensively and one or two more guys going from a pitching standpoint, and that will be the difference.”
Labosky and junior Justin Bellinger are two of the players the Blue Devils will need to produce moving forward. Bellinger has gotten off to a poor start this season, batting just .215 with only 12 RBIs after leading the team with a .336 average last season. If he can join Labosky as a .300 hitter to add more power to Duke’s lineup, the Blue Devils could find some much-needed momentum on the road.
If not, Duke will likely find itself needing to regroup after another tough ACC series.
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Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113. Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.