Blue Devils Bounce Back With 5-4 Win Over Hokies

Saturday, March 7

Durham, N.C.

2:00 PM

Duke University

Virginia Tech

Blue Devils Bounce Back With 5-4 Win Over Hokies

3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Jake Lemmerman sent in the game-winning run with a two-out infield single in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Duke a 5-4 win over Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

Lemmerman's hit was a slow roller up the middle with runners at the corners that Virginia Tech second baseman Tony Balisteri could do little with besides knock it down to keep it in front of him. The base knock scored Duke junior Jeremy Gould from third base after the Blue Devil three-hitter started the rally with a double for his fourth hit of the ballgame.

It was the second hit and RBI of the game for Lemmerman, who also reached with an RBI double in the third inning for one of Duke's four extra-base knocks in the contest. Gould, Alex Hassan and Nate Freiman also doubled in the game.

Hassan's double was one of two hits in the game for him, as he finished 2-for-4 with three runs and came onto the mound in relief to pick up the win. Also doubling as Duke's closer, Hassan (1-0) pitched the eighth and ninth innings, giving up one run and two hits while striking out two.

Duke starter Andrew Wolcott walked away with a no-decision after another solid seven-inning outing that saw him give up just three runs ? two earned ? on four hits. Wolcott fanned seven Hokies and walked three, giving him 21 strikeouts through 21 innings on the season, compared to just four walks.

Virginia Tech right fielder Austin Wates was responsible for stealing Wolcott's win after he blasted a solo home run off of Hassan with two outs in the top of the eighth to tie the game at 4-3. His bomb was just Virginia Tech's fifth hit of the ball game at that point, however, as Wolcott and Hassan combined to hold the Hokies to just six hits on the day. Two of those left the park, as Steve Bumbry also mashed a two-run homer in the fifth.

The game started out as a pitcher's duel, as Wolcott and Virginia Tech starter Justin Wright combined to hold both lineups to just two hits over the first two frames. Wright was the first to falter, however, when the Blue Devils tagged him for four hits ? including three doubles ? in the third inning on the way to a 2-0 lead. Hassan and Freiman started the rally with a pair of doubles for the first run, and Matt Williams followed with a single to put runners at the corners. With just one out on the board, Lemmerman followed with a two-base knock down the left field line that sent in Freiman for Duke's second run before Wright was able to get out of the inning with the bases loaded.

Virginia Tech threatened to take back at least one of those runs in the top half of the fourth after opening the inning with a single from Steve Domecus and a hit-by-pitch against Wates to put two men on with no outs. But Wolcott got some help from his defense to escape the inning unharmed, as Hassan ran down a deep fly ball to the warning track in right field for the first out. The big fly allowed Domecus to advance to third, but Duke's defense bailed out Wolcott once again. With runners at the corners and just one out, Ty Hohman hit a weak ground ball down the third base line that Duke third baseman Ryan McCurdy fielded. Domecus took off for home on the roller, but McCurdy came up firing to the plate just in time to hit Williams, who blocked the plate and applied the tag for the second out. Wates moved to second on the play, but was soon after picked off by Wolcott to end the inning.

Ahead 2-0 after stifling the rally, Duke tacked on another run in the fourth on an RBI fielder's choice ground ball by Williams. Williams' groundout came with the bases loaded and sent in Hassan, who started the rally once again by drawing a walk. He also stole third in the inning to put himself in scoring position before Williams sent him in with a ground ball down the third base line that Hokie three- bagger Michael Seaborn fielded and converted into an unassisted out at his base.

Virginia Tech finally got on the board in the fifth, thanks to a two-run homer from Bumbry. Bumbry's bomb scored designated hitter Ronnie Shaban, who opened the inning with a walk. The blast did little to shake Wolcott's composure, however, as the 6-6, 240 pound right-hander rebounded to sit down the next two hitters to end the inning.

With their lead cut to 3-2, Duke went to work once again in the sixth and put up another run on a sacrifice fly by Williams. The deep fly scored Hassan from third after the Duke two-hitter opened the frame with his second hit of the day. He moved over to third on an ensuing single to right field by Gould before Williams mashed his fly ball to center field to send in his second RBI of the day.

Wolcott was almost able to leave the game with just two runs allowed, but a Duke fielding error allowed the Hokies to send in an unearned run and trim Duke's lead to 4-3. The run scored with two outs when Virginia Tech had runners at the corners, and Bumbry tried to steal second before Wolcott delivered to the plate. Wolcott stepped off and fired to his second baseman to force Bumbry back to first, but the ensuing throw to first was over Freiman's head and rolled to the Virginia Tech dugout. Hohman, who was standing on third, easily scored on the play to give Virginia Tech a one-run deficit to overcome.

Marc Zecchino, who was brought in by Virginia Tech in the fourth, shut down Duke in the bottom of the seventh to take the game into the eighth with Duke leading 4-3. The Blue Devils then sent Hassan to the mound to close out the final two innings, and he was one out away from ending the inning after retiring his first two batters. Wates refused to let him leave with the lead intact, however, and mashed a 3-1 offering into the trees in left field to tie the game at 4-4.

With the score now tied and the heart of Duke's order ready to step into the box, Virginia Tech called on closer Jesse Hahn to take the mound. He started out by forcing Hassan to fly out to right, but could not get the next pitch past Gould, as the Duke left fielder ripped a first-pitch double down the left field line to give Duke a runner in scoring position with one out. Hahn had no choice but to issue an intentional walk to Freiman ? his second of the game ? to put runners at first and second for Williams. Williams then slapped a 2-2 offering to the right side, and Freiman baited the second baseman Balisteri into trying to tag him out in the base path. The trick worked in Duke's favor, as Balisteri hesitated just long enough to flip the ball to second with no chance of converting the double play. With runners now on the corners and two outs, Lemmerman stepped into the box and punched a slow roller to the right of the pitcher's mound that Balisteri approached, but bobbled to allow Gould to score uncontested from third base.

That run would be all Hassan needed to close out the game, as the 6-4, 200 pound right-hander worked his way through a tough ninth inning to pick up his first win of the season. The Hokies mounted a late rally that started with a leadoff single by Shaban and continued with a walk drawn by Balisteri, but Hassan put it to rest by striking out Buddy Sosnoskie to end the game.

With the series tied at 1-1, Duke and Virginia Tech will face off in the rubber game on Sunday, March 8, at 1 p.m. Starters for either team have yet to be announced.

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