Without five of the team's 13 starting pitchers in the rotation, the baseball team did not go into last weekend's baseball series with North Carolina overly optimistic.
As expected, the Blue Devils (21-30, 3-18 in the ACC) dropped three games to the No. 6 Tar Heels 8-3, 19-10 and 18-9 Saturday, Sunday and Monday respectively at historic Jack Coombs Field.
"We did a good job of hitting," coach Bill Hillier said. "Zach Schreiber did a good job of pitching in his first ACC start. We're wounded, but we're not dead."
In the series, Duke came closest to beating the Tar Heels Saturday afternoon, pulling to within 5-3 in the sixth inning on the strength of a home run by Larry Broadway. Broadway, who entered the game with an eight-game hitting streak, saw the streak come to an end Monday.
Meanwhile, North Carolina (38-15, 16-5), a team tied for first place in the ACC, demonstrated why it may walk away with the conference championship in two weeks, with 57 hits in the series and four home runs in Monday's game alone.
In that game, amid strong winds that floated some Tar Heels' hits over the wall and posed minimal nuisance to the pitchers, North Carolina jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the second inning and never looked back, pulling to a 16-6 lead by the end of the eighth inning.
North Carolina tied their season-high with 20 hits, while the Blue Devils chalked up 15 hits of their own in the offensive showdown.
Schreiber, a sophomore, made his first start this season for Duke and Hillier said he was pleased with his work. Because of the dearth of starting pitchers, Hillier said many younger pitchers are getting good experience for the future. Schrieber took the loss for Monday's game, while junior Brian Patrick started Sunday and sophomore Colin Begley pitched for 5 1/3 innings.
"We're never going to be blessed with great depth," Hillier said, who noted that the 16 injuries the team has sustained in the past two seasons have been more than all the other injuries he's seen in more than two decades of coaching.
Although Duke bested the Tar Heels in last season's series 2-1, North Carolina has dominated the Blue Devils, having won 15 of the last 17 meetings.
"Bill, bless his heart, is decimated by injuries," said North Carolina head coach Mike Fox. "It is terrible to see because it is out of a coach's control. He is just having to piece things together. I know it is frustrating for him."
Note: In a late game Wednesday night the Blue Devils defeated the Old Dominion Monarchs 6-5 in 10 innings. Kevin Kelly hit a two-out single in the top of the tenth to score Brian Patrick. ODU had lead most of the game until Duke tied the score at five in the top ninth. Patrick and Broadway both homered, and Colin Begley picked up his first win of the season. The Blue Devils will host Wake Forest this weekend.
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