Tag: Duke Baseball

Duke baseball stays in top 10 in latest coaches poll

Duke baseball slipped three spots but remained in the top 10 of the latest USA TODAY Sports college baseball coaches poll. The Blue Devils dropped from No. 6 to No. 9 in the newest poll after dropping two of three against Florida State.

Duke baseball slipped three spots but remained in the top 10 of the latest USA TODAY Sports Baseball Coaches Poll.

Duke dropped from No. 6 to No. 9 in the newest poll after it dropped two out of three against a ranked Florida State team. The Blue Devils are now 30-14 on the season and 14-10 in ACC play.

Duke dropped its first two games against the Seminoles before run-ruling them in the third game, 16-4.

Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Tennessee completed an all-SEC top three. The Blue Devils’ tumble made them the third-highest-ranked ACC team behind FSU, who took Duke’s former spot at No. 6, and No. 4 Clemson.

Duke will take on Longwood in a two-game series before a top-10 matchup against No. 5 East Carolin this coming weekend.

Duke baseball climbs two spots to sixth in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

After their first road series victory over Virginia Tech in more than half a decade, the Blue Devils are on the verge of the top five in the rankings.

The Duke baseball team is closing in on the top five in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

In the newest rankings released on Monday, the Blue Devils rose two spots to sixth in the rankings, just 43 points behind Kentucky for the fifth spot.

The jump follows a dramatic weekend on the road against Virginia Tech when Duke beat the Hokies in extra innings on Friday before overcoming a three-run deficit in the final three innings on Sunday. The Blue Devils hadn’t beaten the Hokies in Blacksburg since 2018.

Texas A&M, who is 35-5 for the season, remained atop the voting with 29 of 31 first-place votes. Arkansas and Tennessee came in second and third, respectively, with Clemson in fourth.

The No. 6 ranking is the same spot the Blue Devils finished at in the D1Baseball rankings published the same day.

After a Tuesday night game against Campbell, Duke welcomes No. 9 Florida State into Durham for a highly anticipated ACC battle.

Duke pitcher Charlie Beilenson named ACC Pitcher of the Week

Duke pitcher Charlie Beilenson named ACC Pitcher of the Week.

Duke pitcher Charlie Beilenson was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week on Monday.

The Blue Devils reliever went 2-0 and added a save in three appearances, and he did not allow any earned runs across 6.2 innings on the mound. Beilenson kept batters guessing, racking up 10 strikeouts in his three outings.

Against Virginia Tech on Friday, he pitched a season-high four innings, allowed just one hit, and struck out five Hokies. He did not allow a hit in his other two outings this past week, including a perfect inning during Sunday’s deciding game.

The Blue Devils won all three games he pitched in, once against Gardner-Webb and twice against Virginia Tech as they won the series.

Duke’s three wins last week moved the Blue Devils to 29-11 for the year and 13-8 in ACC play. D1Baseball had the team sixth in their latest ranking.

Duke baseball takes first road series against Virginia Tech in six years after three dramatic games

The Blue Devils trailed Virginia Tech by three runs in the series-deciding Sunday game after six innings but roared back to win the weekend.

Duke baseball has finally won a series in Blacksburg.

For the first time in six years, the Blue Devils won at least two games on the road against Virginia Tech. They made sure to do so in the most dramatic way possible, too.

Both of the first two games took extra innings. The Blue Devils lept out to a 5-2 lead by the middle of the fifth inning on Friday thanks to a litany of hits and a solo shot by second baseman Zac Morris.

Duke ace Jonathan Santucci exited the game after a single and back-to-back walks to start the fifth inning, however, and the Hokies smelled blood in the water. Owen Proksch took over on the mound and struck out his first batter, but he walked his second to plate the first run. The next two Virginia Tech hits drove home three more runs, including a 2-RBI single from centerfielder Ben Watson to knot the game.

Hokies catcher Henry Cooke mashed a two-run homer in the sixth to pull ahead 8-6, and Duke seemed destined to let a four-run lead slip away. Instead, however, Logan Bravo and Ben Miller each tanked a solo home run in the eighth and ninth inning, respectively, to force extra innings.

Miller got the last laugh in the top of the 11th, too, with an RBI single to left field that produced the winning run. Duke took game one 9-8.

The Saturday sequel offered a lot fewer offensive fireworks. Miller picked up where he left off with an RBI double in the third, his third RBI of the weekend, and Cooke squared the game with a sacrifice fly in the next inning.

No other runs came across in regulation.

In the bottom of the 11th, with the game tied at 1-1, Bravo lived through every player’s nightmare. With two outs, the Hokies’ Christian Martin grounded the ball harmlessly to Duke shortstop Wallace Clark. Clark scooped it up and fired the ball to Bravo, and it smacked into the first baseman’s glove just in time for the out.

