Duke baseball only managed two runs against Northwestern on Friday night, but it proved to be all the Blue Devils needed after a masterful pitching display.
The Blue Devils (5-0) defeated the Wildcats (1-3) by a score of 2-0 to open the weekend series.
The Duke offense struck early to surge ahead by doing what they’ve done best all season. Through the first four games of the season, Duke racked up 16 home runs, including a staggering 11 in a single game against George Mason.
It seemed the Blue Devils would pick up right where they left off on Friday. Third baseman Ben Miller pounded a solo home run, his third of the year, in the bottom of the opening inning.
Ben Miller in Durham? See ya ball.
😈 @benmiller1820
B1 | Duke 1, NU 0 | #BlueCollar pic.twitter.com/gJq6FaiMkO
— Duke Baseball (@DukeBASE) February 23, 2024
It proved to be the only long ball of the game, however. Shortstop Wallace Clark drove in another run in the second inning, a two-out single that brought home teammate Devin Obee. After that, however, the Blue Devils only managed two hits for the rest of the game, not scoring another run.
Two runs proved to be more than enough for Blue Devils ace Jonathan Santucci, however.
The preseason All-American dealt six scoreless innings, only allowing five hits and working himself out of jams comfortably.
He allowed a baserunner in each of the first two innings, but he ended each side with a harmless fly ball. The Wildcats again threatened, or tried to, in the top of the third. The first two batters reached base on a walk and a single, giving Northwestern the go-ahead run at the plate with nobody out. Santucci promptly forced a ground ball before back-to-back strikeouts left the Wildcats hanging again.
Two singles from the first three batters in the fourth put runners on the corners with one out, but Santucci mowed down the next batter on a swinging third strike before he forced a groundout. Another rally halted.
Santucci’s final two innings went much more comfortably, with a single in the fifth and a walk in the sixth, and no runner advanced past second base.
Through his first 11 innings of 2024, Santucci has given up nine hits and five walks while striking out 17 batters. He has yet to allow a run.
Sophomore Owen Proksch took over in the seventh and added two scoreless frames of his own. He retired the first five batters he faced, let up one single in the eighth, and then retired the next batter to end the inning.
Proksch trotted out again in the ninth, but after an opening walk, Duke coach Chris Pollard opted for his ringer. Charlie Beilenson, who already converted his first three save opportunities so far in 2024, took the game ball with the game-tying runner at the plate. He struck out the first batter he faced before a single gave the Wildcats a glimmer of hope.
Beilenson struck out the next two batters in seven pitches.
The graduate student’s fourth save of the year gave the Blue Devils their fifth straight win to open the season and their first of a three-game weekend series against the Wildcats. Duke and Northwestern play again on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.