Duke started its 2012 campaign on a rainy day in Austin against Texas. Similar to the weather, the team’s play improved as the weekend progressed.
The Blue Devils (1-2) won the series finale Sunday, but the Longhorns (2-1) took both games in a Saturday doubleheader to clinch the series.
Marcus Stroman took the mound for Duke in the series opener. Stroman, considered to be the ACC’s top pitching prospect, worked out of a pair of jams in the first and third inning after allowing multiple baserunners. Texas was able to put a run on the board in the fourth when Brooks Marlow launched a home run over the rightfield fence. Marlow also hit a home run in the fifth inning, this time with a man on base to push the Longhorn lead to 3-0. Mark Payton hit a triple in the sixth, scoring one and securing a 4-0 Texas victory.
Stroman finished the day allowing three runs on four hits in five innings of work, also walking a career-high six batters in a losing effort.
“[Stroman] was more amped up because it was the opener,” head coach Sean McNally said. “His command wasn’t great and Texas is a patient offense. He’ll continue to get sharper as we play more.”
The Blue Devil offense started to click in the second game of the doubleheader. With a man on second and third in the second inning, Andy Perez hit a grounder to third baseman Erich Weiss, knocking Will Piwnica-Worms home. Jordan Betts then scored after Weiss threw the ball out of the first baseman’s reach.
The Longhorns responded in the bottom half of the inning, when Payton and Marlow combined for three RBIs to give Texas a 3-2 lead. A walk and a passed ball in the fourth scored two more Texas runs, giving the Longhorns a lead they would not give up, winning by a final score of 5-3.
Duke was able to keep the Texas offense at bay in the series finale. Starting pitcher Robert Huber, a Plano, Texas native, struck out three batters in a row in the first inning, and from the second inning through the sixth inning, the right-hander retired 14 of 17 batters.
“It was an unbelievable win in front of family and friends,” Huber said. “To not let our team go without a win was really important and was a great win for me personally.”
The Blue Devil offense also made some noise. Perez hit an RBI single in the second to score Jeff Kremer, who went 3-for-3 on the day and 5-for-11 in the series. Duke scored two runs in the third and ninth innings, respectively. Longhorn Kevin Lusson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, but the Blue Devils took the game 5-2.
“It was a really good start for us on a number of levels,” McNally said. “It was a great environment and it was great to get the club out here playing against tough competition in a hostile environment. We played great in all three games.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.