And then it popped out.

Bravo stared at the ball in disbelief as David McCann, who had been on third base, walked across for the winning run.

Bravo got his redemption on Sunday, however. The Hokies took a commanding lead after a five-run third inning, and Duke trailed by three runs in the deciding game. The first baseman took down the Saturday demons with a three-run shot to left-center in the bottom of the seventh, pulling Duke into a tie game.

After centerfielder Devin Obee robbed a potential Hokies home run in the bottom of the eighth, Duke mashed two home runs in the top of the ninth to cement the comeback. AJ Gracia sent his second of the day over the wall before Obee added an exclamation point to his heroism.

As a team, the Blue Devils hit 10 home runs between Friday and Sunday’s victories.

Duke, now 28-11 for the year and 12-8 against ACC opponents, takes on Campbell on Tuesday before a three-game home series against Florida State.

WATCH: Duke’s Devin Obee robs Virginia Tech’s potential go-ahead home run in the eighth

The Hokies looked like they struck a winning blow in the bottom of the eighth, but Duke centerfielder Devin Obee scaled the wall to keep it tied.

Duke’s Logan Bravo already etched his own hero moment with a game-tying three-run homer against Virginia Tech on Sunday, but the Blue Devils weren’t done wearing their capes.

In the bottom of the eighth, with the game tied at 10 runs apiece, the Hokies’ Carson DeMartini smashed a ball to straightaway center field. With a runner already on first base, it seemed like Virginia Tech found the blow that could end the three-game series.

Duke centerfielder Devin Obee had other ideas, however.

The junior raced all the way back to the warning track, lept into the air, and snatched the ball before it had a chance to disappear over the wall. In an instant, the Blue Devils went from potentially down two to needing one more out to escape the inning.

Escape the inning, they did, as Duke snagged the third and final out of the eighth inning before any other runs crossed the plate.

The Blue Devils eventually won the game, 13-10, to clinch their first series in Blacksburg in six years.

WATCH: Duke’s Logan Bravo ties Virginia Tech game with three-run homer

The Blue Devils baseball team trailed the Hokies by multiple runs in the seventh inning, but Bravo squared the score with one mighty lash.

In baseball, there are clutch hits, and then there’s Logan Bravo against Virginia Tech on Sunday.

In the deciding contest for the three-game road series, Bravo took the batter’s box with the Blue Devils trailing by three in the top of the seventh. With runners on first and second and one out, the Harvard transfer had one job: keep the inning alive.

He did a lot more than that.

Bravo lashed at the first pitch he saw, an inside heater, and launched the ball over the left-center wall. The Hokies outfielders jogged after it for a second, but it became clear after just a few seconds that the ball wasn’t coming down.

Bravo pumped his fist and yelled as he rounded second base, and his teammates mobbed him as he returned to the dugout.

The Duke baseball team considers what they would shoot at Augusta for Masters week

With The Masters in full swing and golf on everyone’s minds, do any Duke baseball players think they could break 100 at Augusta National? The team posted a short social media clip with the answer.

Duke’s baseball team has three games this weekend, but the entire sports world has golf on its mind during Masters week.

The first men’s golf major is finally here at the iconic course in Augusta, Georgia, and the Blue Devils leaned into the fun by asking some players on the baseball team what they would shoot in a round at Augusta National.

Most of the Duke players interviewed weren’t very optimistic. Six of the eight Blue Devils in the video said they’d shoot something in the triple digits, with freshman AJ Gracia having maybe the most relatable answer.

“At least 100,” Gracia said instead of trying to zero in on an actual score. “At least.”

Two Duke players seemed a little more optimistic about their chances, however. Catcher Alex Stone thinks he can shoot in the mid-90s (though he did emphasize that no one on the roster would be any lower than that). Chase Krewson agreed that he could break 100.

While the tournament goes from Thursday through Sunday this week, the Blue Devils have a three-game road trip to Pittsburgh beginning on Friday.

Duke moves up to No. 7 in latest D1 Baseball poll after five straight wins and a weekend sweep of Miami

Duke baseball back on the rise in latest D1Baseball poll.

The Duke Blue Devils have found their groove.

After a 4-0 week, the Duke baseball team has won its previous five games. If you look further past that, the Blue Devils won eight of their last nine baseball games.

Duke dominated Liberty midweek on the road 9-4 before returning to Durham and sweeping the Miami Hurricanes for the first time in Duke baseball history. They took care of Miami with some heroics, too, walking off the Hurricanes on both Friday and Sunday and overcoming a six-run deficit in the final game.

