Duke enters its second conference series as one of the hottest teams in all of college baseball.
The Blue Devils have triumphed in 13 of their last 14 contests, including an impressive series win against then-No. 18 Virginia. They will hope to keep the momentum going to wrap up a 17-game homestand with a three-game series against Miami at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park Friday through Sunday.
Perhaps most surprisingly, the team has been raking despite the relative struggles of superstar and likely first-round draft pick Griffin Conine. The junior has produced a .217 batting average, .347 on-base percentage and .417 slugging percentage. This compares to the more impressive team rates of a .262 batting average, .379 on-base percentage and .411 slugging percentage. In fact, Duke is led in batting average by two freshmen: Joey Loperfido and Michael Rothenberg.
The dominance of the Blue Devils has not been solely at the plate. Their pitching staff has held opponents to a .225 batting average and a .625 OPS. Head coach Chris Pollard’s three weekend starters in Adam Laskey, Ryan Day and Mitch Stallings all have ERAs better than 3.70. Do-it-all reliever Ethan DeCaster has been truly unhittable in 2018 and has yielded just five baserunners in 13 2/3 scoreless innings. Also in the bullpen is Graeme Stinson, who has amassed an eye-opening 19 strikeouts in just 9 2/3 innings.
“We love to compete, just want to pound the zone and compete,” Stinson said. "All of our guys just love going out there and playing hard for each other.”
In contrast to the upstart Duke team, the Hurricanes (8-8, 2-1 in the ACC) limp into Durham for this weekend’s series with an underwhelming record on the young season. They have struggled mightily at the plate and excelled from the mound. Miami has a putrid .235 team batting average, but has posted an exceptional 3.08 team ERA.
Although the Hurricanes do not appear to have an advantage against the Blue Devils, they do have history on their side—they have not lost a series to Duke since 2013. In 2017, Miami lit up Laskey, who failed to make it out of the first inning, on its way to a 7-0 series-clinching blowout victory. Duke’s current Friday night starter hopes to avenge his prior disappointment and win his fourth game on the year.
The Blue Devils (14-3, 2-1) are currently in the midst of one of the busiest stretches of the season, in which they play 15 games in 20 days. To keep his players rested, Pollard is taking advantage of his depth and even used 20 players in Wednesday’s 10-2 victory against Yale.
“Guys never know. You’re always a play away. You have to stay ready, which is a difficult thing to do in our sport, where when you’re not playing, it’s a lot of standing, waiting and boredom,” Pollard told GoDuke.com after Wednesday's win. “Even if guys in front of you are playing well, you never know when a guy is going to look down at you from the end of the bench and say to go ahead and get loose or swing a bat. You need to be ready to take advantage of that.”
Although it is still early to pay too much attention to conference standings, this weekend could be crucial further down the line for Duke. The Blue Devils currently sit tied atop the Coastal Division, and a series win against the struggling Hurricanes could prove to be essential come time for ACC tournament seeding.
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