For the past few weeks, Duke has gone up against the ACC's-and the nation's-best teams in games against No. 1 Florida State, No. 3 Virginia, and No. 2 North Carolina.
The non-conference matchups did not get any easier, as the Blue Devils had to stave off a late rally from Campbell and contain one of the top offenses in Davidson.
With just 16 games remaining in the regular season, though, it appears that Duke (23-15, 4-14 in the ACC) has finally gotten past the meat of its schedule and will not likely face a ranked opponent for the rest of the season.
The closing stretch for the team begins today at 7 p.m. against UNC Greensboro (18-18, 6-6 in the Southern Conference) at Jack Coombs Field.
"It was nice to come out with some wins each weekend," senior Jonathan Anderson said. "We can take advantage of these series and win two out of three-maybe sweep them-and we could find ourselves in the ACC tournament."
With one surprise victory over each of their three top ACC foes, the Blue Devils have made positive strides yet still have plenty of room for improvement, head coach Sean McNally said.
The Spartans, meanwhile, come into tonight's game in the midst of a midseason slump with losses in four of their past six games, half of which were by double-digit runs.
Against ACC teams this year, UNC Greensboro has gone 1-3, losing to North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest by scores of 6-2, 6-0 and 14-3, respectively, while defeating N.C. State, 10-8, early in the year.
On the stat sheet, Duke also owns a sizable advantage. The Blue Devils, even with some severe offensive droughts at times, still lead UNC Greensboro in nearly every batting category, including runs per game, total hits, doubles and triples. The only advantage the Spartans have is their power-they have hit six more home runs than Duke this season.
The pitching staff, with ace Tony Bajoczky, also owns an advantage with an E.R.A. nearly half a run lower than that of UNC Greensboro's.
The Spartans, however, have shown potential to win games by large margins. UNC Greensboro dominated Davidson, 14-2, a team to which Duke gave up 12 runs. The Spartan offense, while inconsistent, has struck for double-digit runs nine times this year, just three fewer than the Blue Devils' offensive production.
"You can't always look at the numbers," Anderson said. "We've struggled a little bit with our numbers in the ACC, and yet I think we're still a pretty solid club."
Nevertheless, the Blue Devils will finally get the chance to compete as the favorite for the first time in several games.
"Our blueprint is always the same," McNally said. "We have been very consistent in our non-league games, and it's something we're looking to continue."
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