Duke enters week eight of the season after moving up two spots to No. 7 in the latest D1 Baseball poll for their efforts. They moved up two spots from ninth and are now knocking on the door to cracking the top five.

 

The rest of the ACC remains well-represented in the Top 25, as Clemson remains steady as the second-ranked team in the poll. Florida State is now the 10th-ranked team, while Virginia and UNC are 11th and 13th, respectively. Wake Forest, the preseason No. 1, has started to play much better and is back up to 14th. Virginia Tech rounds out the ACC’s involvement as they place 16th.

Duke closes out this four-game homestand with William & Mary on Tuesday and is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch. They return to ACC action next weekend with a three-game road series against the Pitt Panthers.

Duke baseball sweeps Miami after six-run comeback, second walk-off on Sunday

Duke made up six runs in the eight inning and overcame a three-run deficit in the 11th for their third straight one-run victory over Miami on Sunday.

The Blue Devils baseball team had a flair for the dramatic over the weekend in Durham.

Duke swept Miami with three straight one-run victories, including a walk-off from Ben Miller on Friday and a six-run comeback in the eighth inning on Sunday, to extend the program’s win streak to five games.

Miller’s heroics defined the day in the weekend opener. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, he smoked a ground ball past Miami third baseman Daniel Cuvet for the mic-drop victory.

The Saturday game didn’t lower any heart rates at Jack Coombs Field. Duke jumped out to a four-run lead through the first four innings after four different Blue Devils drove in a teammate.

Miami squared the game with two runs in the sixth and seventh innings apiece, but Duke catcher Alex Stone got his turn with the cape in the bottom of the seventh for Duke. With two runners in scoring position, Stone bounced a wild ground ball off the pitcher’s mound and into the outfield to drive home the go-ahead run. Neither team got on the board in the final two innings, meaning Stone’s RBI turned out to be the deciding play of the game.

With the sweep on the line on Sunday afternoon, Miami led 7-1 in the middle of the eighth inning. Miami designated hitter Lorenzo Carrier, who finished with a game-leading three RBIs, added the last runs to the early blowout with a two-run homer.

The game seemed lost for the Blue Devils, but Duke’s batters went to work in the bottom of the frame. Left fielder Chase Krewson singled home one run before Stone doubled home another. A walk loaded the bases, and the Hurricanes’ pitching staff melted down from there.

Nick Robert got called to the mound and beaned Duke centerfielder Devin Obee to plate another run. Pinch hitter Harrison Rodgers drew a walk, and all of a sudden, the Blue Devils only trailed by two.

Two batters later, with the lead just one after a sacrifice fly, Miller stepped up as the team superhero again and belted a fly ball over the right fielder’s head for the game-tying double.

After a scoreless ninth inning forced some extra frames, the Hurricanes looked like they struck the winning blow after Miami added three runs in the top of the 11th.

With their backs to the wall, however, the Duke offense delivered again. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases before the Blue Devils got handed two easy runs from a throwing error and a balk.

The Hurricanes opted to walk Stone to face Wallace Clark instead. Clark made them regret the decision.

The Duke shortstop rifled a line drive into the left-center gap to bring home both runners in scoring position, ending the game and the weekend.

The Blue Devils, on the heels of the five straight wins they’ve pieced together, are now 24-8 on the season and 9-6 against ACC opponents. They continue their home stand with a Tuesday night game against William & Mary.

Ben Miller’s two-out walk-off single gives Duke baseball the Friday win over Miami

Duke fought back from an early 2-0 deficit to take the first game from Miami on Friday night thanks to a walk-off single from Ben Miller.

Duke baseball got some ninth-inning heroics at Jack Coombs Field on Friday night.

The Blue Devils got to the plate in the bottom of the last inning with the game knotted at three runs apiece with Miami. An infield throwing error let catcher Alex Stone make it all the way around to second base. A sacrifice bunt put runners on the corners before Miami chose to walk centerfielder Devin Obee.

Suddenly, Duke had a runner on all three bases with no outs, the game-winning run just 90 feet from home.

The Miami defense bucked from there, however. Hurricanes pitcher Nick Robert struck out Tyler Albright and forced an infield ball that forced the Duke runner out at home.

Third baseman Ben Miller strode to the plate with the situation every baseball player dreams of growing up. Two outs, bases loaded, tie game. Miller stayed patient for a moment, working his way to a 1-1 count, before he roped a low line drive inches past Miami third baseman Daniel Cuvet’s glove.

The white ball glided harmlessly into left field for a two-out single and a series-opening victory over the Hurricanes.

The Blue Devils dugout charged the infield, mobbing the hero of the evening.

The walk-off win moved Duke to 22-8 on the season and 7-6 in ACC play. The second game of the series starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday.