Layden fans 12 in Duke's first no-hitter since '91 campaign

With one man on and two outs in the top of the ninth, catcher Adam Loftin fielded a ground ball and threw it into first baseman Brian Hernandez's glove to secure the final out and pitcher Tim Layden's first career no-hitter, as Duke (19-18) beat Old Dominion (13-20) last night at Jack Coombs Field, 4-0.

  "Once I saw that ball in Hernandez's glove at first base, I just let loose," Layden said. "It was just one of those days. My slider was on. I was throwing my fastball and change-up at times that I wanted."

  Layden had just three walks and a career-high twelve strikeouts in the Blue Devils' first no-hitter in 13 years. The last one was thrown by John Courtright against North Carolina A&T February 13, 1991.

  The Blue Devils encountered a tricky situation in the first at bat of the game when Old Dominion centerfielder Keith Hahn reached first on a fielding error by Hernandez. Then Justin Gregula reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on a wild pitch.

  After leaving one man on base in both the second and third innings, Duke started off the bottom of the fourth with Layden up. He singled to right-centerfield, moved to second after the first baseman erred on a pick-off attempt, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Layden scored the first run of the game on second baseman Bryan Smith's single that landed just inside fair territory in right field. In the next at bat, Mike Miello followed Smith's lead with a shot right down the line. Both Hernandez, who had walked and moved to second on Smith's hit, and Smith scored giving Duke the 3-0 advantage.

  Layden continued his show on the mound in the sixth with the help of a strong infield effort by Smith and Hernandez. Old Dominion's C.J. Lee hit a hard grounder between first and second, which Smith was able to field to get the out at first. Layden's first walk of the night also came in the sixth, but he was able to get out of the inning with a fielder's choice.

  "I realized right around the sixth inning that they didn't have any hits," Layden said. "I really appreciate the way the guys backed me up. Everyone really came to play. They got me out of trouble a few times."

  It was about this time when head coach Bill Hillier also realized that history was in the making.

  "I was watching his pitch count," Hillier said. "In the sixth he went to 73 pitches. I wasn't going to take him out [but] if he had another walk, it was going to be hard."

  Layden struck out the side in the top of the seventh, getting Derrick James looking for the final out. In the top of the eighth, Layden walked the first batter, and the second batter reached on an error by shortstop Kyle Silver, who bobbled a grounder hit his direction.

  Duke got out of the inning with a foul pop-out fielded by Layden, and a groundout to second base.

  Layden recorded his second hit of the night with a line drive to centerfield. Then Hillier put Senterrio Landrum in to pinch run, and Layden thought he was being taken out of the game and hesitated to get off first base.

  "I didn't want them to hit the ball in the gap and to have him have to score from first," Hillier said. "He thought he was being taken out completely. He didn't realize he was in there as pitcher and DH. He didn't want to leave first base [because] he thought he was out completely."

  Layden did leave first base eventually but came back out to pitch for the top of the ninth. After a quick pop-out, Layden walked the second Old Dominion batter, but was able to strike out the next and get the final batter to ground out, ending the game.

  The Blue Devil win, which was the team's fourth straight, ends the team's play for a week. They next host Davidson, followed by a three-game series with No. 10 North Carolina.