Blue Devils continue hot streak

As the snow melts and the weather begins to heat up, so do the Blue Devils.

In a tuneup for its first ACC series this weekend, Duke (6-1) defeated UNC-Greensboro 11-3 Wednesday at Jack Coombs Field.

It was a warm and cloudless afternoon, and the Blue Devils' bats were sizzling. By the end of the fourth inning, Duke already had a commanding lead and had all but wrapped up its 10th victory in 11 meetings against the Spartans (1-5). Duke also stretched its winning streak to six following its season-opening loss to LaSalle.

Junior Alex Hassan went 3-for-3 with two walks, two runs and three RBIs. He added his second home run of the young season as part of Duke's six-run fourth inning which broke open the game. His RBI single in the seventh inning capped the Blue Devils' scoring.

All of Duke's runs in the fourth inning came with at least one out. The Blue Devils were held to one hit in the first three innings until catcher Matt Williams singled. Three straight Duke hits followed: a triple by second baseman Gabriel Saade to drive in Williams, a single by Jake Lemmerman to drive in Saade and a double by freshman Will Piwnica-Worms. Following a ground-out, third baseman Ryan McCurdy singled in Piwnica-Worms and Lemmerman. A two-run shot by Hassan wrapped up the scoring for the inning.

One notable player who did not record a hit in the decisive fourth inning was outfielder Jeremy Gould, who came into the game with a 20-game hitting streak dating back to last season. While Gould's streak was snapped Wednesday, several Blue Devils continued offensive tears.

Senior Nate Freiman drove in four runs with two home runs, his third and fourth of the season. His first of the day was a solo shot in the fifth inning to stretch Duke's lead to 7-1. His second, a three-run homer in the sixth, made the score 10-1.

In addition, Lemmerman came into the day batting 3-for-23, but broke out of an early-season slump with two singles, two walks and an RBI.