Some say time will tell — for the Blue Devils, that is exactly what happened.
It was an uphill battle for Duke this weekend. In a grueling four-hour grudge match against Cincinnati Saturday, the Blue Devils found themselves locked in an extra-innings showdown. After battling to 5-5 through 12, senior captain Wallace Clark came through in the clutch, launching a walk-off home run to left field to secure the win and set up a Sunday rubber match.
In the deciding game, however, Duke’s sluggish offense proved costly, as the Blue Devils ultimately fell 19-5 to Cincinnati, failing to come up with an offensive spark against the Bearcats’ onslaught.
“We bounced back yesterday after the loss Friday night, and put ourselves back in the series. Today, it was a combination of a lot that was self-inflicted,” head coach Chris Pollard said after Sunday’s game. “We did a lot to ourselves in terms of allowing free offense. It was a bit of Murphy's Law on top of that, everything that could go wrong did go wrong.”
Junior James Tallon took the mound for the Blue Devils (1-2) Sunday, looking to build on Duke’s 13-strikeout performance from the day before. The Arlington, Va., native delivered early, closing the first inning with back-to-back punchouts.
The skies did not stay sunny for long, though. Tallon’s struggles put Cincinnati (2-1) in a bases-loaded, no-outs situation at the top of the second, with two walks bringing in the Bearcats’ first two runs. Looking for a better option on the mound, the Blue Devils turned to the toolbox, pulling out freshman Jack Hedrick. The Charlotte Catholic product stepped up, allowing just one run before shutting down the rally with a clutch strikeout to end the inning.
Duke responded quickly on offense, as Macon Winslow launched a two-run homer over the left-field fence, cutting into the deficit to 3-2.
Cincinnati quickly reinvigorated its bats in the third, capitalizing with a two-run homer that prompted another pitching change. This time, the Blue Devils called on William & Mary transfer Mark Hindy to steady the game.
In last year’s midweek matchup while playing for the Tribe, Hindy shut Duke out. He closed out the seventh, eighth and ninth innings with only three hits and no runs allowed. This year, however, looked very different.
Not only did the New Jersey native only make 15 pitches, but he allowed one hit, two runs and three bases on balls. The southpaw was able to get a flyout and a strikeout to end the frame, but not before the visitors pushed the lead to 6-2.
“When we have bad luck, we can't allow that to take us out of the strike zone,” Pollard said. “We have got to continue to execute in the strike zone.”
The home team attempted to battle back with a first-pitch home run by the No. 9 batter — and Friday’s starting pitcher — Kyle Johnson. The long ball wasn’t enough; Cincinnati closed the inning with a 6-3 lead.
While the Bearcats had attempted bunts throughout the weekend, the rainy conditions Saturday limited their small-ball success. However, on Sunday Cincinnati looked to revive the strategy that had worked so well for them Friday night. Duke was unable to corral several bunts off the new turf at Jack Coombs Field, and the Bearcats continued to pair small ball with aggressive baserunning to expand their lead.
“They exposed a lot of things that we need to work on, and they exploited us in a lot of ways,” Pollard said. “We certainly knew that they were going to apply a lot of pressure to us. We've obviously got a lot of work to do.”
After a failed attempt on defense, junior Tyler Albright attempted to spark momentum with an RBI triple to make it 8-4. But Duke’s offense stalled in the fifth and sixth innings, as a double play and a quick turn through the order kept the Blue Devils off the board.
With momentum shifting, the Blue Devils made yet another pitching change. Duke brought in senior right-hander David Boisvert, a Charlotte native, to stop the bleeding in the top of the sixth. However, an error and several free passes pushed the door wide-open for Cincinnati, sparking a long rally.
The rest of the game was much of the same for the Blue Devils, as they were unable to bandage the open wound. The Bearcats scored six in the seventh inning to put it out of reach while Duke reached for more freshman pitchers from the bench.
Despite Saturday’s heroics and glimmers of potential throughout the roster, a long, cold weekend came to an end on a sour note. There won’t be much time to rest after the series loss, as Duke will hope to enter the week in good spirits as it takes on UNC Wilmington at home Tuesday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.