In the latest Collegiate Baseball poll, Florida State is ranked 12th while Duke is 14th. Over the years, however, these two programs have been much farther apart than two spots on a poll would indicate. The Seminoles have been to 20 straight NCAA Regionals; the Blue Devils are hoping to reach their first in 1998.
This weekend in Tallahassee, Duke showed that although it is closing in on FSU, it has another step to take before equaling its Atlantic Coast Conference rivals. The Seminoles swept a three-game set at Dick Howser Stadium, but other than a disastrous first inning Saturday, the Blue Devils (23-6, 3-5) were only outscored by two runs over the course of the series.
Duke shortstop Vaughn Schill's solo home run in the top of the ninth tied the score at 9-9 in Sunday's game, which saw six ties or lead changes over the final three innings. But Jeremy Salazar led off the bottom of the frame with a homer off of Ryan Caradonna to give the Seminoles (24-7, 7-0 in the ACC) a 10-9 win.
On Friday, leftfielder Michael Fletcher's two-run homer tied the score at 5-5 in the top of the eighth. Schill retired the side in order in the ninth, but two walks and Fletcher's second error of the day loaded the bases for the Seminoles with one out in the 10th. Jose Zabala's line drive off third baseman Jeff Becker's glove knocked in the game-winner for FSU.
"It's difficult emotionally with the big crowd there, and you're watching their celebration," Blue Devil coach Steve Traylor said. "Then we had a bad start the second day, which is probably related."
The poor defense continued on Saturday when Stephen Cowie took his perfect 6-0 record to the mound against the Seminoles. The first FSU batter reached on an error by second baseman J.D. Alleva, giving the Seminoles an extra out that proved to be crucial. With two away, FSU up 1-0 and the bases loaded, Cowie surrendered a grand slam to Karl Jernigan. The five unearned runs in the inning were the difference in the game as the Seminoles won, 9-4.
"Errors are going to happen, especially during this part of the season when you're going from one game to the next," Traylor said. "You've got to keep your focus and concentrate on the game. It's an easy thing to lose your concentration, and I think we've done that a little bit. It's going to be important for us if we want to beat other teams in the conference to play good defense."
Duke picked up its first three ACC wins of the season by sweeping Virginia in a three-game series last weekend at historic Jack Coombs Field. The Blue Devils displayed their offensive firepower in three come-from-behind victories.
The Cavaliers led Duke 6-3 after putting up two runs in the top of the seventh on Sunday. But Maluchnik's two-run homer in the bottom of the inning pulled the Blue Devils within one, and a four-run eighth, highlighted by Schill's two-run triple, gave Duke a 9-6 advantage and the victory.
After falling behind 9-4 on Saturday, the Blue Devils scored eight runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead. With nobody out, two runs already in and the bases loaded, Fletcher connected on a three-run double. Conrey followed with a two-run homer to put Duke ahead, 11-9. The Blue Devils went on to win, 13-10.
Cowie pitched his second complete game of the season on Friday as Duke won 7-4. Maluchnik, Schill and Conrey all went deep, helping the Blue Devils overcome an early deficit.
"It was huge," Traylor said of the UVa series. "There are very few sweeps in our conference; they're tough to pull off. It was especially important coming off the Wake series [in which Duke was defeated in its first two ACC games]."
Between the two conference sets, the Blue Devils knocked off Furman, 11-3, in Greenville, S.C. Brent Reid, pitching for the first time in two-and-a-half weeks due to illness, picked up his fifth victory of the year.
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