With the youth of the team and so many changes to the schedule due to constant snow, it might be expected for the Blue Devils to falter. Instead, however, they are in the midst of an eight-game win streak.
Duke will play host to Liberty Tuesday at Jack Coombs Field with first pitch set for 4 p.m. The Blue Devils have seen two straight weekends of rescheduled action during their eight-game win streak but have risen to the challenge well. They are also off to their best start to a season since 2008, when the program opened the season with a 12-0 mark.
Head coach Chris Pollard’s squad is just two games away from tying the longest win streak the program has had during his tenure, when the team won 10 straight games between April 13 and May 4 last season.
“We haven’t really talked about [the win streak] at all,” Pollard said. “We take a mantra that we take it each and focus on getting better and living in the moment…. We know we’re facing a really good Liberty team.”
Although the pitching staff—which will be led by freshman Ryan Day Tuesday—has been as good as advertised to start the season—Duke (9-1) has a team ERA of 1.74 through its first 10 games along with a 9.9 K/9—the offense has experienced some inconsistency.
So far this season, the Blue Devil offense has scored five or more runs in a contest six times but has also scored two runs or less four times. This weekend in particular, Duke won its first two contests by scoring a combined three runs, then exploded for 11 in the finale. Part of this inconsistency may be due in part to the lack of experience in the Blue Devil lineup.
Three of the regulars in Pollard’s lineup are freshmen—Justin Bellinger, Jack Labosky and Evan Dougherty. And although Labosky currently leads the team batting average, Bellinger is batting .216 and Dougherty is batting a team-low .194 among the seven players who have started all 10 games so far this year.
Despite these particular woes, however, the trio has contributed significantly to the offense at times this season. Dougherty, the starting centerfielder, leads the team in runs scored and Bellinger has the only home run for Duke this season. Just as importantly, both have also yet to commit an error this year.
Pollard said there are kinks to be worked out among his players in terms of their approach at the plate, but with a weekend series at No. 20 North Carolina looming on the horizon, it will be important for the Blue Devils to master this inconsistency and focus on the Flames.
“We have a saying in the program of ‘You gotta be where your feet are’,” Pollard said. “We’ll worry about this weekend when we get to Friday but first things first. We needed some rest [Monday]… and then we’ll get out there [Tuesday] and get about the business of getting better.”
This is the third consecutive season that Duke will face off against the Flames (6-4). Pollard’s squad has come up short on all three occasions.
The Blue Devils, though, has played Liberty close in each of those three contests. In 2013, they dropped the lone game of the year against the Flames 4-3. Last season, Duke took Liberty 11 innings at home before the road squad managed a six-run inning to seal the win and then dropped the road contest in Lynchburg, Va., 4-3.
Liberty is playing back-to-back games against Tobacco Road foes this week with its first matchup coming Monday against the Tar Heels. The Flames fell 6-4 to North Carolina.
“[Liberty] plays North Carolina tonight which is advantageous,” Pollard said. “We’ll be able to watch that game on the Internet and glean some things not only on Liberty, but also on Carolina.”
After sitting a week with tightness in his right forearm, Duke ace Michael Matuella returned to the diamond Sunday night to throw one inning of shut out work.
Although the right-hander from Great Falls, Va., will not see action Tuesday, Pollard said that if Matuella continues to feel good though the week then he is expected to start this weekend against North Carolina.
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