LaSalle's white hats might as well have been white flags.
By the second inning Wednesday afternoon, Duke was on it's way to a mini sweep of LaSalle, leading 9-1 with its best pitcher throwing strike after strike on the mound.
The Blue Devils (7-10) won the final game of the two-game set, 19-3, at Jack Coombs Field as pitcher Danny Otero picked up his team-leading fourth win of the season.
Duke scored at least once in each of the first seven innings and plated multiple runs in each of the first four. Meanwhile, the Explorers' (1-9) offense mustered just five hits.
"We were really focused from the first pitch, putting the ball in play with two strikes, making their pitchers work, and getting into their bullpen," head coach Sean McNally said.
Following a three-run first, the Blue Devils broke the game open in the second. Duke quickly loaded the bases with a single, hit by pitch and a walk before Jimmy Gallagher reached on an error to push the lead to 4-1. A sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout plated two more runs, and three additional two-out hits from the bottom of the order extended the lead to 9-1.
The Blue Devil offense did not let up there. It pushed across two more runs in the third and three more in the fourth, building a 14-2 advantage after four.
"We've worked really hard as a group starting in the fall," said McNally, who is trying to bring new life to the program after multiple losing seasons. "It's nice for these guys to see some tangible results."
Otero (4-0) has been a major piece of the Blue Devils' limited but encouraging early success, allowing just a single earned run in five innings Wednesday.
"Danny threw strikes today, pounded the zone, mixed his pitches well, and did a good job for us," McNally said. "I feel good with him on the mound."
Otero's four wins have accounted for more than half of the team's total, and he has allowed only two earned runs in 25 innings. His 21 strikeouts also lead the Blue Devils.
"I've just been throwing strikes, and the defense has been playing well," Otero said. "I'm just trying to give the offense a chance to win."
Duke will try to extend its winning streak when it hosts Winthrop Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.
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