Offense Erupts, Duke Blanks Davidson Tuesday

Tuesday, April 1

Durham, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

20-10

Davidson

11-16

Davidson

Duke

Offense Erupts, Duke Blanks Davidson Tuesday

4/1/2025 9:42:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. – Graduate Jake Hyde's grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning, secured the Blue Devils' first shutout victory of the season, and first since 2024, as Duke (20-10) blanked Davidson (11-16), 12-0 at Jack Coombs Field Tuesday.

After allowing two runners to reach base, junior right-hander Gabe Nard settled into the moment, escaping a second and third jam to keep the game scoreless after the first inning. Senior captain Andrew Yu hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning, giving Duke its first lead.

The Blue Devils continued to push the issue on offense, registering 12 walks in the contest, including a new career-high four from Wallace Clark. Duke added to its lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Ben Rounds hit a solo home run to left center field, while Jake Berger flew out to left field to score Yu from third. Hyde collected his first two RBI of the night, singling to center field, increasing the Blue Devils lead to 5-0.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Hyde put the game out of reach, crushing a two-out two-strike grand slam to left field, knocking in four more RBI for his day. The six RBI are one shy of his career high. Nard secured the win in the spot start, improving to 4-1 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning, as Andrew Yu hit a solo home run to left center field, 1-0.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Ben Rounds hit a solo home run to left center field. Jake Berger fouled out to left field to score Andrew Yu, before Jake Hyde singled to center field to score a pair, 5-0.
The Blue Devils added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Berger singled to left center field to score a pair. Hyde hit a grand slam to left field, 11-0.
Duke tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, 12-0.

NOTES

Senior Wallace Clark extended his reached base streak to 30 games on Tuesday, drawing a walk to open the game. Clark did not record an official at-bat on Tuesday, scoring two runs on four walks. The four walks are a new career-high for the Tulsa, Oklahoma native.
Duke improved to 211-69 (.754) when scoring first and 231-50 (.822) when scoring three-plus runs in an inning since 2016.
The Blue Devils improved to 10-0 in 2025 when scoring 10-plus runs in a contest and 46-1 since 2023.
Duke shutout Davidson Tuesday for the first one of the season, marking the first shutout since February 23, 2024, when the Blue Devils blanked Northwestern 2-0.
Graduate Jake Hyde finished the evening with a 2-for-3 line, hitting a grand slam and producing six RBI. The six RBI are one shy of his career-high.
Graduate Jake Berger held a 1-for-2 line on Tuesday, collecting four RBI, tying a career-high for the Harvard transfer.
Duke's pitching staff combined to three-hit the Wildcats at Jack Coombs Field. Gabe Nard and Max Stammel led the way with two innings of work a piece. Nard improved to 4-1 on the season with the win.

QUOTES

"I thought that we came out a little bit flat tonight honestly. Credit to Davidson, they put a lot of runs on the board and are batting close to .300 on the season and close to 50 home runs on the season so far. They put some runners on there and took some good swings to ambush us a little bit. I thought that Andrew Yu and the job he did behind the plate was incredible. If he doesn't make two amazing plays, they are up 2-0 going to the bottom of the first. Then he turns around and with one swing of the bat gives us the lead. After the second inning I thought we settled in and played a really good baseball game. I don't know if it was a little bit of an emotional high from the weekend, or looking ahead a little bit, but we settled in and played well. I thought it was a great job of two-out hitting all night long. Jake Hyde with a couple of fantastic two-out at-bats. Jake Berger had one as well. I thought we pitched really well as well against a really good offense." – Head coach Chris Pollard on the slow start and finding a way to settle into the ballgame.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils step back into ACC play this weekend, traveling to Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., for a three-game series with No. 19 North Carolina. First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 7 p.m. and can be broadcast live on ACCN.

For more information on Duke Baseball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "DukeBASE".

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