The Blue Devils tried twice this week to play UNC Greensboro but inclement weather got in the way, postponing a game against the Spartans for the second and third times this season. Now, Duke will hit the road to try and get back on the field.
The Blue Devils resume conference play as they head down to Clemson, S.C., for a three-game series with the Tigers this weekend. The schedule has been altered from the original agenda due to a forecast that calls for more inclement weather Sunday, so the two squads will play the opener at Doug Kingsmore Stadium Friday night at 6:30 p.m. followed by a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.
With the unintentional benefits of not playing any midweek games for the first time since the opening week of the season, the Blue Devils had a chance to fine tune a few things in practice and take a breather from their packed schedule, which they hope will translate to victories this weekend.
“To get to work on things and have a chance to get fresh, I think we’ll come out and play with a lot of energy this weekend,” head coach Chris Pollard said. “I think a lot of guys have been playing a ton and not had a lot of time to recover and they’re going to be fresher when we get out on the field this week.”
Duke (22-15, 5-13 in the ACC) currently resides in the cellar of the ACC Coastal Division but sits just two games back of fourth-place Virginia and could make some moves in the standings with a strong showing against Clemson (20-18, 9-9).
The Tigers have a dangerous lineup that scores 6.2 runs per game and features three of the conference’s top hitters. In his first full season, redshirt freshman Reed Rohlman has emerged as a big-time offensive threat with a .373 batting average—good for fourth in the ACC—and co-captain Tyler Krieger has followed up a second-team All-ACC sophomore season with a .361 batting average and .486 on-base percentage thus far as a junior. Sophomore catcher Chris Okey is Clemson’s big bopper, pacing the team with eight home runs, 21 extra-base hits and a .583 slugging percentage.
Duke starters Dillon Haviland, Andrew Istler and Bailey Clark will be tasked with slowing down the Tiger offense. Haviland and Istler turned in stellar performances against No. 5 Louisville last weekend, allowing Duke to split the first two games of that series. Istler, a senior right-hander, added seven innings of one-run ball and 10 punchouts to another excellent campaign as he continues to leave his mark on the Blue Devil career record books, posting a 2.64 ERA across 58 innings this season to go along with just nine walks.
Haviland’s 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Cardinals were especially impressive in his first extended start of the year, filling in for the injured Michael Matuella. After tossing 83 pitches last week, Pollard will look to have the fifth-year senior get up to around 90 or 95 pitches Friday night and continue his recent stretch of strong pitching.
“I was really proud of the outing by Haviland, building off of the spot start he had the week before against Miami, to come out and give us 5 2/3 shutout innings was a really big shot in the arm,” Pollard said. “This will be the first start that he’s had where he hasn’t had to pitch in the midweek. He’ll feel fresh and I think that will allow him to get deeper into the ballgame and extend out his pitch count more.”
Clemson will counter Haviland in the series opener by trotting out its ace, Matthew Crownover. The southpaw was drafted in the 21st round of the 2014 MLB draft on the heels of a third-team All-ACC season as a sophomore, but chose to return to school for his junior season to head a deep Tiger staff. In addition to Crownover, Clemson has several arms at the back end of the bullpen capable of shutting down opponents, with its top three relievers all boasting ERAs better than 2.50 and yielding less than a hit per inning.
The Blue Devils are no stranger to Crownover, who outdueled Matuella in the ACC tournament last season with a two-run, nine-strikeout effort in 7 2/3 innings. The 6-foot lefty has taken his game to another level this year with a tidy 1.20 ERA and just 38 hits allowed in 60 innings pitched.
If Duke is to get off on the right foot in this three-game set, Pollard knows his team will have to dig in and fight against one of the top hurlers it has faced thus far.
“Crownover, arguably, is throwing as well as anybody in our league,” Pollard said. “You kind of have to gut him out. Ideally, you’re able to grind out some at-bats, foul off some pitches and take some marginal pitches and push his pitch count higher and try get into the bullpen. Teams haven’t really had a whole lot of success just banging it around off him. He’s been really good at getting deep in the ballgame. We’ve got to be opportunistic. When you have guys in a position to score, we’ve got to take advantage of that.
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