After making the ACC tournament in 2014, Duke struggled with inconsistency last season. Although the Blue Devils started the year off strong and finished with several signature wins, a seven-game losing streak ultimately cost them an invite back to the ACC tournament.
Just nine games into Duke’s 2016 campaign, the squad is trying to get back on track once again. After winning four of their first five games, the Blue Devils suffered two consecutive defeats last weekend. Although Duke rebounded against Davidson Tuesday, they fell again Wednesday night on the road, scrapping together just four hits in a 5-1 loss at Campbell.
But the Blue Devils will have an opportunity to rebound when they return to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park for a three-game weekend series against Toledo. Duke’s starting pitching rotation will feature its three top aces, with junior right-hander Bailey Clark beginning the series Friday at 6 p.m. Southpaw Trent Swart will start Saturday at 5 p.m, and Cornell transfer Brian McAfee will close out the slate on the mound Sunday at 1 p.m.
The series marks the beginning of a long home stretch, during which the Blue Devils will play 12 consecutive games at the DBAP and try to piece together their most dangerous lineup with the start of ACC play on the horizon.
“We’re still looking at different lineup combinations,” Pollard said. “This gives us one more weekend to look at some different lineup combinations, to get some guys some reps and to get some guys into the game that haven’t been in there yet because of injuries.”
Pollard said he expects sophomore Ryan Day—who has been nursing a hamstring injury—to return against the Rockets.
Although the Blue Devils’ starting pitching rotation features mostly juniors and seniors, Duke’s batting lineup has at times included four freshmen and five sophomores, with mixed results.
Freshmen outfielder Jimmy Herron and shortstop Zack Kone lead the Blue Devils with .368 and .358 batting averages among Blue Devils with at least 15 at-bats, and sophomore centerfielder Evan Dougherty has a team-high three home runs and seven RBIs.
But despite the early success of some of Duke’s youngest hitters, they are continuing to search for consistency at the plate.
Dougherty hit three home runs and Herron and sophomore Max Miller added a combined five hits in Duke’s 8-1 win against Ohio State Feb. 26. But just a day later in a 1-0 loss to Liberty, the Blue Devils (5-4) failed to capitalize when they put men aboard in the three final innings, including loading the bases in the eighth. Duke was held to just five hits against the Flames, with sophomore Peter Zyla notching two and Dougherty picking up a single.
The Blue Devil offense came alive against Davidson, pushing across a season-high nine runs, five of which came in the first inning. But the next evening, Duke once again failed to take advantage of several opportunities when they had runners in scoring position against Campbell.
Pollard attributes his squad’s inconsistency and mistakes to youth, and said that practice time and repetition will help Duke become more consistent as the season continues.
“It takes patience to allow guys room to grow. We spent a lot of time in practice today talking about how Campbell pitched us last night and the adjustments that some guys could have made to adapt to that,” Pollard said. “But those things will correct themselves with experience. We have to be patient with them and give them an opportunity to get out there and get experience…and understand that we have to live with some mistakes as these guys grow as players.”
Duke’s batters will try to get back on track against Toledo’s weekend starting pitchers Steve Calhoun, Ross Achter and Sam Schutes. Calhoun is a 6-foot-7 left-hander who is 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA. Achter—another southpaw—has two losses with an ERA north of 6.00, and Schutes sports a 4.50 ERA.
The Rockets (1-6-1) have struggled in their first eight games with losses against Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Niagara. Although Toledo tied the Buckeyes in their second meeting of a two-game series played in Vero Beach, Fla., and then defeated Charlotte, the Rockets are currently on a three-game losing streak as they head to Durham.
Toledo has relied on home runs and extra base hits to threaten opposing defenses and pitchers. Infielder Dan Zuchowski leads the Rockets’ main lineup with 10 hits in 30 at-bats and owns one of the Rockets' seven round-trippers so far this season.
Pollard said that because the Rockets have to deal with the colder temperatures and snow up north, they have likely practiced mostly inside, and will improve as the weather warms up.
“The biggest thing that jumps out is that they have a lot of power. And obviously the DBAP is a ballpark that is conducive to power,” Pollard said. “They’re a good club. They’re a team that will get better every time that they’re out. At times, that can make for a scary club to play.”
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