Blues Devils Win Series, Fall in Finale

Saturday, April 25

Durham, N.C. (Jack Coombs Field)

12:00 PM

Duke University

Virginia Tech

Blues Devils Win Series, Fall in Finale

4/27/2015 10:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke completed the 4-3 victory from Saturday's suspended game to win the ACC series over Virginia Tech before falling, 11-3, in the finale Sunday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

Duke (24-19, 7-16 ACC) and Virginia Tech (20-24, 9-14 ACC) resumed action from Saturday's game in the bottom of the seventh with the Blue Devils holding a 4-3 lead. Freshman Mitch Stallings recorded the first two outs of the eighth before giving way to junior Kenny Koplove. Koplove retired all four Hokie batters he faced to earn his ninth save of the season and second in as many games.

“We competed well on the bump and defensively after the game was suspended,” said head coach Chris Pollard. “I was really proud and impressed with the job by Kenny Koplove.”

The Blue Devils built the one-run lead through six and a half innings Saturday before rain delayed the contest's conclusion. Duke wasted little time putting runs on the board, staking a 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the opening frame. Senior Andy Perez walked and freshman Max Miller was hit by a pitch to lead things off. Freshman Peter Zyla laid down the sacrifice bunt and sophomore Cris Perez delivered the two-out, two-run single.

Virginia Tech picked up an unearned run to start the second. Designated hitter Phil Sciretta singled to start the frame and ultimately wound up scoring on a Saige Jenco back knock after a dropped infield popup extended the inning.

Freshman Evan Dougherty added an RBI double down the right field line in the bottom half to again establish a two-run Duke lead. Koplove scored on the play after notching one-out base hit.

Virginia Tech's Brendon Hayden blasted a two-run double off the center field wall in the top of the seventh to draw the Hokies within one run. After battling rainy conditions all day, the game was then suspended in the bottom half.

Redshirt senior Dillon Haviland (2-1) earned the victory after pitching five innings without allowing an earned run. Haviland scattered four hits, struck out a season-high five and walked four.

The Blue Devils were not as fortunate in the series finale as the Hokies utilized nine hits and 11 walks in the 11-3 decision. Virginia Tech broke the game open with an eight-run sixth, capitalizing on four walks in the frame.

“I thought we got off to a good start; we had some chances early on,” Pollard said. “[Packy] Naughton made some good pitches to get off the field. They put the big inning on the board in the sixth. A lot of that was self-imposed. We haven't done that a lot this year. We just have to learn from that.”

The middle of the Hokie order did the bulk of the damage. Alex Perez, Hayden and Erik Payne combined for six hits, four runs and five RBI in the contest.

Duke scored its three runs over the eighth and ninth innings. Zyla added an RBI single, while senior Reed Anthes recorded an RBI groundout. Dougherty drove in a run in the ninth with a base hit that plated redshirt junior Cameron Neal.

Sophomore Bailey Clark (2-4) suffered the loss, while Virginia Tech's Packy Naughton (2-1) earned the win. Clark allowed three runs on five hits over 3.1 innings. Naughton tossed six scoreless frames, yielding three hits while striking out four and walking three.

Following the conclusion of the series finale, team members shaved their heads as part of their annual Vs. Cancer fundraiser. The Blue Devils have raised $6,300 this year to support both the Duke Children's Hospital and national pediatric cancer research.

Duke returns to Jack Coombs Field Sunday, May 3 to host N.C. Central in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.

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