It's almost February, which means it's time for... baseball?
Yes, on Saturday and Sunday, February 1 and 2, the Duke baseball team will host Wofford College to kick off its "spring" season. Both games will take place at 1 p.m. at Jack Coombs Field.
"We're excited to start playing games," Blue Devil senior pitcher Richard Dishman said. "We've been practicing hard since break and we're anxious to get going."
The Terriers, in their second year of Division I play, are coming off a 9-35 season under second-year head coach Ernie May and their projected starting lineup features five returnees and three true freshmen. The Spartanburg, S.C., school will be an independent this season before joining the Southern conference next year. Duke defeated Wofford 14-2 on April 10, 1996, in Durham, but the Blue Devils won't take the Terriers lightly.
"You have to expect every opponent to come out and play their best," Duke senior second baseman Frankie Chiou said. "You have to play every game like it's one of your best opponents."
Wofford's top offensive player is sophomore outfielder Rad Deaton, who hit .252 with one home run and 18 RBIs last year. Junior Robbie Klomparens led the pitching staff last season with a 5-7 record and 5.18 ERA.
"It's the beginning of the year so everybody's not getting the chemistry on the bases, not getting the plays right," Blue Devil senior outfielder Jeff Staubach said. "We're not in mid-season form yet, so they could give us problems if we don't have consistent hitting."
Duke posted a 39-18 record in 1996 and only lost one starting position player to graduation. Sophomore third baseman Jeff Becker led the team with a .364 average last year, while junior Gregg Maluchnik had the highest home run and RBI totals, 10 and 68 respectively.
"We're good all-around," Staubach said. "We're not going to have someone who hits 30 home runs, but we've got a lot of guys who can hit for average. We might not have any unbelievable defensive players but we're going to be solid."
Duke did graduate three seniors from its pitching staff, and with them three of the top four ERA's from last season's squad. Dishman is coming off a 5-3 season during which he compiled a 3.56 ERA.
"We're pretty experienced on the field," Dishman said, "so we don't need to worry about that. We're inexperienced in pitching so we need some work for the freshmen."
The winter weather in Durham can be unpredictable, but Chiou said the thrill of competition outweighs any difficult conditions.
"Personally, once I get out there and start playing, I forget about the cold," he said. "It stings your hands on the bat but that gets pushed aside once the game's on the line and you're out there playing."
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