The Blue Devils turned the tables on a team that has been their polar opposite this season.
In the second game of a doubleheader Saturday at Jack Coombs Field, Duke defeated No. 17 Florida State to capture its first conference victory of the season while dethroning the Seminoles from the ranks of the ACC unbeaten.
Duke (9-19, 1-8 in the ACC) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and held off Florida State (27-5, 5-1) to salvage the final game of the three-game series. The Blue Devils’ 8-7 win over the Seminoles erased a 14-game skid against them.
“Whenever you have a chance to compete against a great program like Florida State and come away with a win, it’s a great win,” head coach Bill Hillier said.
In the bottom of the first, Duke capitalized on the Seminoles’ starting pitcher Mark Sauls’ miscues on the mound. The righty balked twice and threw away a pick-off attempt, helping Duke to quickly plate three runs before Sauls was replaced by Brian Henry. With John Berger on first, sophomore Corey Whiting gave Henry a rude welcome to the game, scorching an inside fastball over the rightfield fence for his second home run of the season and a 5-0 advantage.
“I was really excited about getting out to a quick lead, because we’ve had a tendency to fall behind in games,” Whiting said. “Knocking out their starting pitcher in the first inning like that set a tone for the game.”
Duke starter David Torcise cruised for the first four innings, surrendering two hits and no runs. Walks got the sophomore into trouble in the fifth, however, as the Seminoles capitalized on two free passes with a pair of hits and a sacrifice bunt to cut the lead to 5-3.
When Torcise left the game in the sixth after surrendering his sixth walk, Jonathan Anderson issued another to load the bases. Florida State leftfielder Gibbs Chapman—who had won the first game of the series with a two-run home run in the top of the ninth—then knotted the game at five with a two-run single.
Duke came roaring right back in the bottom of the inning, however, when Cody Wheeler and Berger led off with back-to-back singles. With one out and runners on first and third, Javier Socorro hustled down the line to beat out a double-play, scoring Wheeler as the Blue Devils regained the lead.
After adding two more runs in the bottom of the seventh and holding the Seminoles scoreless in the eighth, Duke headed into the top of the ninth clinging to an 8-5 lead.
But Florida State would not go quietly, rallying to trail by just one with two outs and a runner on third.
It looked like another Duke meltdown was in the works.
Battling through his first appearance since surrendering the game-winning home run to Chapman Friday, closer Tony Bajoczky forced Josh Spivey to ground out to second base, ending the game and Duke’s season-long futility in the ACC.
“I thought our relief pitching was exceptional,” Hillier said. “Torcise didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled, and Bajoczky put out the fire.”
Duke’s defense greatly aided in the victory, as the Blue Devils committed no errors in the field for the first time in four games.
Saturday’s win ended a three-game losing streak for the Blue Devils, as Duke dropped games one and two of the series 5-3 and 11-4, respectively.
“Beating a team like FSU, [which is] ranked 17th in the nation, is a good start that could turn a page in the season and gain a new mindset for our team,” Whiting said.
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