Coming off three tough losses at the hands of top-ranked Clemson, the baseball team had high expectations entering its game against No. 18 East Carolina. But these hopes were shattered in the Pirates' 8-1 blowout victory.
"We came off a good Clemson series, and we didn't come out with the same kind of enthusiasm," junior Larry Broadway said. "Some guys seemed like they didn't have their heads totally in the game."
Duke took an early 1-0 lead in the third inning when Broadway hit a double to drive in fellow junior Doug Bechtold.
"I got a good pitch to hit, and got my arms extended," Broadway said. "I was able to get good metal on it and get it out there."
Duke did not score again.
"I was not pleased with our hitting today, especially with men on base," Duke coach Hillier said.
Sophomore pitcher Justin Dilucchio continued his shutout through the fourth inning before meeting problems in the fifth.
Bryant Ward and Luke Cherry reached base with singles, and Jedd Sorenson brought Ward home with an RBI groundout.
Dilucchio met more trouble in the sixth, when Darryl Lawhorn and Adam Stephens connected on back-to-back doubles, with Lawhorn scoring. Dilucchio was then replaced by Ryan Sember.
'I thought Dilucchio threw very well,' Hillier said. 'He settled in, and gave us some quality innings to let us hang in there.'
Sember immediately encountered trouble as well, giving up a single to Clayton McCullough, pushing Stephens to third.
The next batter, Warren Gaspar, hit a sacrifice-fly to bring home Stephens, giving East Carolina a 3-1 lead.
Things only got worse for the Blue Devils in the seventh. Ben Sanderson's single brought home Cherry. The next batter, Lawhorn, hit a single, and Hillier replaced Sember with Zach Schreiber.
Schreiber's first batter faced, Stephens, hit a single to bring Sanderson home. Schreiber then ended the inning by getting McCullough to fly out. After Duke was once again held scoreless, the score was 5-1 at the end of the seventh.
The eighth inning began with Gaspar stealing second base, and back-to-back bunt singles by Ward and Cherry.
Sorenson then brought Gaspar and Ward home with an RBI single.
Duke's Brian Patrick was brought in to pitch for the remainder of the game.
After Troy Caradonna's error, Sanderson reached base safely and Cherry scored the contest's final run, making the score 8-1.
'We just had too many little mistakes as a team today,' Hillier said. 'When you make a pitcher get five outs to end an inning, it shows up.'
Next weekend, Duke will play Maryland in a battle to stay out of last place in the ACC.
'This is a big weekend,' Hillier said. 'We need to play against Maryland like we did against Clemson. If we do that, we'll be in good shape come Monday.'
Hillier also believed that the Duke-Maryland basketball rivalry might effect the atmosphere of the game.
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