After falling to in-state rival East Carolina Wednesday, Duke will return to conference play still searching for its first series victory since early March.
With the start of the ACC Tournament less than two weeks away, the Blue Devils are desperate for a conference series win and need to finish strong in order to become one of the 12 teams to secure a bid.
Duke will have an opportunity to cement a tournament berth this weekend as it hosts Georgia Tech at Jack Coombs Field. The teams will battle Friday at 4 p.m. before taking the field for afternoon contests Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., as both teams–currently knotted at 10th place in the conference standings–try to create more separation.
Although both teams can clinch a tournament berth with a series sweep, Blue Devil head coach Chris Pollard continues to manage his team one game at a time.
“I don’t ever go into a series saying, ‘I hope we can take two,’ ‘I hope we sweep’ or ‘I hope we can get one of these.’ I think that’s a bad way to play the sport of baseball and a bad way to manage the sport of baseball,” Pollard said. “You focus in on your next game and manage that game in the best way you can to give yourself a chance to win that ballgame. Then when that game is over with, you assess your guys and figure out who gives you the best chance to win the next day.”
Duke (24-24, 9-15 in the ACC) will rely on its starters to provide depth and shut down a prolific Georgia Tech offense. Juniors Ryan Day and Mitch Stallings will look to continue their recent dominance on the mound in ACC play.
Day has led the Blue Devils this season with a 2.76 ERA and has held opponents to a batting average of just .214. Much of the Phelan, Calif., native’s success this season is due to his ability to limit big hits and stay away from big innings on the mound. Day is one of just two regular ACC starters to not allow a home run this season, and has only allowed five extra-base hits on the season.
Stallings has also been excellent in conference play. The Atlanta native enters this weekend’s series with six consecutive quality starts of at least six innings, and will look to extend his team lead in innings pitched with 60 1/3 and strikeouts with 58. The southpaw has found success through improved command and stamina this season.
“He’s been able to hold his stuff deep into ballgames, even at the hundred-pitch mark and that’s a credit to the hard work he’s put in,” Pollard said. “He has the ability to throw three pitches for strikes and he’s got a ton of depth on his changeup right now. That pitch has produced a lot of swings and misses and has become a real weapon.”
Georgia Tech (24-22, 9-15) will counter the Blue Devils with one of the most prolific offenses in the conference. The Yellow Jackets hit .285 as a team and have crushed 61 long balls in comparison to just 35 thus far for the Blue Devils. Duke will need be especially careful when Joey Bart and Kel Johnson step to the plate. Bart is batting .296 on the season and leads the Yellow Jackets with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs. Johnson is also a power threat at the plate and has hit 10 home runs of his own while driving in 39 runs.
On the other hand, the Blue Devils will continue to ride the hot bat of sophomore Griffin Conine. In addition to his team-leading .337 batting average, 13 home runs and 55 RBIs, Conine also leads Duke in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs, hits, triples, total bases and walks.
In order to make an ACC tournament berth a reality, the Blue Devils need to play a complete series on both sides of the field and string a couple victories together.
“You go out and you worry about Friday night, take that ballgame, and then you focus on the rest of the weekend when it gets here,” Pollard said. “We have a great competitor on the mound who’s given us a ton of quality starts and given us a chance. We need to be opportunistic with our offense and I think our defense is playing really well right now.”
Following this weekend’s series against Georgia Tech, Duke will face Liberty Tuesday before traveling to face No. 3 North Carolina in Chapel Hill next weekend in the final series of the season.
Mitchell Gladstone contributed reporting.
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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.