Three takeaways for Duke’s monumental series win over No. 1 Wake Forest.
While it was a tough weekend in Durham for the men’s basketball team as they lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels for the second time this season, another Duke team was making history elsewhere in North Carolina.
Chris Pollard’s team traveled to Winston-Salem for their first ACC matchup. They took on the nation’s No. 1 team, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Not only did Duke compete, they won the series two games to one.
The Duke Blue Devils baseball team clinched a series win over a top-ranked team for the first time in 15 years, last occurring when Duke took down a No. 1-ranked North Carolina team.
Friday, Duke won behind an eight-run offensive explosion that saw the Blue Devils touch up one of college baseball’s best pitchers, Josh Hartle. The Blue Devils took that game 8-5.
On Saturday, Tennessee transfer Chase Burns dominated the Blue Devils, striking out 14 Duke batters in 6 innings. Wake went on to even the series after a 6-3 Saturday victory.
Duke clinched the series in the tie-breaking Sunday game behind a six-run fifth inning, which featured two hits and five walks as the Blue Devils extended their lead to 9-2. Wake would fight back, but a late insurance run in the ninth followed by a save from Charlier Beilenson sealed the 10-8 victory.
With the series over, we have three quick takeaways as Duke has become the talk of the college baseball world with the most significant series win of the young season.
This Duke team is dynamic offensively
One of the most significant developments of the season so far is that Duke’s offense is verifiably legit. The pitching was more proven with the caliber of arms the Blue Devils brought back. Still, with Duke losing as many position players as it did, many felt there would be questions about run production and replacing an entire infield.
They’ve gotten contributions from every direction, including freshman AJ Gracia batting over .340 with an OPS of 1.214. Their new-look infield, with four new players spearheaded by Penn transfer Ben Miller, is batting above .290 while combining for 19 homers and 54 RBI. They lit up Hartle, a top-100 pick in this upcoming MLB draft, and on Sunday, they showcased their plate discipline (14 walks) and worked counts as Wake unraveled on the mound.
We’ve seen the Blue Devils put up 20+ runs multiple times this season. It’s safe to say the new look lineup is just fine, and they can do it against elite competition.
Kyle Johnson is starting to carve out a role
The uber-talented two-way freshman Kyle Johnson is finding himself a lane as a bulk innings guy who may just get stretched out to start in some capacity. In the most significant start of his young career, he tossed four innings of two-run ball on Sunday against a potent Wake Forest lineup on the road. He allowed three hits, but he did more than his job as he was competitive and kept Duke in the ball game, ultimately giving his offense time to break the game open in the fifth inning.
He also tossed 65 pitches. If this becomes a thing, the first-year Blue Devil could be stretched out to 80 pitches by mid-April, giving Pollard another pitching weapon to add to his deep arsenal.
Charlie Beilenson is indispensable
Where would Duke be without Charlie Beilenson this season?
Who knows, but his contributions have been immeasurable. When a fire needs to be put out, or he needs to close a ball game, no one is doing it better than Beilenson. He proved that this weekend against the nation’s best as he had not one but two saves to close both Duke wins. He showcased his versatility, too, as he pitched three scoreless innings for the save on Friday. He followed that up with one inning of work on Sunday to preserve a two-run lead and nail down his seventh save of the season.
Duke returns to the friendly confines of Jack Coombs Field this week as they open a six-game homestand with two midweek contests with Rider. The first pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 4 p.m.
