Baseball Hits the Road for Series at No. 3 Georgia Tech

Friday, May 8

Atlanta, Ga.

7 p.m.

Duke University

Georgia Tech

Baseball Hits the Road for Series at No. 3 Georgia Tech

5/7/2026 2:54:00 PM | Baseball

Watch (ACCNX)Live Stats Duke Notes (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke travels to No. 3 Georgia Tech for the final road conference series of the Blue Devils' season, with the Yellow Jackets serving as the second consecutive top-three team Duke has faced in conference action.

Duke is set to take on back-to-back top-three foes in ACC play for the first time since 2007, when the Blue Devils took on No. 3 Virginia (April 6-8, 2007) and No. 2 North Carolina (April 13-15, 2007) in consecutive three-game sets.

Friday's series opener is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's game will start at 3 p.m., with the series finale slated for a 1 p.m. start. All three games will stream live on ACC Network Extra.

FRIDAY (5/8)
Duke at No. 3 Georgia Tech
7 p.m. (ET) – Russ Chandler Stadium
VIDEO – A CCNX
Duke – RHP – Peter Lemke
Georgia Tech – RHP – Tate McKee

SATURDAY (5/9)
Duke at No. 3 Georgia Tech
3 p.m. (ET) – Russ Chandler Stadium
VIDEO – ACCNX
Duke – RHP – Aidan Weaver
Georgia Tech – TBA

SUNDAY (5/10)
Duke at No. 3 Georgia Tech
1 p.m. (ET) – Russ Chandler Stadium
VIDEO – ACCNX
Duke – RHP – Andy Leon
Georgia Tech – RHP – Jackson Blakely

QUICK HITS

Duke is coming off four consecutive games against No. 2 North Carolina, taking one of three in a conference series on April 23-25, before dropping a non-conference contest in Chapel Hill on Sunday, May 3, and a Tuesday night setback to Queens.
In the ACC series against the Tar Heels, the Blue Devils played to a close 3-1 defeat in the series opener before taking the second contest, 3-1, behind a career outing by Peter Lemke. North Carolina claimed the series with a run-rule win in the rubber match.
Lemke, Duke's projected Friday starter against the Yellow Jackets, worked 7.2 innings on the mound against North Carolina, while getting tagged for a single run that scored after he exited in the eighth inning. The transfer from Division III Denison set new personal bests for innings pitched and total pitches (101) at the D-I level and earned his second win of the season.
Duke scored all three of its runs in the first frame, with a fielding error and throwing error allowing both base runners, Kaden Smith and Matthew Strand, along with the batter, Michael DiMartini, to round the bases and touch home plate.
Strand has started at catcher in all but two games since February 28, after both Cider Canon and Nolan Johnson suffered early injuries this season. Catcher was a position of strength entering the season, but Strand has taken on the bulk role in stride.
Overall, the third-string catcher has evolved into one of Duke's most dangerous bats, with a .305 average at the plate, a .989 OPS and a team-high 36 RBI. The Samford transfer led the team at the plate in March and hit seven home runs, with 22 RBI. Strand slashed .365/.423/.794 across 16 games in March and two of his homers were grand slams against ACC competition.
Smith and DiMartini both registered multi-homer games against Queens. Smith, Duke's designated hitter since the spring transfer returned from a stress fracture in his leg, reached double-digit homers with his two blasts against the Royals. DiMartini hit his seventh and eighth homers of the season on Tuesday night.
INF Coltin Quagliano ranks as the second-best infielder in the country for defensive runs saved (DRS), at 14.66. Quagliano is just one of two position players in top six nationally for DRS and has made several highlight plays on defense, including a jump throw from the third-base foul territory to get the batter at first base at NC State. The graduate has played and started at the hot corner in all but one game this season.
INF/OF RJ Hamilton has been a steady starter, consistently batting second in Duke's lineup. The transfer from Vanderbilt is slashing .327/.430/.528 and blasted the sixth home run of his season in the first inning against Queens on Tuesday, May 5. The speedster is the only Blue Devil with at least 20 stolen bases and is 25-for-29 on the basepaths.
Hamilton had a hitting streak reach 15 games with a base knock in the first game of the doubleheader at Boston College, but after having his streak snapped in the nightcap against the Eagles, he has logged at least one hit in all but one game since, good for a stretch of at least one hit in 20 of his last 22 games.
Duke currently sits at 132 stolen bases this season, tied for eighth in the country.
The Blue Devils set a new program record for stolen bases in a season on March 31, with a double steal in the first inning against Davidson that moved the Blue Devils' season total to 108, surpassing the previous record of 106.
INF Collin Anderson has stepped into a consistent starting role for Duke's infield and led Duke at the plate in its three-game series against Louisville April 2-4. The freshman went 7-of-13 (.538), including a double and a home run. On defense, Anderson made several highlight plays at both second base and shortstop, while committing just four errors all season. At NC State, Anderson flashed the leather in the Sunday finale, with a diving stop at second to end a Wolfpack threat in the late innings.
OF Tyler Albright has already worked 40 walks this season, 10th most nationally. The senior missed four games while in concussion protocol but through 39 games played, Albright is nearly 90% of the way to his previous season-high of 45, set last year in 62 games. The outfielder moved to leadoff to open the Miami series, with Albright's patience at the plate and base-running ability cited by Duke head coach Corey Muscara for the shift in lineup. Albright has also absorbed seven hit-by-pitches, and currently holds the best on-base percentage of his career (.441).