Rebounding from a tournament-opening loss to West Virginia, Duke took its final two contests in a weekend of baseball at the beach at the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The Blue Devils had a tough time against West Virginia University’s Harrison Musgrave, who had 12 strikeouts, falling 3-1 in their first game Friday afternoon.
Duke (7-4) struggled to gain momentum against Musgrave, who limited the Blue Devils to just two hits in the first eight innings.
Trent Swart started on the mound for Duke allowing only one run in the top of the third. However, the Mountaineers (5-4) were able to extend their lead to three in the top of the eighth inning when Ryan McBroom slammed a two-run homer into left field.
With Musgrave out of the game, the Blue Devils’ offense heated up in the ninth inning, but a late rally was stifled as Duke was saddled with the loss.
Led by right-handed pitcher Andrew Istler and outfielder Chris Marconcini, the Blue Devils bounced back from Friday’s loss, dominating Marshall 5-2 Saturday.
Istler came out strong for the Blue Devils with five strikeouts, limiting the Thundering Herd to just three hits and one run.
Marconcini set the tone in the third inning with an RBI single, giving the Blue Devils a 2-0 advantage. The redshirt junior continued to pour it on in the seventh inning, belting a three-run homer to center field and giving Duke a commanding 5-0 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Thundering Herd (3-8) responded with two runs of their own, but it wasn’t enough.
In the final game of the Caravelle Tournament, the Blue Devils defeated Coastal Carolina 7-5, after getting off to a strong 7-0 lead, shutting down a strong comeback attempt by the Chanticleers (4-7).
James Marvel dominated on the mound for the Blue Devils holding off the Chanticleers’ offensive attempts for the first seven innings, striking out six Costal Carolina hitters.
Ryan Deitrich began the Blue Devil offensive drive with a double, scoring off a Kenny Koplove single. Mike Rosenfield extended the Devils’ lead to four with a three-run home run into center field in the third inning.
Duke put three more points on the board in the fourth inning, two of which came off an RBI double from McCabe, increasing its lead to seven.
In the eighth inning the Chanticleers looked to respond, loading the bases with two singles and a walk. Off a fielder’s choice, Coastal Carolina got on the board and continued their momentum with an RBI double from Zach Remiliard. After a wild pitch from closer Robert Huber, they decreased the deficit to two. However, with two key strikeouts, Huber was able to close out the inning.
The ninth inning looked promising for Coastal Carolina with two men on base and their leadoff hitter Jake Kane at the plate. However, back-to-back pop flies ended the game in Duke’s favor.
The Blue Devils will hit the road to take on Liberty Tuesday at 3 p.m.
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