The bats were alive again Thursday afternoon as the Duke baseball team destroyed its second non-conference foe in as many days, downing the Aggies of North Carolina A&T 14-4. The win moved the Blue Devils to 30-7 on the year, marking the fifth consecutive year in which they have reached the 30-win plateau.
Duke, who dismantled Wofford 14-2 on Wednesday, continued its torrid hitting, led by senior centerfielder Mike King. King finished the game 2-for-3 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer to left in the seventh inning. This was the second day in a row in which King hit a home run.
"It is good to see everyone hitting again," freshman infielder Tigger Marshall said. "Mike King is starting to kill the ball again, which is real important for us."
"Mike had been struggling there for a while," head coach Steve Traylor said, "probably putting a little too much pressure on himself. To go out and be able to put some numbers up, get a few RBIs back on the board, get a couple of home runs in these last few games, can do nothing but help his confidence and help get him back on track."
The Blue Devils started the game off slowly, as they fell behind 1-0 in the first inning on an RBI double by designated hitter Marlin Wilkins. Duke had a chance to get the run back in the bottom of the inning after freshman rightfielder Jordan Litrownik led off by stretching a routine single to left into a double. Their inability to execute at the plate cost the Blue Devils, however, as Litrownik was stranded at third.
"I was a little worried early because I felt that we were a little bit flat," Traylor said. "We had some chances to score early and we didn't get it done. It felt like instead of trying to go out and win the game, we were just trying to get it over with so we could move on to the N.C. State series."
Duke managed to awaken in the third inning as it was able to put six runs on the scoreboard. King got the first RBI of the inning as A&T pitcher Cory Lima walked him with the bases loaded. Sophomore catcher Gregg Maluchnik followed with a double to left, scoring two. After freshman third baseman Jeff Becker was hit by a pitch, sophomore designated hitter Adam Geis blasted a triple, his second of the year, clearing the bases.
After adding one run in the fourth inning, Duke put up two more runs in the sixth. Maluchnik picked up his third RBI of the day with a single, scoring Marshall. Becker brought the second run in with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring junior second baseman Frankie Chiou.
In the seventh inning the Aggies brought the score to 9-3 with a two-run homer by third baseman Al Holand, Jr. But Duke struck back in the bottom of the inning with four runs on an RBI groundout by Marshall and King's home run.
The teams traded runs in the eighth and sophomore lefty Jim Fishburn came in to close the game out for the Blue Devils. The winning pitcher was freshman Teddy Sullivan, who relieved the starter, freshman Stephen Cowie, in the fourth inning. Cowie had allowed only one run and struck out four at the time but had to be removed due to an injury. The move allowed Sullivan to earn his first collegiate win.
Duke resumes ACC action this weekend with a three game series at N.C. State. Game times are 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
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