Tag: Jonathan Santucci

Santucci sizzles with 11 K’s as No. 6 Duke downs No. 10 Clemson in ACC home opener

No. 6 Duke uses home runs and excellent pitching from Jonathan Santucci to down No. 10 Clemson.

For the second Friday in a row, Duke’s baseball team handed a loss to a top-10 team.

This time, it took place in Durham as Duke opened up its ACC home slate with a decisive 5-2 win over the 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers.

Duke ace Jonathan Santucci was razor-sharp as he bounced back from a short-lived showing against Wake Forest last Friday evening. He didn’t make it through three innings in his previous start, but he tossed five innings of two-run ball against Clemson.

The game started rocky after a fielding error allowed Clemson’s best player and future first-round draft pick, outfielder Cam Cannarella, to reach first. A wild pitch and some productive hitting got him to third before a single by third baseman Blake Wright scored him to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.

In the bottom frame, Duke responded loudly. With one out, a Ben Miller walk and a single by Alex Stone set the stage for Harvard transfer Logan Bravo to hammer a 2-0 pitch from Clemson starter Austin Gordon to right center for a three-run homer, giving the Blue Devils a lead they would never relinquish the rest of the game.

Santucci, from there, would settle down. He pitched two scoreless innings, racking up more strikeouts using his fastball, changeup, and slider in perfect unison.

In the bottom of the third, Bravo added more insurance, ripping a line drive to left field for his second homer of the game, giving Duke a 4-1 lead.

Clemson’s Blake Wright responded with a home run at the top of the fourth to cut Duke’s lead to two runs, but Santucci avoided further damage after maneuvering through a bit of trouble with two runners on.

The Blue Devils’ star pitcher would end his day in the fifth after getting Wright to fly out to right field. He finished with 11 strikeouts, three walks, and two runs allowed (one earned) on 96 pitches through his five innings pitched.

A Macon Winslow home run gave Duke its fifth and final run of the evening, pushing it ahead 5-2. Winslow finished his day three-for-three with a walk.

From there, Duke’s bullpen held down the fort as Owen Proksch pitched 1.1 innings and paved the way for Duke’s do-it-all reliever Charlie Beilenson to close the game with 2.2 innings of work for his eighth save of the season.

Duke held the Tigers to the second-fewest runs they’ve scored in a game all season.

The Blue Devils will lace their cleats back up and get ready to try and secure a series win tomorrow as the two teams get set for game two.

First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Duke baseball wins defensive battle over Northwestern

The Blue Devils only scored two runs against the Wildcats on Thursday night, but it proved to be all they needed after a team shoutout on the mound.

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.

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.

Grading preseason All-American Jonathan Santucci’s 2024 debut on Opening Day

The Blue Devils presumed ace and preseason All-American threw five scoreless innings against Indiana on Friday, here’s our breakdown on his day.

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.

No. 12 Duke kicks off 2024 campaign with 6-3 win over Indiana behind Santucci, transfer Logan Bravo

No.12 Duke baseball kicked off 2024 campaign with a 6-3 win over Indiana.

Friday started what head baseball coach Chris Pollard hopes to be a historic season for the Duke Blue Devils baseball team.

No. 12 Duke got their 2024 campaign started as they hope that this year is the year they break down the door and punch their ticket to Omaha, Nebraska, and the College World Series.

Duke started its campaign with a win over the Indiana Hoosiers of the Big 10. Preseason second-team All-American Jonathan Santucci has been tabbed as the ace of Duke’s staff, so it was only fitting the junior was given the ball in the season’s first game. His first inning was rocky as he allowed a walk and a hit but fought back to strike out three Hoosiers to get out of the gym.

Braden Risedorph started for Indiana and held the Blue Devils in check for four innings before the top of the fifth rolled around, and the Blue Devils scratched across their first run of the season. True freshman Kyle Johnson doubled with two outs and was knocked in on an RBI double from Oklahoma transfer Wallace Clark. Indiana would bring in Ryan Kraft, and he’d close the door on the Blue Devils in the fifth.

Santucci would give Duke one more scoreless inning before his day was over. He threw 86 pitches in his 2024 debut and struck out seven batters while walking two and allowing zero runs on four singles.

