If the Atlantic Coast Conference standings were determined by ifs, ands or buts, the Duke baseball team would be sitting pretty atop the conference and its world would be nothing but candy and nuts.
But wins decide which team finishes first, so the Blue Devils (35-15, 7-13 in the ACC) are mired in seventh place and must win the ACC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Regionals.
The Blue Devils have dropped six conference games decided either by one run or in extra innings. If Duke had managed even to split those games, it would still be in modest contention for an at-large bid to the NCAAs.
"It's been a frustrating year in that regard, but I think it's the most consistently competitive team within the 10 years I've been here," coach Steve Traylor said. "Overall, we've never had a team that went into a conference series, whether they're road games or home games, and had as many chances to win late as we did this year. We probably did a worse job of winning close games as any team we've ever had. We just couldn't win the close games."
Some games that will linger painfully on the memories of this year's team include a game at Florida State when two errors by Michael Fletcher and Jeff Becker sent the Seminoles to victory in the 10th inning. A week later, the bullpen surrendered an 8-3 lead in the ninth inning against Georgia Tech. Just over a week ago, North Carolina's Brian Roberts went deep against Duke closer Vaughn Schill in the 10th to send the Tar Heels to victory.
"I wouldn't blame it on any one area-I wouldn't blame it on the bullpen, I wouldn't blame it on the hitters," Traylor said. "Sometimes it was defense, sometimes it was pitching, sometimes it was lack of hitting, sometimes it was just great play by the opponent.
"I don't want to say there's a bit of luck involved there, but there certainly is. If you play a bunch of one-run games, the law of averages say you ought to win half of them, and we did, but it was the half that was non-conference that we won and the half that was conference that we didn't."
The way the standings and matchups are shaping up heading into the season's final weekend, it appears Duke will finish seventh in the conference, regardless of how it fares this weekend against N.C. State.
Thus, the Blue Devils will avoid the play-in game and face the second-seeded team-most likely FSU or Clemson-in the first round of the ACC Tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, beginning May 12. FSU swept Duke in Tallahassee, while Duke took two of three from Clemson in Durham.
"There's a motivating factor for us to play well-we know we have a chance and it's going to be in Durham," Fletcher said. "I still think we have something going for us, and the fact is, if we get on a roll or get hot, we can beat teams. I think this year's team is a lot better than last year's team, and last year's team made it to the semi-finals, so it's not over yet."
Note: The Blue Devils will travel to UNC-Wilmington for a 7 p.m. contest today as a part of their Last Day of Classes celebrations. For any students interested in sharing their Last Day with the baseball team, good seats for the game are still available.
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