Every week, the Blue Zone breaks down an outstanding spring athlete, looking at their weekly performance and their season as a whole. Up next is Alex Stone:
Duke baseball has had an unexpected ascension this season, going from a team projected to finish near the bottom of the ACC to a potential host of an NCAA regional later this spring. What is even more impressive, however, is that the Blue Devils have achieved their success without their two best pitchers, Luke Fox and Jonathan Santucci, who are out for the season due to injury. With a lack of ace pitching on the roster, head coach Chris Pollard has had to rely on his veteran bats, and junior catcher Alex Stone has been a major part of Duke’s recent explosion.
The Andover, N.J., native has made a major leap during his third season in Durham, his second full season as the starter behind the plate. So far, the junior backstop is hitting .302 with 44 RBIs and 12 home runs. This is a major improvement over his .227 line from 2022, and he has already surpassed his career highs in every stat with roughly a month to go in the regular season.
Stone has also been steady behind the dish for the Duke defense, an important position due to the strength of the offenses in the ACC. Through 43 games, Stone is sporting a .989 fielding percentage, on par with his previous seasons as a Blue Devil. In addition, he hasn’t allowed many unforced errors, only conceding eight passed balls so far. On a Duke pitching staff filled with inexperience, many of the arms are likely grateful to have a steady presence on the other end of the battery.
While the Blue Devils have been relatively steady all year long, they have really hit their stride recently, as they landed in the top 25 for the first time all season this past week, coming in at No. 16. This rise in the polls is due to a set of impressive wins over the past few weeks, including eight wins against ranked opponents since April 14. These victories against Boston College, Campbell, Louisville and Virginia have put Duke on the map, a team now firmly in consideration to be a top-16 seed come tournament time.
During this streak, Stone has been absolutely on fire. He has had at least one hit in each his last 18 games, which has coincided with all of the Blue Devils’ recent marquee wins. In the series sweep against Louisville, the catcher had five RBIs on three hits, including a walkoff single. In Duke’s most recent series against No. 11 Virginia, Stone was unstoppable, mashing a home run in every game and having seven hits total on the weekend, including four in the opening game of the series.
If Stone continues his hot streak, the Blue Devils will likely have a much easier time managing the rest of the ACC schedule. After its statement wins in April, Duke is entering May with serious goals still in play, including hosting a regional and winning the conference.
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