With a 4-1 loss at Campbell last night, Duke (15-12) has now dropped its last eight in seemingly every fashion imaginable. The Blue Devils got smacked around in Clemson. They stranded too many runners on base against Ohio. They blew multiple leads in Chapel Hill.
And now Duke has fallen to the Fighting Camels (12-14), a team they pounded 9-2 on Feb. 22. This time it wasn’t the pitching that led to the Blue Devils’ downfall. Eric Pfisterer, Drew Van Orden, Dennis O’Grady and Mark Lumpa combined to allow only three earned and six hits over eight.
It was the bats that just didn’t do their part. They had eight hits, tallied nine strikeouts, stranded seven men on base and walked only twice.
Three errors on the other side of the ball didn’t help either.
Pfisterer started for Duke. The junior southpaw had a rough first, surrendering two Campbell doubles that led to an early 1-0 lead. But he struck out the side and wouldn’t allow another hit or run over the next two.
Will Piwnica-Worms responded for the Blue Devils in the third with a triple into right-center field. He scored on a wild pitch the next at-bat to tie the game.
Both managers brought in new pitchers to start the fourth. Van Orden, who relieved Pfisterer, limited the Fighting Camels to a sacrifice fly in the sixth. But that was all the Campbell bullpen needed.
Fighting Camel relievers Ryan Mattes and Matt Marksberry combined to hold Duke scoreless over the final six frames, scattering four hits and two walks while striking out six.
The Blue Devils had a chance to tie it with a man on first and two outs in the eighth. Anthony D’Alessandro drove a two-out double down the left field line, but a strong relay from right fielder Alan Denman and second baseman Ellis Lowe—who also had a hand in each of Campbell’s four runs with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored—nailed Jeff Kremer at the plate.
Two insurance runs in the bottom half of the inning thwarted any hope of a Duke comeback. The Blue Devils went down in order to end the game.
Duke now looks to stem the bleeding at home in a three-game series against No. 10 Georgia Tech this weekend. It’s a tall order, though—the Yellow Jackets come in having won 16 out their past 17.
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