Graeme Stinson, the ace of Duke’s pitching staff, is expected to be a first-round pick in this summer’s MLB Draft, and if Tuesday was any indication, his younger brother has the potential to reach similar heights.
Freshman Cooper Stinson’s superb start led the Blue Devils to a 7-2 victory against Davidson at Wilson Field in Davidson, N.C., snapping the Wildcats’ seven-game winning streak. The 6-foot-6 right-hander allowed only one hit in seven shutout innings, striking out 10 batters and walking three. It was the first time he pitched more than five innings in eight appearances so far this season.
“The biggest difference in what he did so well was he used his offspeed stuff in fastball counts,” head coach Chris Pollard said. “He was a three-pitch pitcher today, wasn’t just relying on a big fastball. He threw his slider, threw his split-finger for strikes and swings and misses, really did a nice job of changing speeds.”
Duke’s lineup didn’t waste any time getting Stinson run support, loading the bases with no outs in the top of the first as Chris Crabtree, Kennie Taylor and Matt Mervis all reached on singles or walks. Michael Rothenberg grounded into a double play to deflate the potential for a big inning, but it did push the Blue Devils’ first run across the plate.
The bottom of the order tacked on another run in the second with singles by Chase Cheek and Kyle Gallagher, and then Duke’s big bats broke the game open in the fourth inning. Five straight two-out singles by Gallagher, Crabtree, Taylor, Mervis and Rothenberg gave the Blue Devils (14-11) a 5-0 lead.
“The game was still very much within reach, and we just had some good at-bats there back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back,” Pollard said. “None of those balls were hit right on the screws, but we did a good job of taking advantage of some soft contact.”
Cheek’s speed produced a run in the sixth inning when he singled and advanced all the way around the bases on a wild pitch, steal and throwing error by the catcher. Davidson (13-7) remained scoreless through the seventh frame, as Stinson finished his night with a 1-2-3 inning punctuated by a full-count strikeout.
The Wildcats were relieved to see a new face on the mound in the eighth and tagged Adam Laskey for two runs before loading the bases to bring the tying run to the plate. But senior captain Hunter Davis shut down the rally with a full-count strikeout to get the Blue Devils off the field.
“He’s just a guy that’s got a lot of guts. If you had 35 Hunter Davises, you’d really have something, because the guy’s got a great demeanor for this game,” Pollard said. “He’s one of the best I’ve ever been around at being the same guy every day.”
Mervis responded to Davidson’s runs with a homer on the first pitch of the bottom of the eighth, capping off his first career three-hit game. The junior spent most of his first two seasons primarily as a reliever in Duke’s bullpen, but has been forced into regular action at third base for the last three weeks with sophomore Joey Loperfido injured. Mervis has capitalized on the offensive opportunity, hitting 8-for-12 in the Blue Devils’ last four games to raise his season average to .342, and Pollard moved him up to the third spot in the order Tuesday.
“I’ve been really impressed with the job that he’s done. The thing about Matt’s numbers, the vast majority of his numbers have come against ACC pitching, really good ACC pitching,” Pollard said. “We’ve had to go through some really good arms to get to where we are, and he’s given us very, very competitive at-bats in those ballgames.”
Duke will next take the field against No. 9 North Carolina in Chapel Hill for a three-game series from Friday to Sunday, hoping to close out a grueling month of March with its first series win in three weeks.
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