North Carolina outscored Duke 31-6 during last weekend's sweep of the Blue Devils in Durham, preying on Duke miscues and punishing pitches left over the plate.
Little changed Friday night against Wake Forest as the Blue Devils dropped their fifth consecutive game in another lopsided affair.
The Demon Deacons jumped on Duke starter Bailey Clark for eight runs in the first inning and tacked on more from there, defeating the Blue Devils 12-0 in the first meeting of a three-game weekend series at David F. Couch
Ballpark in Winston Salem, N.C. The Demon Deacons pounded out 15 hits—seven of them in their first at-bats—and Duke struggled
to mount any major offensive threat, getting shut out for the second time this season.
“The best way to change momentum in our sport is to get a good start out of your starting pitcher,” Duke head coach Chris Pollard said. “You get a good start and make some changes and hopefully you get a spark offensively. You have to play your way through it.”
The momentum never shifted Friday night, as Clark ran into trouble as soon as he took the mound. After the junior right-hander threw 49 pitches to get through two-thirds of an inning, Pollard summoned reliever Hunter Davis, who secured the Blue Devils’ final out of the frame.
Clark was charged with all eight runs, bumping his ERA up to 5.76, and the outing marked the second time in as many ACC series that a Duke starter was replaced before the bottom of the second inning.
Jonathan Pryor began the Wake Forest onslaught with a double down the third base line before advancing to third on a Joe Rodriguez single to left field. After Clark walked Nate Mondou, the Demon Deacons (15-9, 3-4 in the ACC) scored their first three runs when reigning ACC Player of the Year Will Craig smacked a double down the line and Mondou trotted home on a Brett Breazeale foul-out. A home run by Steven Fairchild on a 1-2 pitch quickly extended the lead to five runs.
The Blue Devils (10-12, 1-6 in the ACC) had little time to regain their footing before the bottom of Wake Forest’s lineup struck again. Following a Gavin Sheets walk and singles by Kevin Conway and Johnny Aiello, Clark surrendered two more runs thanks to a passed ball and RBI groundout by Pryor.
Duke had an opportunity to limit the damage to seven runs, but a mental mistake by Clark resulted in Wake Forest’s eighth score. Although first baseman Jalen Phillips cleanly fielded a ground ball by Rodriguez, Clark did not get over to first base in time to field the toss and secure the third out, allowing Aiello to come home.
“[Wake Forest] took a lot of good swings. Clearly, that’s not the type of start to the game you’re looking for,” Pollard said. “Bailey being a Friday night guy, we gave him a longer leash to work the inning and settle in and give us some productive innings behind it, but he just couldn’t quite get there dialed in.”
Duke had a chance to rebound in the top of the second inning when freshman shortshop Zack Kone doubled off of Wake Forest starter Parker Dunshee. But a fly-out by Griffin Conine ended the inning, leaving Kone stranded.
The Demon Deacons added on in the bottom half of the inning, as the Blue Devils once again had an opportunity to prevent another run but could not make the necessary plays. With an empty count and no outs, Fairchild launched a fly ball to left field. Although Duke left fielder Jimmy Herron was in position to secure the first out, he dropped the ball and Fairchild reached second base. The center fielder scored with one out when Davis surrendered a Conway single to center field on a full count.
Davis and the Duke defense settled in during the third, allowing just one hit. But in the fifth frame, Wake Forest extended the lead again as Fairchild led off with a double and scored after a wild pitch and RBI groundout by Sheets. Fairchild went 4-for-5 at the plate Friday with four runs scored.
Pollard replaced Davis with sophomore Luke Whitten to start the sixth frame, and the southpaw received a rude welcome from the Demon Deacons.
Fairchild and Sheets began the inning with consecutive singles before Conway reached on a fielder’s choice. A one-out Aiello single to right field brought Fairchild home, and Conway came around to score after Whitten walked Drew Freedman and Rodriguez reached on another fielder’s choice.
In the other dugout, Duke’s offense—which now has an .239 team batting average—failed to capitalize off of limited scoring opportunities after the first and second frames. Although Blue Devil hitters reached second base in the third and fourth innings, they did not advance further.
“[Eight runs is] a hard gap for any offense to come back from, even in a hitter’s park. So particularly [for] an offense that hasn’t been very efficient in scoring runs, that makes it even more difficult,” Pollard said. “Dunshee did a good job of pitching with a lead. It seemed like every time he had a deep count or some guys on base, he was able to make a pitch when he needed to, and got off the field.”
Duke right-hander Kellen Urbon will start against Wake Forest Saturday at 4 p.m., needing to pitch deep into the game to give an overworked Blue Devil bullpen some rest.
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