Blue Devils Win Two Saturday at Coombs

Saturday, February 21

Durham, N.C. (Jack Coombs Field)

3:00 PM

Duke University

Hartford

[VIDEO] Pepper with Duke Baseball: Nick Hendrix

Blue Devils Win Two Saturday at Coombs

2/21/2015 11:07:00 PM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke picked up two wins on the first day of the 2015 Duke Baseball Classic presented by Homewood Suites by Hilton RDU/RTP, earning a 5-1 victory over Hartford in its first contest before downing Delaware State, 9-4.

“Two things really stood out to me,” said head coach Chris Pollard. “We pitched – we made key pitches in key moments – and our situational offense was very good. When we had opportunities to move guys, we moved them. When we had opportunities to score guys, we scored them. We were very efficient today.”

Game 1
Senior Andrew Istler turned in a solid performance on the mound and redshirt sophomore Jalen Phillips posted a 3-for-5 outing to lead Duke (4-1) past Hartford (1-1) in the Blue Devils' home opener.

Istler (1-0) allowed one run on six hits over six innings of work, recording the sixth quality start of his Duke career. The Wellington, Fla., native struck out six and walked just one to set the tone for the Duke pitching staff.

Junior Nick Hendrix followed Istler's performance with three scoreless innings in relief. Hendrix earned his first save of the season, scattering three hits and striking out one.

Phillips' three hits led the Blue Devils as the Duke right fielder totaled two singles and his first career triple to go along with a pair of runs scored. Freshman Jack Labosky was 2-for-3 at the plate and reached base in three of his four plate appearances.

In the bottom of the first, sophomore Cris Perez belted a two-run double, scoring Phillips and freshman Evan Dougherty, to give Duke a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. Hartford trimmed the advantage to one run on Trey Stover's fourth-inning RBI single before the Blue Devils plated three unanswered runs to close out the game.

Phillips tripled with one out in the fifth and scored Duke's third run after Hartford reliever Austin Barnes hit three Duke batters in the frame. The Blue Devils tacked on two more runs in the sixth, aided by a Hawk defensive miscue.

Hartford starter Brian Murphy took the loss. Murphy permitted two runs on five hits in his four innings of action, striking out six.

Game 2
Six of Duke's nine hits went for extra bases in the Blue Devils' 9-4 victory over MEAC foe Delaware State (0-5). Freshman Justin Bellinger registered three hits, including a pair of doubles, to lead the Blue Devils.

The Blue Devils started six freshmen in the nightcap. Rookie lefthander Chris McGrath started on the mound, pitching two scoreless innings. Freshman right fielder Peter Zyla logged his first career hit, driving a single to right in the seventh.

Freshman Jack Labosky made his collegiate debut on the mound and earned the victory after allowing just one run on two hits. Labosky pitched two innings and struck out three.

For the second straight game, Duke scored in the first. Senior Andy Perez led off with a double and came home on a Phillips' sacrifice fly.

Labosky and Bellinger knocked back-to-back doubles to kick off the second. Labosky would later score on Max Miller's sacrifice fly, while Bellinger crossed home on a Kenny Koplove RBI groundout.

Duke's fourth run came in the third as C. Perez drilled an RBI double, plating Phillips.

The Hornets' Cameron Onderko laced an RBI double in the fourth to record Delaware State's first run of the game. A three-run DSU eighth, bolstered by Jaylen Zielicki's two-run triple, trimmed the margin to 8-4. Duke countered with a run in the bottom half and freshman Mitch Stallings pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the win.

The Blue Devils wrap up the Duke Baseball Classic Sunday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m., taking on Iona at Jack Coombs Field.

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