Has anyone else noticed a theme developing here?
For the second consecutive weekend, Mother Nature decided to wreak havoc on the Duke baseball team (6-9), this time cutting a three-game series against the Radford Highlanders at Jack Coombs Stadium down to two.
The rainout again left the Blue Devils frustrated, and denied them a chance to take a 2-1 series win.
"I don't think we were pleased," second baseman Scott Grossi said. "I think we had the attitude that we had a good chance to take all three games, and we fell short."
Although the Blue Devils were not pleased with the end result, the weekend opened rather well.
In the series opener Friday, Radford drew first blood with a two-out single in the fourth inning, but Duke quickly rebounded in the bottom half of the inning.
David Mason walked to lead off the inning and third baseman J.D. Alleva followed with a single. Then, first baseman Larry Broadway hit a two-run triple to put the Blue Devils ahead 2-1. Shortstop Kevin Kelly closed out the scoring for Duke with a double that brought Broadway home.
The Blue Devils scored another run in the fifth and went up 6-1 in the eighth on a two-run Wes Goodner home run to leftfield. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Ryan Caradonna had a strong showing, going 6.1 innings and giving up only one run.
"[His performance] was huge," Grossi said. "Any time you can have a pitcher come out and give you a good outing, it gives you a chance to win."
Despite Caradonna's work, things got interesting as Radford scored one run in the seventh and three in the ninth, but Jeff Alleva held on for Duke, and the Blue Devils escaped with the victory.
"It's good to see our guys not panic and hold on for the win," coach Bill Hillier said. "I think Ryan pitched very well and put us in a position to win this game."
Given the miserable conditions Friday and the worsening weekend forecast, Radford and Duke agreed to play a double-header Saturday rather than play yesterday.
The second game of the weekend did not go nearly as well for the Blue Devils.
For the second consecutive weekend, Kevin Thompson pitched well, giving up only one run in six innings of work. But Duke managed to score only one run on three hits, dropping the seven-inning game 2-1.
"Our bats just weren't going," Grossi said. "They just weren't working with us. We had a lot of opportunities; we just couldn't convert on them."
The second game of the double-header was not played, as rain again forced a cancellation.
"We were disappointed," Grossi said. "We really thought we could have come back in the third game and taken the series."
The offensive struggle, and a disappointing split placed a cloud over the weekend, but Duke gained confidence for a second-straight weekend off good pitching.
"Our pitchers are really coming along," Grossi said. "They are giving us a chance to win every single time, and we're playing good defense behind them. If we get our bats going, we'll do all right this year."
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