Facing their second “Eagles” opponent in less than a week, the Blue Devils returned home licking their wounds after an embarrassing series loss to Boston College.
Bill Hillier was fired after losing several players who left early and losing a lot of games in his six years at Duke.
Conine currently leads Duke in batting average, hits, runs, triples, home runs, RBIs and walks.
In a season that has fallen short of expectations after Duke made the NCAA tournament for the first time in 55 years last spring, the Blue Devils hit rock bottom this weekend. T1: Day works around leadoff single B1: Kone infield single, Conine smacks a single up the middle, Labosky hit in the back.
With a little more than a than a third of the season remaining, Duke enters this weekend in desperate need of a series win as the window for a second consecutive NCAA tournament run continues to close.
Duke headed to Campbell Wednesday hoping the nonconference game would be an oasis in the desert after dropping four of their last five games.
Up until this year, taking the trip to Coral Gables to take on Miami has traditionally been one of the toughest tasks in college baseball.
After nearly knocking off the Durham Bulls in an exhibition matchup Tuesday, Duke travels to Coral Gables, Fla., to take on an uncharacteristically weak Miami team as it returns to ACC play.
The Blue Devils’ five pitchers limited the Durham Bulls to just two combined runs on six hits, but Duke struggled to find an offensive rhythm against stellar pitching from the hosts en route to a 2-1 defeat at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
With the season more than halfway over, the Blue Devils are still searching for the right combination on the mound.
Duke romped its way to a 14-0 victory against Pittsburgh Friday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, but the Blue Devils could not sustain their offensive firepower in the final 15 innings of the weekend. Duke grabbed an 8-5 lead Saturday before the Panthers chipped away to escape with a 9-8 extra-inning win, and the visitors rode a strong eight innings from starter Josh Falk to take the rubber match 6-2 Sunday afternoon.
The Blue Devils will look to put all the pieces together when they host Pittsburgh this weekend at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The Blue Devils are starting to resemble the dangerous unit at the plate many anticipated coming into the season.
Fueled by their offense, which broke the game open with an explosive eight-run third-inning, the Blue Devils got back in the win column.
Playing true road games for just the second time all season, Duke took the opening contest 19-3 against No. 19 Virginia before the Cavaliers' steady offense wore down the Blue Devils' limited pitching staff in the final two games en route to a pair of 13-6 victories at Davenport Field in Charlottesville, Va.
To earn their first victory against a ranked opponent this season, the Blue Devils will need to show more poise on the mound—Duke head coach Chris Pollard's team has allowed 7.2 runs per game in its last six contests, particularly struggling with walks and wild pitches that gift opponents free offense.
Behind a steady outing from starting pitcher Graeme Stinson, Duke kept Maryland Eastern Shore in check as the Blue Devils picked up a comfortable 10-3 victory Tuesday evening at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
In Sunday’s rubber match, the Blue Devils were not able to overcome eight walks, five hit-by-pitches and four errors, dropping an 11-2 contest to Wake Forest at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The matchup was moved up a day due to inclement weather, but it did not prove to make a difference as the Pirates recorded their 15th consecutive win against Duke.
Although his team was unable to complete the sweep, Duke head coach Chris Pollard was pleased with a young pitching staff that is still coming into its own, particularly given that the team began the season with no clear starting rotation.
