Why hasn't the baseball team won every scheduled game this year? Blame it on the rain.
After having two scheduled home games rained out earlier in the week, the Blue Devils finally managed to get in a game Sunday at Davidson. And so far this year, when the sun has been shining, it has been shining on Duke, as it handed the Davidson Wildcats (0-1) an 8-3 loss to improve its record to 4-0, with two rain-outs.
"We seemed a little rusty when we started [the game]," coach Steve Traylor said. "We weren't as ready to play as we felt like we were out in Florida [the previous weekend]. We credit that partially not having been out on the field the whole week. [The rustiness] showed early, but it turned out okay."
Designated hitter Ed Conrey (.313, 9 RBI) punctuated a three-run third inning for Duke with a two-out, two-run single, propelling Duke to an early 3-0 lead. After the Wildcats closed the gap to 4-2, Conrey responded with a two-run opposite field blast to give the Blue Devils some breathing room.
Duke starter Stephen Cowie (1-0, 2.70 ERA) pitched the first six innings to pick up the win, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out five.
"I guess it was a pretty good outing," Cowie said. "I didn't feel like I pitched great, but overall, it was okay. I don't feel like I'm quite where I want to be yet. I'm not worried about that since it's early in the season."
Sophomore Brad Dupree (2-0, 0.00 ERA) relieved Cowie and went the final three innings without giving up an earned run to collect the first save of his Duke career. After a rocky freshman season when he recorded a high ERA of 5.44, Dupree has been phenomenal this season. The Miami native has tossed 10 1/3 innings without surrendering an earned run, and opponents are 'hitting' a measly .111 against him.
"[Dupree] is a bulldog type of guy," Traylor said. "He's got great composure and he's a great competitor. He's the type of guy that you'd like to bring out of the bullpen. He's not going to be intimidated, and for most parts, he's going to come in and throw strikes. It's a great luxury for us coaches to have him in the bullpen."
The other early season surprise has been the hitting of right-fielder Jordan Litrownik. Despite sitting out most of last season and the fall practice session this year with a back injury, Litrownik has been on a hitting binge. The junior went 4-for-5 at the plate Sunday to improve his average to .579, and ripped his fourth double of the season.
"We really didn't know what to expect out of him health-wise or performance-wise, but he's been very healthy," Traylor said. "He's been consistently hitting the ball hard, getting on base. We're thinking about putting him back in the lead-off spot."
Notes: Duke will return to historic Jack Coombs field today at 2:45 PM against the Carolina Pirates to make-up Saturday's rain-out.... Centerfielder Adam Geis will be out for at least two weeks with a bruised collarbone suffered in an on-field collision with shortstop Vaughn Schill last weekend against Ohio State.
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