Winning in baseball basically boils down to doing two things: you have to pitch well, and you have to hit the ball.
In game one of Saturday's doubleheader against Penn State, a 13-1 loss, the Blue Devils did neither. In game two, a 3-1 loss, only the Duke pitching staff did its part at historic Jack Coombs field.
The first game did not start as a blowout. The Blue Devils were tied with the Nittany Lions through three innings after a first-inning RBI single by Ed Conrey. But the fourth turned into a complete disaster. Penn State scored eight runs on six hits, including a three-run home run by rightfielder Dan Beers.
The Nittany Lions kept up their offensive barrage in the fifth inning as they scored another four runs and ended any hope of a comeback. The game was called after seven innings.
Penn State starter Dan Goebler pitched a complete game, holding Duke to only one run on five hits, four of those from Conrey and Vaughn Schill.
The second game of the doubleheader bore little resemblance to the first. Starting pitcher Brad DuPree prevented another Nittany Lion offensive explosion, working the game's first seven innings. DuPree scattered five hits and allowed only one earned run off of Beers' second home run of the day, in the fourth inning.
The Nittany Lions did not look like the same team that pounded the Blue Devils' pitching staff earlier in the afternoon. DuPree felt that Penn State's outburst in the first game was actually his biggest advantage.
"I was not at all surprised that I was able to control the game," he said. "I think the first game made me pay a lot more attention. I was throwing with a purpose.
"Instead of just throwing over the plate I was really trying to work the corners. I had good control of my off-speed pitches, and [catcher Ed Conrey] called a great game."
Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, DuPree's work did not go to much use. In the seventh inning, Duke tied the game when second baseman Scott Grossi scored from third on a passed ball. But that was the only run Duke scored. The Nittany Lions won the game as the Blue Devils were unable to answer two RBI singles by Chris Netwall and Brian Harper in the ninth inning.
Despite losing after such a fine performance, DuPree was not overly disappointed.
"That's part of the game," he said. "Sometimes you pitch well and lose, sometimes you have a bad game on the mound and win."
In game two, pitching was the least of the team's problems. Duke managed only four hits, two of those by Wes Goodner, and no RBIs.
Mother Nature prevented the Blue Devils from trying to exact revenge, as yesterday's 1 p.m. game was rained out.
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