Duke drops 2 to Miami, 3rd canceled due to rain

With victories over then-No. 2 North Carolina, No. 16 Virginia and No. 17 Georgia Tech, Duke has shown it can defeat top-ranked opponents.

But over the weekend, the Hurricanes and rain wiped out any hope of the Blue Devils pulling off an upset, as Duke (21-7, 4-7 in the ACC) fell to No. 2 Miami (21-2, 8-1) 7-5 in 10 innings Friday, and 8-1 Saturday. Sunday's tilt was cancelled because of inclement weather in the bottom of the first inning with the Blue Devils leading 1-0.

Just like in last weekend's series against Georgia Tech, Duke had its chances to win the opening game. Although the Hurricanes struck quickly in Game One, with a four-run first inning highlighted by rightfielder Dennis Raben's two-run double, starting pitcher Andrew Wolcott settled down after the rough start to allow just four hits and one run over the ensuing frames.

Duke's offense finally started to help out its pitcher in the fifth, when the Blue Devils erupted for five runs to tie the game. Neither team could produce any offense after that, though, and Duke went into extra innings for the second time this season.

After reliever Michael Ness gave up a single to Jemile Weeks and walked Yonder Alonso in the 10th frame, Raben struck again, doubling in two runs. The Blue Devils refused to quit, though, as Jon Nicolla drilled a single to right field with two outs in the bottom of the inning. Freshman Ben Condon pinch-ran for Nicolla, and Ryan McCurdy got him to third base with a hopper over the first baseman. Freshman Jake Lemmerman came to the plate and hit a soft grounder to third base that Miami's Mark Sobolewski bobbled briefly. But Sobolewski finally gained a handle on the ball, and his throw just beat out Lemmerman's slide at first, sealing the Miami victory.

Saturday's game saw a surprising performance from Hurricanes pitcher Enrique Garcia, who came into the game with a 7.53 ERA. But the righty pitched brilliantly, holding Duke to just one run and retiring 15 straight batters to end his eight-inning performance.

Will Currier took the loss, as Miami put up six runs on the sophomore, although only two of them were earned.

Duke travels to Chestnut Hill, Mass. for a three-game set against Boston College (11-14) next weekend. The Blue Devils have yet to lose to a team ranked lower than No. 17 in the nation.