No one won steak Tuesday by hitting the giant bull in left field at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
But hitting the bull was just about the only thing the Blue Devils didn't do Tuesday night, as Duke defeated crosstown rival N.C. Central 16-3.
The Eagles (4-13) are building their young program, but still have field to cover to compete with the area ACC schools, as the annual showdown of the two Durham schools turned into an offensive showcase for the Blue Devils (18-9).
Sophomore Tom Luciano got things going in a hurry for Duke, manufacturing a run on his own leading off the first inning. After laying down a bunt to reach first base, Luciano safely advanced to second after N.C. Central catcher Robert Grant bobbled a pitch. On the next pitch, Luciano stole third, and he came home after the throw from Grant sailed over the head of Eagles third baseman David Scott.
After Luciano's effort in the first, a pair of seniors stole the show. Matt Williams belted a pair of RBI singles to center in the third and fourth innings to fuel the Blue Devil offense, and Nate Freiman notched a pair of RBIs on a double to left-center in the third. The 6-foot-8 slugger broke for third base during the next at-bat for his first stolen base of the season before being driven home by junior Jeremy Gould.
"We were having a lot of fun tonight," said Frieman. "The guys were playing loose, playing relaxed. It's fun to play in this ballpark, and we were just relaxed out there, swinging the bats and good things happened-."
Williams reached base three times on the night, adding a walk in the fifth.
Meanwhile, Freiman was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, as well as a walk. Gould did his part to support the duo with three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Head coach Sean McNally partially attributed Duke's rallying ability to its success at the plate with two outs.
"We haven't done a lot with two outs this year," said McNally. "It's been a point of emphasis for us, and it's nice to see those guys put together some good at-bats all the way through."
After a rough day Sunday-Duke dropped both games of a doubleheader to ACC rival Wake Forest-the Blue Devil pitching staff came out strong against N.C. Central. Freshman starter Trevor Cesar (2-1) had a solid outing for Duke, keeping the ball in the infield for the majority of his five-inning appearance and registering five strikeouts.
"My fastball was coming out of my hand really well, getting a lot of movement," Cesar said. "About the third inning we changed it up and started going inside. That was their weakness, so we just pounded the fastballs in there. And as soon as we got two strikes, we just threw the curveball low and they couldn't hit it."
The Blue Devils will likely need another solid outing from Cesar later this week, as they play Elon tomorrow and head south for a crucial conference series against Clemson this weekend.
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