Duke ace Jonathan Santucci to miss one or two weeks with rib injury

Jonathan Santucci, Duke’s lead pitcher, will miss a week or two with a rib injury on his non-throwing side, the team announced on Monday.

Jonathan Santucci, Duke baseball’s lead pitcher, will miss a week or two with a rib injury, the team announced on Monday.

Santucci, who has been automatically penciled in as the Blue Devils’ Friday starter all season, leads the team with 56 innings pitched across his 12 starts. He sports a 6-1 record with an ERA of 3.54, and he’s struck out 86 batters in his work against just 73 combined hits and walks.

The Blue Devil didn’t allow a run in his first three appearances of the season, a scoreless stretch that spanned 17 total innings. He struck out 14 batters in six innings against Akron, he struck out 11 Clemson Tigers in five innings, and he retired 10 Northwestern batters by strikeout in his second start of the year. He’s struck out at least six batters in nine of his 12 starts.

In Santucci’s last appearance, a two-inning start against Longwood on May 5th, he struck out three batters and only surrendered one hit.

The injury’s timeline means Santucci will likely miss this weekend’s series against North Carolina, the final three games of Duke’s regular season.

The injury is on Santucci’s non-throwing side, according to the team announcement. The estimated timeline means he’ll likely be ready to go for postseason action, assuredly back on the mound for Duke’s regional games.