Remember that phrase about kicking your opponent while he's down? Well, Duke took that phrase to the next level and for all practical purposes pounded North Carolina A&T until it was unconscious for the third time this season.
No. 21 Duke (19-3) took out its frustration after getting swept by Wake Forest last weekend by spanking the Aggies (7-12) 12-4 despite stranding 11 runners on base in the first four innings.
"We squandered so many opportunities in the first four innings," coach Steve Traylor said. "We just didn't get it done. They have one dominant pitcher, and when they brought him in in the fifth, they were certainly in it."
Then Duke just did what it has done in each meeting with the Aggies-blow the game wide open with an offensive burst. The Blue Devils scored a run in the sixth and seventh innings and added five in the eighth to secure the win.
In the three contests played between Duke and A&T this season, the Blue Devils have taken all three games, scored in double-digits each outing and outscored the Aggies by a combined 26-run margin.
Second baseman J.D. Alleva triggered the offensive parade with a two-out, two-run single to put the Blue Devils on the scoreboard. Alleva then came back in the fifth with another two-out RBI single to give Duke a 5-3 lead. Shortstop Vaughn Schill also chipped in by ripping his second dinger of the season.
"It's been a different kind of year for Schill than last year," Traylor said. "He just hasn't strung together the multi-hit games like he did last year. It's not like he's in a slump, he's getting hits, he's just not putting up numbers like he did last year. I think his best baseball is ahead of him."
Scheduled starter Brent Reid could not make the trip, thus forcing Traylor to start senior Jimmy Wendling. The righthander went the first four innings and gave up three runs before exiting the game with a groin pull. Sophomore Brad Dupree, however, came in and shut the Aggies down through the next four frames while the Blue Devils padded their lead. After struggling mightily in his last two outings, Dupree returned to the form he had early in the season with this performance.
"He just was struggling; he didn't have command," Traylor said. "His forkball wasn't a good pitch for him, [associate] coach Dave [Koblentz] has been working with his mechanics. He threw much better today, he got some confidence back."
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