Back-to-back home runs by catcher and captain Alex Stone and Harvard transfer Logan Bravo stretched Duke’s lead to 3-0 in the top half of the sixth before Indiana answered with two runs courtesy of shortstop Tyler Cerny, who took Duke reliever Owen Proksch deep.

Duke responded with two more runs at the top of the seventh, thanks again to the combination of Stone and Bravo. Stone hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Wallace Clark. Bravo would come behind him and rip a single down the left-field line to score Zac Morris and make it 5-2 Duke.

Indiana pushed back on Duke again with a home run by center fielder Carter Mathison in the bottom of the seventh against Proksch before Pollard went to his bullpen to call on 2024 stopper-of-the-year nominee Charlie Beilinson to get Duke out of a two-on-and-one-out jam with the game at 5-3. Beilinson would do just that: strike out the two batters to end the Hoosiers’ threat and send the game to the 8th inning.

North Carolina native and sophomore outfielder Tyler Albright hit a hanging breaking ball deep to left field to give Duke a 6-3 lead in the top half of the eighth, and Beilinson would shut the door in the eight and ninth to end his day and secure the win for the Blue Devils.

Logan Bravo led the way with a 3/5 one-home run and two RBIs. Alex Stone had two RBIs as well. In total, Duke amassed ten hits and had zero errors defensively.

The Blue Devils will rest up and prepare for a Saturday matinee affair with the George Mason Patriots tomorrow with lefty Andrew Healy on the bump.

Duke baseball looking to clear final hurdle and get to Omaha as 2024 season is set to start Friday

Duke baseball gets set to open their 2024 season. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Blue Devils’ season opener.

1961. 1961 was the last time a Duke Blue Devils baseball team made the College World Series.

Last year was about showing up every doubter of the Duke baseball program as the team broke every preseason expectation of them en route to a 39-24 record, coming up just one win short of a trip to Omaha, Nebraska.

Head coach Chris Pollard retooled the Duke roster in hopes of clearing that final hurdle and leading his program to heights not reached in over 50 years.

Duke will start the season ranked as the No. 12 team in the country. In short, they will not be sneaking up on anyone this year. And that presents one of many challenges the Blue Devils will face this year: going from solely the hunters to being hunted while still hunting the class of the ACC, Wake Forest, Clemson, and Virginia as they too pursue a trip to Omaha.

The question now is: How does Duke live up to and exceed last year’s results?

It starts with their pitching. Duke’s pitching staff last year was unconventional but highly effective. At season’s end, they had the 18th-best ERA in the country. They’ll need to keep Duke in games as the bevy of transfers and new faces in the lineup, especially around the infield, begin to gel.

The staff’s ace is preseason second-team All-American Jonathan Santucci, a lefty with big strikeout stuff. James Tallon, Fran Oschell, and Andrew Healy are talented pitchers who received preseason award buzz. With that core four of pitching along with reliever Charlie Beilenson, Duke should remain competitive in many games.

They also should get a boost from two-way true freshman Kyle Johnson, who is expected to start in the outfield while contributing a solid number of innings on the mound for the Blue Devils.

Johnson was among the 50 best high school prospects per Perfect Game and was named the number one impact freshman in the ACC during the fall by D1Baseball. Expectations are high, but many around the Duke program believe they are warranted.

Duke’s season will depend on health and how long their revamped infield takes to gel. The Blue Devils lost every infielder from last year’s team that made it to Super Regionals. Some hit the transfer portal, and others were drafted in the MLB Draft last June.

Ben Miller (Penn), Logan Bravo (Harvard), Ben Weaver (Wheaton), and Wallace Clark (Oklahoma) are just a few of the names that transferred in with significant opportunities to start in Duke’s infield. They all have over 50 games of starting experience, so they are far from inexperienced. They’ll need to hit the ground running and quickly find their stride at the plate. As soon as Duke’s nonconference schedule ends, they’ll jump right into conference play, where the ACC is home to five other top-20 teams, and Duke will open ACC play by taking on four of them to start.

As the Blue Devils ready themselves for a weekend slate of games in the Baseball at the Beach tournament hosted by No. 18 Coastal Carolina, they do so knowing that this season won’t be easy. They open up this weekend with Indiana, George Mason, and Coastal Carolina.

The possibilities for this team can be sky-high, but things could get scary if their pitching, health, and offense don’t gel in unison. Nonetheless, this team is talented enough to get to Omaha. Will they?

We’re about to find out.