Duke's offense is back.
After riding a six-run second inning to an 8-5 upset of No. 1 Florida State Saturday, the Blue Devils (21-11) continued to re-emerge from their offensive slumber, outslugging Davidson 17-12 on the road Tuesday.
Duke took a 5-0 lead before the Wildcats (15-16) responded with a seven-run fourth. But the Blue Devils tied it with two runs in the fifth and tacked on nine more in the sixth to blow the game open.
"That was a great statement by our offense to tie it at seven," head coach Sean McNally said. "Then we put nine up in the sixth to stretch it out."
Seven of those runs were unearned, as Duke took advantage of a Davidson miscue to put the game out of reach.
"That's what good teams do," McNally said. "When they give you an extra out, you have to take advantage."
Duke did just that, as a dropped fly ball by Davidson third baseman Chris Fitzpatrick on the opening at-bat paved the way for Duke's explosion. Gabriel Saade singled to left to drive in Jeremy Gould and Nate Freiman to break the tie, and 12 Blue Devils came to bat in the inning.
Duke capped off its response with back-to-back home runs by Brett Bartles and Freiman, giving the Blue Devils a 16-7 lead they would never relinquish.
With the win-highlighted by Duke's 19 hits and .442 batting average-the Blue Devils improve to 19-1 in non-conference play. Jimmy Gallagher led the team with a 4-for-6 night at the plate, ripping a home run and three doubles while knocking in five runs.
The game was especially important considering Duke's difficult ACC schedule. The Blue Devils just finished a series with the Seminoles and take on No. 6 Virginia and second-ranked North Carolina the next two weekends. Duke knew it could not afford to look past the Wildcats.
"We knew that Davidson is one of the top offensive teams in the country," McNally said. "We were ready to play."
But not everything went right for the Blue Devils. Davidson scored seven runs in the fourth inning, and Duke's three errors were a cause for concern.
"We've shown throughout the season that we're a very good defensive team," McNally said. "Our defense over the weekend and [Tuesday] was not great, but we have very capable defenders."
Despite struggling on the mound and in the field against the Wildcats, Duke will focus on the offense's breakthrough performance as it prepares for a difficult series against the Cavaliers.
"We're going to carry some momentum out of this game," McNally said. "You have to keep trying to find ways to win, and we're confident we can do that. It was a positive night for us."
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