Big Inning Propels Duke Past No. 15 North Carolina, 9-3

Saturday, March 19

Durham, N.C.

6:00 P.M.

Duke University

11-8, 0

North Carolina

16-3, 0

North Carolina

Duke

Big Inning Propels Duke Past No. 15 North Carolina, 9-3

3/19/2022 10:28:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score BOX SCORE SEASON STATS COACH POLLARD POSTGAME PHOTO GALLERY

DURHAM – After a back and forth opening three innings, Duke used a six-run fourth inning to power past No. 15 North Carolina, 9-3, on Saturday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in downtown Durham.

Duke improved to 11-8 on the season and 2-3 in conference play. The 15th-ranked Tar Heels were dealt their first conference loss, dropping to 16-3 and 4-1.

"I thought our offense was really complete for the first half of the game," Duke head coach Chris Pollard said. "We used the ability to move guys, outs to score guys, had first and third offense going and then we had the two big blasts. We talked a lot as a team about using team offense, situation offense, to get our overall offense going and I thought that happened tonight."

Senior RJ Schreck and sophomore Luke Storm led the Blue Devils offensively. Schreck finished 3-for-4 with a trio of runs scored. Storm finished 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs.

Sophomore Luke Fox started on the mound for the Blue Devils, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks in four innings of work. Classmate Josh Allen entered in relief of Fox, earning the win after allowing no runs or hits in 1.2 innings pitched. Allen improved to 1-1 on the season.

North Carolina's Shaddon Peevyhouse was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk in 0.2 innings in relief.

Duke and North Carolina were knotted at three through three innings, before a six-run fourth inning broke open the game for the Blue Devils. Sophomore Alex Stone hit a two-run home run to start the scoring, a 427-foot blast to left field. After graduate student Wil Hoyle and Schreck singled, junior Graham Pauley recorded a two-RBI single with two outs. Storm capped off the inning with a homer in the next at-bat, his second in as many games.

The Tar Heels threatened in the sixth inning, loading the bases. Graduate student John Natoli entered for the Blue Devils, winning a nine-pitch at-bat against Tomas Frick with a strikeout to get Duke out of the jam. Natoli finished with two strikeouts while facing the minimum in 1.1 innings of work for his fourth consecutive scoreless appearance.

Senior Jimmy Loper closed for Duke, allowing just two hits and striking out four in two innings of work. In all, the Duke bullpen combined to allow just two hits and two walks while striking out seven in five scoreless innings of work.

The rubber game of the series between Duke and North Carolina is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday at the DBAP. Tickets are $12 and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

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