The independent news organization of Duke University
More than a quarter of the way through the baseball season, the Blue Zone checks in on some Duke graduates playing professional ball.
A year ago, the Blue Devils embarked on a remarkable journey from a middle-of-the-pack ACC program—one that had only dipped its toes in the postseason—to conference champions and a legitimate threat to climb higher.
It’s been six weeks since the professional baseball season started up following a chaotic offseason featuring a lockout and some big-name moves, so it is about time we catch up with the former Duke baseball players both in the majors and climbing the ranks in the minors.
On the brink of elimination from postseason contention and feeling the heat, the Blue Devils pulled through to avoid a sweep at the hands of its rivals from Raleigh.
This era of Duke baseball has been defined by early-season rust and late-season surges. But in 2022, it’s been too much rust and not enough surge.
Duke went on to secure an 8-4 win Saturday before clawing its way to a 15-14 victory Sunday, even as Georgia Tech almost surmounted a seven-run gap.
After getting swept in their last two ACC series, the Blue Devils took all three games from No. 10 Notre Dame at Jack Coombs Field to remind the rest of the conference that the defending ACC champs are not to be counted out just yet.
Two outs, bases loaded, bottom of the 13th inning. Tie game.
Duke struggled throughout the contest, never really finding its footing when it needed it, primarily attributable to a change in pitching strategy by North Carolina that Duke didn’t adjust to.
Duke escaped its three-game weekend series at Baylor with a tight loss Friday and a split double-header Sunday that was, to put it lightly, a mess.
“I think it's kind of like Duke baseball's identity: We have guys that step up and pick each other up at any given time, so we don't count anyone out,” said Chad Knight. “And it's really helpful when you know you have 40 other guys in the dugout you can turn to that are going to pick you up, and 40 other guys that you can trust.”
“I think that's going to be a theme for this year: That there's a lot of contribution from a lot of different players,” said Chris Crabtree. “And it's awesome to see as a leader. It's awesome to see everybody doing what they can and contributing in special ways that they know they can.”
As the Hall of Famer Roger Hornsby said, all that you can do in winter is “stare out the window and wait for spring.” The calendar may still say winter, but baseball is back.
Coming in at No. 5: Duke baseball wins the ACC tournament over N.C. State, capping off an unexpected late-season rally and securing the program's first conference championship since the Kennedy administration.
Duke enters the 2021-22 season after a 33-22 campaign had it barely reach the conference tournament, only to claim the championship and advance to the Knoxville, Tenn. regional where it was eliminated after three games.
The program announced its 56-game schedule for the 2022 spring season, and once again its going to be a gauntlet to get through.
With the minor league regular season behind us, the Blue Zone takes a look at the Duke players in the ranks of professional baseball and how they finished up this season.
Despite a lack of major leaguers, Duke baseball has not failed to deliver some quality talent to the professional ladder. With two recent promotions and the draft finished, the Blue Zone takes a look at former Blue Devils impressing at all levels in professional baseball.
Five Blue Devils heard their names called in the MLB Draft.
With Duke baseball out of the NCAA tournament and the July draft looming, the Blue Zone takes a look at how some former Blue Devil stars are faring in the professional ranks.