No. 6 Duke baseball recovers from 5-run deficit to clinch series win against Virginia Tech

With the stakes high, the Blue Devils came into game three of a weekend series against Virginia Tech feeling the pressure to triumph against a strong team. The Hokies, looking for a big-time home upset, certainly looked confident in the middle of the game. In the end however, No. 6 Duke rode two late home runs to come out on top 13-10, winning a nail-biting series that saw its first two games each come down to extra innings and the third tied heading into the ninth. 

While the Blue Devils (29-11, 13-8 in the ACC) found themselves down by five runs at the end of the sixth, things began to swing the other direction. A fielder’s choice scored a run for the visitors and a base hit put Ben Miller on third. Miller then scored on a ground ball, closing the lead to three runs. Then with two runners on, it was first baseman Logan Bravo who catapulted one over the wall in center-left field to tie the contest at nine apiece. Bravo, who dropped the ball Saturday on the final play, redeemed himself in a big way Sunday. 

That said, the wheels began to come off in the bottom of the inning. Pitcher Fran Oschell walked his first batter and beaned the second, putting a man on first and second to start. He followed that up with yet another walk to load the bases with just one out, as James Tallon came in to relieve Oschell. Tallon threw a wild pitch, allowing the Hokies (25-12, 12-9) to score on the passed ball and giving them the lead. 

The Blue Devils did not hesitate to respond in the top of the eighth, as Wallace Clark mashed one over the center-field wall to tie the game. Duke faced a scare with a deep shot in the bottom of the inning, but outfielder Devin Obee snagged it over the wall to rob the home run. A combined effort from Aidan Weaver and Owen Proksch ended the inning 10-10. 

Ultimately, it was AJ Gracia who gave Duke the go-ahead run. He hammered a ball deep into right field, continuing a strong game for the freshman phenom. Following that up with a man on base was Obee, who crushed one into the batter’s eye to extend the lead to three. Ultimately, that final margin proved to be too wide. Charlie Beilenson came in to close things out in the ninth, handling business and sending the Blue Devils back to Durham with the series win. 

It was the freshman Gracia who got the Blue Devils going early. He hit one off the end of his bat into right field, but the ball had just enough strength behind it to clear the fence and send graduate second baseman Zac Morris home. Duke had given itself an early two-run cushion. Despite a solid opening inning, graduate pitcher Tim Noone quickly found himself replaced. Righty David Boisvert came in to pitch the second, likely due to the heavy concentration of right-handed hitters in the second half of the Hokie order. 

After an inning from Boisvert, he was yanked for sophomore right-handed pitcher Gabriel Nard. Despite third baseman Ben Miller smashing one over the fence to tack on another run and widen the margin to three, Virginia Tech began to push back. The third inning quickly turned into a barrage, as the Hokies took advantage of a series of errors to score more runs. After an overthrow that could have ended the inning, two final runs came around to give the hosts a 5-3 lead. 

Despite a promising fifth inning that put runners on first and second, two consecutive strikeouts from Miller and Gracia stranded the potential points to end the frame. The Hokies took advantage and began to bring the pressure in the bottom. A solo home run from Eddie Micheletti opened the frame, and a pair of walks followed by some wild pitches helped the home team extend the lead to four runs.