Few athletes at Duke have the preseason expectations of southpaw Jonathan Santucci, a junior named to Baseball America’s preseason All-American Second Team.
The lefty has sported an ERA of 4.17 and 4.30, respectively, across his two seasons in Durham thus far. He struck out 108 batters across his 70.1 innings of collegiate baseball, and he earned a record of 4-5 across 14 starts and 27 appearances.
His first five innings of 2024 may not have been perfect, but they did more than their share of living up to the hype. He held Indiana scoreless, earning the individual win for his efforts as the Blue Devils opened the season with a 6-3 win over the Hoosiers.
Here’s a breakdown of the ins and outs of Santucci’s opening performance.