No. 9 seed Duke mustered just two hits against Florida State starter Cole Sands, whose 6 2/3 shutout innings on the hill helped eighth-seeded Florida State earn its spot in a third consecutive ACC title game.
No. 9 seed Duke became the Cinderella of the ACC tournament Thursday afternoon, upsetting the fourth-seeded Cavaliers 4-3 at Louisville Slugger Field.
Sometimes it takes a little luck to keep a season alive, and the Blue Devils certainly enjoyed more than their fair share of it Tuesday night.
With a new 12-team format, No. 9 seed Duke will face off against fifth-seeded Clemson at 7 p.m. Tuesday before taking on No. 4 seed Virginia at 11 a.m.
The Blue Devils used a stellar bullpen to beat No. 3 North Carolina 8-4 Thursday night at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill before falling 3-2 in 10 innings Friday and 9-7 Saturday.
Duke will now turn its attention to a series at No. 3 North Carolina to close out the regular season Thursday through Saturday in Chapel Hill.
Duke rallied to beat Georgia Tech 7-5 Friday and 12-5 Saturday before falling 5-3 in the series finale Sunday at Jack Coombs Field.
Although both teams can clinch a tournament berth with a series sweep, Blue Devil head coach Chris Pollard continues to manage his team one game at a time.
After scoring a first-inning run with a pair of hits, Duke went silent the rest of the night, scattering just four hits across the final eight frames as it fell to East Carolina 5-1.
A week and a half removed from a disappointing series loss against Notre Dame, it did not take much for the Blue Devils to get over the hump Tuesday against Campbell. Duke cruised to a 9-0 victory against the Fighting Camels at Jack Coombs Field, highlighted by a three-run home run from sophomore Griffin Conine.
The Blue Devils found themselves reflecting on a familiar outcome after dropping the third game for their seventh ACC series loss in a row.
The top 12 teams in the conference qualify for the tournament, and the Blue Devils and Fighting Irish are in a five-way tie for eighth.
With their NCAA Tournament hopes all but dashed after a disappointing showing in ACC play this season, Duke traveled to Louisville Friday to take on the Cardinals hoping to salvage some good out of what has been a frustrating season.
After dropping two of three games last weekend against a Boston College team that entered the series with losses in 14 consecutive conference games, the Blue Devils need a spark to get back on track.
Facing their second “Eagles” opponent in less than a week, the Blue Devils returned home licking their wounds after an embarrassing series loss to Boston College.
Bill Hillier was fired after losing several players who left early and losing a lot of games in his six years at Duke.
Conine currently leads Duke in batting average, hits, runs, triples, home runs, RBIs and walks.
In a season that has fallen short of expectations after Duke made the NCAA tournament for the first time in 55 years last spring, the Blue Devils hit rock bottom this weekend. T1: Day works around leadoff single B1: Kone infield single, Conine smacks a single up the middle, Labosky hit in the back.
With a little more than a than a third of the season remaining, Duke enters this weekend in desperate need of a series win as the window for a second consecutive NCAA tournament run continues to close.
Duke headed to Campbell Wednesday hoping the nonconference game would be an oasis in the desert after dropping four of their last five games.
