North Carolina reeled off 51 unanswered points against Duke to epitomize its domination on the gridiron. Roshown McLeod netted the game-winning basket over the outstretched hands of Antawn Jamison to clinch the emotional regular season finale in Cameron. Jessica Gaspar drained the game-clinching three pointer to thwart a valiant Duke effort in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Another year, another handful of memories, images and heroes.
Duke and North Carolina will close out this year's chapter of the rivalry when the two schools square off for the final time in a regular-season setting this weekend for a three-game series staged at historic Jack Coombs field.
"Our guys know who they're playing. Just because I don't talk about it doesn't mean it's not important to them," coach Steve Traylor said. "Talking about it is not going to make us play better. The coaching staff is going to have to continue to talk about playing the game. I'm not worried about the motivation factor in this series; they know who we're up against."
What the Blue Devils (32-11, 5-9 in the ACC) are up against is a Tar Heel team (24-16, 7-7) that took two out of three from Georgia Tech in Atlanta earlier in the season, but has fallen on hard times as of late, dropping six of its last nine conference contests.
UNC's struggles, however, could not be
"They're very good," Traylor said. "They play a very strong non-conference schedule. They basically are putting the same team on the field as they did last year; they're as good as anybody, no doubt about it."
Duke will send Chris Capuano (0-3, 4.56 ERA), Stephen Cowie (9-1, 2.58) and Brent Reid (8-2, 3.50), in that order, to the mound. UNC will counter with Ryan Snare (4-3, 5.50), Kyle Snyder (3-6, 4.87) and Mike Bynum (4-3, 5.97).
"[The series] is going to hold a special significance to everyone involved," Roberts said. "The Duke-Carolina rivalry...runs pretty deep in pretty much every sporting event that goes on between the two schools. It's gonna be significant not only because of ACC standings, but also bragging rights a little bit."
Adding yet another subplot to the series, Blue Devil seniors Gregg Maluchnik, Michael Fletcher, Adam Geis, Clayton Connor, Les Aiello and Jimmy Wendling will suit up for the last time in an ACC contest in their Duke careers at Jack Coombs this weekend.
"Obviously, when you look back, time flies," Fletcher said. "I could vividly remember our first games at Jack Coombs. Personally, with the other seniors, it's pretty important. All those guys that sit up on that hill were my really good friends. I'm going to miss them, not having them there to cheer us on."
Perhaps the player that those fans out on the hill behind first base and those sitting in the lawn chairs down the third base line will miss most is Maluchnik. Duke's all-time RBI leader has been a fixture behind home plate in his four seasons.
"You can't say enough about Gregg," Traylor said. "He's caught about every inning of every game since he's been here. He's given us great leadership and great dedication to our program. He's just been magnificent."
Maluchnik currently carries a .339 career average, with 31 dingers, third best in Duke history, and a Duke record 187 RBI. After increasing his batting average by 82 points last season from his sophomore effort, Fletcher has continued to improve at the plate, hitting a team-high .370 this year with nine homers and 45 RBI.
The Blue Devils will honor the six seniors on Sunday with Senior Day festivities. The current senior class has compiled a combined record of 134-81, putting them on pace to become the third-winningest class in the 109-year history of Duke baseball.
Game time Friday is 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is Fan Appreciation Day.
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