John Cocca and Brian Ross combined on a five-hit shutout, and Jason Greiner scored both runs as Old Dominion blanked the baseball team 2-0 Tuesday afternoon at historic Jack Coombs Field.
It was the fifth loss in seven games for Duke (26-16, 8-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference), and the first time all season that the Blue Devils have been shut out. Duke also lost at home for the first time this year against a non-conference opponent.
For the second straight game, the Blue Devils were held to a season-low five hits.
"All of a sudden, it's kind of like the lights went out," second baseman Frankie Chiou said of Duke's recent offensive slump. "It's a definite shock. We have too many good hitters to get shut out."
ODU right fielder Mark Caudell lined a two-out single to center off of Brad Dupree in the fifth inning, driving in Greiner with the Monarchs' first run.
Greiner later scored from second on a Caudell fielder's choice in the seventh to make it 2-0. That would prove to be more than enough for ODU's pitchers, who allowed only eight base runners on the entire afternoon.
Cocca scattered three hits over the first four innings, and Ross (5-0) worked the final five to pick up the win. The only hits allowed by Ross were singles by Chiou in the fifth and seventh, who was erased both times on double-play balls.
Duke wasted a strong performance from freshman righhander Brad Dupree (4-2), who took the loss despite allowing only five hits on two runs in seven innings of work. Dupree, pitching on three days rest, struck out five batters and walked one.
"I'm a totally different pitcher at home and a totally different pitcher on the road," Dupree said. "I just need to be more consistent. I'd love to pitch like I did today every game."
Greiner and Caudell had two hits apiece for the Monarchs (27-13-1, 8-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association), who won for the fifth time in their last six games.
Duke's best chance to score came in the fourth, when junior Michael Fletcher was hit by a pitch and sophomore Jeff Becker followed with a double just inside third base. But with runners on second and third and one out, Jeff Staubach struck out looking, and John Benik flew out to left field to end the inning.
Ross relieved Cocca in the fifth and quickly shut the door for the Monarchs. Rocca allowed only one Blue Devil to advance as far as second base, and retired the side 1-2-3 in the ninth to close out ODU's third shutout of the year.
"[The bats] have been silent for a couple of weeks now," Duke coach Steve Traylor said. "That's the nature of the game, I guess. Since the Carolina series [two weeks ago], some of our most productive hitters just haven't been hitting."
Over their last seven games, the Blue Devils have averaged just over seven hits and three runs per contest.
"We haven't been able to put any hits back-to-back," Traylor said. "We just have to keep swinging the bat, because as quickly as that [production] leaves, it can come back."
Duke will send freshman Chris Capuano to the mound today at 3 p.m. against Davidson to try to stop the bleeding. This will be the last home game for the Blue Devils before a seven-game road trip, which starts with a three-game set this weekend at No. 8 Miami.
Traylor hopes the bats wake up in time for Duke's stretch run-which includes a series against No. 6 Georgia Tech. Stealing that three-game home set will be critical if Duke hopes to gain a NCAA regional bid.
"We got great pitching today, and we played great defense," Traylor said. "We've been able to keep ourselves in games, but we haven't been able to get it done offensively."
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