An early lead didn’t turn into the rout Duke might have hoped for against N.C. A&T Tuesday evening at Jack Coombs Field.
Instead, the Blue Devils (24-18) needed a rally in the bottom of the ninth to put away the Aggies (19-23)—who appeared the better team for much of the night—in a midweek nonconference game.
After jumping out to a 1-0 lead when catcher Ryan McCurdy scored on a single off of an error in the bottom of the first inning, Duke failed to put another run on the board until the bottom of the ninth, when Will Piwnica-Worms scored off a single from Dennis O’Grady in the last half-inning.
The statistics don’t show it, but this was a pitchers’ duel—Duke recorded six hits and N.C. A&T managed 10, but neither side was able to turn those hits into runs. For the Blue Devils, started Eric Pfisterer scattered nine hits in a 7.1-inning no-decision, and the bullpen did well after Pfisterer exited. Jonathan Foreman and Christopher Manno did not allow any runs in 2.1 innings of work.
For the Aggies, starting pitcher Nick Oelker produced a dominant performance. Oelker, a sophomore, pitched a complete game, gave up just two runs and still picked up the loss, a rarity after such a high-quality start.
Duke has one more midweek meeting with a local opponent, High Point, Wednesday night. After that, the Blue Devils’ opposition takes a giant step up: Duke is set to host Virginia, a key ACC rival and the No. 2 team in the country. The Blue Devils will meet the Cavaliers in a three-game set beginning Friday.
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