RALEIGH—Fast starts fueled the Blue Devils this month during series wins against top-25 opponents Clemson and Georgia Tech and a win against then-No. 1 Miami.
Duke got another quick start Friday in the series opener at Doak Field at Dail Park against No. 12 N.C. State, but the Wolfpack rallied and Evan Mendoza lined a two-out, walk-off single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the home fans happy after a 3-2 win.
After scoring two first-inning runs on a passed ball and a wild pitch, the Blue Devils went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and failed to capitalize on another strong outing from graduate student Kellen Urbon. The Cornell transfer pitched a career-high 7.1 innings, surrendering two runs—one earned—on 87 pitches before exiting the game with a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Between the first and sixth innings, Urbon retired 15 straight batters.
But a Brock Deatherage triple off Duke sophomore Jack Labosky brought N.C. State level in the eighth before Mendoza's ninth-inning heroics, and the Blue Devils' inability to push a run across after the first inning ultimately cost them.
“I thought that we pitched well, and we had opportunities with runners in scoring position where a hit could have created a bigger gap,” Duke head coach Chris Pollard said. “We need to swing the bats a little bit better.”
Leadoff man Jimmy Herron got Duke (24-19, 9-13 in the ACC) off to a good start as he has done so often in the month of April, reaching base for the 11th straight time to start a game Friday with a single. After the freshman stole his 17th base of the season, catcher Chris Proctor also singled before a passed ball from Wolfpack starter Cory Wilder allowed Herron to score. A wild pitch later in the inning brought Proctor home to give Duke early momentum once again.
But although Urbon turned in another quality performance in the no-decision, he struggled in the bottom of the first inning pitching with a 2-0 lead.
N.C. State leadoff man Stephen Pitarra singled and advanced to second on a Blue Devil error. A Joe Dunand RBI single later scored Pitarra, and Urbon threw a wild pitch and walked Chance Shepard to load the bases with two outs before Brett Kinneman popped out to end the early threat.
“Kellen did a great job minimizing the damage—he was really in a tough spot,” Pollard said. “He made some really good pitches, got some soft contact, and did a great job of keeping it to a single run.”
Both pitchers settled into the game after busy first innings, and Duke's next major opportunity to add to its lead came in the sixth inning when right fielder Peter Zyla singled and stole second base. But Wilder delivered with one of his five strikeouts, as freshman Zack Kone whiffed on a 2-2 pitch to end the frame.
Just an inning later, the Blue Devils failed to capitalize on another running in scoring position after designated hitter Cris Perez doubled with one out in the seventh. After the Wolfpack (30-11, 11-6) pulled Wilder, relief pitcher Austin Staley ended the threat by striking out second baseman Max Miller and getting Herron to pop out.
Duke's missed scoring opportunities hurt the team in the eighth, when after six straight shutout innings, Urbon allowed a Mendoza leadoff single and a Pitarra sacrifice bunt before exiting to set up Deatherage's game-tying triple off Labosky.
One inning later, Labosky surrendered a leadoff double to Preston Palmeiro and a single to Shepard, putting the winning run on third base with no outs. Pollard then elected to put in closer Mitch Stallings, who struck out Kinneman and got Andrew Knizner to line out to third to bring up Mendoza with two outs.
Having already extended his hitting streak to 15 games earlier in the contest, Mendoza stayed hot, lining a clutch single to right field over the outstretched arm of first baseman Justin Bellinger to complete the comeback.
Labosky suffered the loss after being charged with both late N.C. State runs in 0.2 innings of work, and Tommy DeJuneas picked up the win for the Wolfpack by getting the final two outs in the top of the ninth inning.
Friday's loss snapped the Blue Devils' three-game winning streak, but more importantly left Duke a half-game behind North Carolina and Clemson for 10th place in the conference with eight games to play. With the top 10 teams earning spots in the ACC tournament, the Blue Devils have little time to dwell on the loss before the second game of the series Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
“Momentum is only [as] good as the next day’s starting pitcher,” Pollard said. “We’ll focus on pitch number one of tomorrow’s ballgame and work on competing in that ballgame and doing what we can to play our best tomorrow. What happens a week from now or three weeks from now, we can't worry about—we have to focus on being the best team that we can be tomorrow.”
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