Tag: Logan Bravo

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 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.

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.

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.