Going into this season, the Blue Devils knew that offense would be the strength of their team, and Sunday's doubleheader performance against Georgetown proved them right.
Duke collected 13 runs and three homers against the Hoyas in the second game of the afternoon-before Georgetown even recorded the first out of the game. The Blue Devils (7-0) went on to win that game 17-5 to cap off the doubleheader sweep. Duke won the first game by a 9-1 margin.
Fourteen hitters stepped into the batters' box for Duke before Michael Fletcher recorded the first Duke out of the game by grounding to short in his second at bat of the inning. But Fletcher had already done more than enough damage to the Hoyas' pitching in his first plate appearance by smacking a grand slam to right-center field to stretch the Blue Devils' lead to 6-1.
Fletcher's shot was followed by two more hits, a walk and an error before shortstop Vaughn Schill and third baseman Jeff Becker parked consecutive pitches over the fence in left-center.
The scoring was capped in the first inning when catcher Gregg Maluchnik doubled over leftfielder Sean Mignogna's head to drive in Ed Conrey, who had doubled past first base.
"I can't think of anyone who didn't swing the bat well for us today," Duke coach Steve Traylor said. "We were swinging the bats well, but they helped us out a little bit because [Georgetown starting pitcher Brian Van Der Waag] couldn't find the strike zone, and that took them out of the game. But to go through [14] batters before getting an out-I don't think I've seen anything like that."
Fletcher also added an RBI single in the second as Duke extended its lead to 15-1. Fletcher finished the game going 2-for-4 with 5 RBI.
"I was 0-for-2 with two strikeouts with the bases loaded this season," Fletcher said. "I hadn't come through yet, so it was nice just to put it in play."
Jordan Litrownik was 3-for-3 in the game with two runs scored, and Schill was 3-for-4 with two runs and a pair of RBI.
Freshman Brad Dupree picked up his first collegiate win in the second game by giving up three hits and two runs (one earned) in four innings. By comparison, the Hoyas (0-2) used three pitchers in the first inning alone.
"I know I could have pitched better, but I'm satisfied with the win," Dupree said. "But there's only so much you can do with that long between innings."
The Blue Devils were forced to play the Sunday doubleheader after Saturday's game was postponed due to poor field conditions. Their game against Old Dominion, which was scheduled for Friday, was moved to April 15 because of rain.
In the rescheduled game, the Blue Devils' five-run third inning carried them to victory.
The third was an inning of two's for Duke, as it scored its runs courtesy of two Georgetown errors and four two-base hits.
Fletcher started the scoring by doubling into the lake formerly known as left field, plating Frankie Chiou and Becker, who had also doubled.
Maluchnik followed with a shot that careened through the legs of third baseman Andrew Mariniello, allowing Fletcher to score.
Conrey and Schill then followed with another pair of doubles, picking up an RBI each, and bringing the lead to 6-0.
Chiou capped the scoring with a two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth for Duke.
Despite the nine runs, only Schill collected more than one hit in the first game, as he connected for two doubles and two RBI. He led the Blue Devils with five hits on the day after collecting only four hits in 17 at bats on the season.
"I made an adjustment and moved up in the batters' box," Schill said. "Every time I went up there, I picked the pitch up right away."
Stephen Cowie (3-0) pitched four scoreless innings for Duke to pick up the win, while Hoyas' starter Kevin Doody got wiped up by the Blue Devils.
Cowie started the game with 13 straight strikes while causing four of the first five Georgetown batters to whiff. He finished the day with five strikeouts.
With the sweep, Duke is off to its best start since 1942, when the Blue Devils started 8-0. They finish their season-opening home stand Tuesday against North Carolina A&T before travelling to Louisiana next weekend for the Winn-Dixie showdown, where they will face last season's national champion Louisiana State, as well as Tulane and New Orleans.
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