This weekend, the baseball team (12-11, 2-1 in ACC) opened its ACC season taking the series against No. 17 N.C. State (15-6, 1-2), the first series Duke has taken from the Wolfpack in three years. The Blue Devils fell Friday night to the Wolfpack-they were unable to generate any offense against N.C. State pitching standout Michael Rogers-but jumped back to take the remaining two games.
In the Wolfpack's commanding 8-1 victory Friday, Rogers kept Duke scoreless for six innings. While the starter silenced the Blue Devils' offense, N.C. State was able to score eight runs in the first five innings-four of which came in the fifth.
"I thought Michael Rogers was absolutely outstanding," Duke head coach Bill Hillier said. "We didn't touch Rogers until the seventh inning. That's not because of our hitting; that's great pitching. We made some mistakes defensively, which you can't do against a good team. I'm not disappointed with our hitting. You have to give credit to Rogers."
Though N.C. State dominated Friday's game, Duke pitcher Tim Layden struck out a career-high 10 batters in only five innings. Layden also took a potential no-hitter from Rogers in the seventh inning with a single to rightfield, and subsequently scored Duke's sole run of the game.
When the teams returned to Doak Field Saturday, Zach Schreiber was on the mound and the Blue Devils found a little more success against the Wolfpack, winning the game 3-1. Pitching a complete game and allowing only one run, Schreiber struck out eight batters, a career-high for the senior righty. He snapped the Wolfpack's Matt Camp and David Hicks' hitting streaks at 15 and 10, games respectively, keeping N.C. State's offense under control. The defense behind Schreiber was excellent, not committing a single error.
"There was a good defense behind me and helped me," Schreiber said. "I felt good on the mound, and I pitched really well, but some of the plays from the rest of the team really helped. I was able to pitch well because of them."
The Wolfpack's starter, Vern Sterry, pitched eight innings, struck out five batters and walked three after only walking one batter in his previous 26 innings. Duke handed Sterry his first loss in 15 decisions, snapping his school record.
Unlike Friday's game, the Blue Devils were able to get a couple of runs on the board early. In the second inning, with two outs and a runner on first, Corey Whiting singled to center field. In the next at bat, Sterry overthrew first when he tried to pick off Whiting, allowing Bryan Smith to score from second base. Michael Golom then ripped a deep triple into right-center field, scoring Whiting. Smith also collected an RBI in the third inning, as he singled through the left side to score Javier Socorro. With the series tied at one game apiece, the two teams were ready for a showdown Sunday afternoon. In a 7-4 comeback win, Duke scored all seven runs in the last four innings. The Wolfpack jumped to an early 2-0 lead with runs in the first two innings. However, Duke's starter Greg Burke was able to keep the Wolfpack from scoring again until the seventh inning. "I thought Greg Burke pitched a great game," Hillier said. "He gave up one unearned run in the first inning and an earned run in the second. Then he settled down and pitched awesome. And Billy Muldowney came in a did a great job in relief." Muldowney faced nine batters in two innings, gave up one earned run and struck out two batters. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils exploded at the plate in the late innings of Sunday's game. Jonathan Anderson led off the sixth inning with a home run to rightfield. Then in the seventh, Duke tied the score at two when Kyle Silver scored off a wild pitch. However, N.C. State answered in the bottom of the the same inning with a run, pulling ahead 3-2. In the eighth inning, Duke finally took the lead. Layden doubled to right field and reached third on a throwing error, scoring Javier Socorro, who had been hit by a pitch. Layden then took home on a passed ball. Muldowney came in to pitch the eighth for Duke and retired three straight batters. With a one-run advantage entering the ninth inning, the Blue Devils looked to give their freshman pitcher a little cushion. Tony Bajoczky pinch hit for Silver and doubled to left field. Senterrio Landrum pinch ran for him at second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Adam Murray was hit by a pitch and Jonathan Anderson popped up to the shortstop for the second out of the inning. With runners on the corners, Javier Socorro took N.C. State's Joey Devine long with a three-run shot to left-center field. Though N.C. State scored a run off two hits in the ninth, Duke was able to hold on to win. "Going into the ACC schedule, these are the most important games to win," Schreiber said. "Because the ACC is probably one of the top baseball conferences in the nation, anytime you win a series in the ACC, it's something to be proud of."
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