With an old face back in the lineup and a surprise pitching performance Sunday, Duke pulled off its first ACC-series victory since last year.
The Blue Devils (25-17, 6-15 in the ACC) series win finally came when they defeated Maryland (23-20, 7-14) Sunday 4-2 at Jack Coombs Field. In the other two outings, Duke dominated the Terrapins 11-1 Saturday but fell in an 11-inning marathon 5-4 Friday night.
"We feel like we've played well enough on Sundays-just not for nine innings," head coach Sean McNally said. "Today, we really put it together and played a really quality game."
Saturday, senior ace Tony Bajoczky continued his tear through conference competition, pitching just the second complete game of his career for his eighth win on the season. He struck out seven batters and allowed eight hits, with the lone run coming off a home run that barely cleared the fence in right field in the sixth inning.
Bajoczky only allowed more than one hit in an inning twice, and in both frames-the fifth and the ninth-Duke already had built 8-0 and 11-1 leads, respectively.
The surprise of the weekend, though, came Sunday when Andrew Wolcott took the mound. With expected starter Jonathan Anderson unable to pitch, the team turned to the sophomore pitcher, who had a 3-3 record and the highest ERA among the starters going into the contest. Having lost every ACC game this season in which Bajoczky did not start, the odds did not appear to be in the Blue Devils' favor.
Wolcott, however, threw a six-inning gem that matched Bajoczky's performance, striking out a career-high nine.
"Getting a strikeout just takes pressure off your defense," McNally said. "You don't have to make as many plays."
All the run support Wolcott needed came just two innings into the matchup.
Sophomore Nate Freiman led off the second inning with a towering home run to left field off a 1-1 count to give Duke the first run of the game. Three pitches later, junior Brett Bartles hit a home run so high that the Terrapins' left fielder lost track of the ball. Freshman Alexander Hassan drove the ball to right for a triple, and after sophomore Tim Sherlock struck out, freshman Gabriel Saade stepped up to the plate for a chance to build on the Duke lead.
Saade hit the ball deep to right center, driving in Hassan. As Saade rounded second, he tried for third, but the right fielder's throw got to the base before he could.
Nevertheless, the weekend served as an on-the-field redemption for Saade. The shortstop, who said he had been dismissed briefly for undisclosed actions and was recently reinstated, made several outstanding fielding plays in the series.
"I was just excited to be back on the team," Saade said. "We always come out here and give it all for Tony and it was good to give it to someone else finally."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.