DURHAM, N.C. – Enrique Garcia tossed eight innings of one run baseball to lead second-ranked Miami to an 8-1 win Saturday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field while clinching a three-game series over the Blue Devils.
Garcia (1-0) hurled 107 pitches while striking out five and retiring 15 straight hitters over his last five innings of work. He benefited from a perfect defensive effort from his teammates, as Miami went without an error for the second straight game while also turning a double play. The win was the second of the series for Miami, who held on for a 7-5 win in extra innings Friday night.
Due to the threat of inclement weather, game three of the series will start an hour ahead of schedule on Sunday with the first pitch slated to be thrown at noon.
Garcia also received offensive support from nearly every member of Miami’s (21-1, 9-1 ACC) offense, as seven different Hurricanes contributed an RBI. Center fielder Blake Tekotte, sophomore shortstop Ryan Jackson and junior outfielder Adan Severino each collected three hits, while Jackson crossed the plate twice.
Duke’s lone RBI came off the bat of Jeremy Gould as the sophomore left fielder connected on a two-out single in the bottom of the third to drive in Ryan McCurdy from second base. McCurdy was one of two Blue Devils to reach base more than once after being hit by a pair of pitches in his first two at bats. Senior designated hitter Jonathan Nicolla reached with a single and a walk, while Matt Williams and Kyle Kreick also contributed singles.
Blue Devil sophomore Will Currier (2-4) was effective as Duke’s starter, but came out on the short end of three Duke fielding errors in a five-run third inning for the Hurricanes. Currier scattered seven hits over 5.2 innings, but allowed six runs to cross the plate, though just two were earned.
Duke put a pair of runners on base in the first inning, but came away empty handed after Miami third baseman Mark Sobolewski turned a double play on a ground ball down the third base line. The double play erased a walk drawn by Gabriel Saade and ended the inning.
Currier gave up a leadoff single to start the second, but his defense bailed him out after McCurdy converted a ground ball into a base-clearing double play. Jackson tried to keep the rally going after doubling down the left field line, but was left stranded on second when Currier struck out Severino swinging on three straight pitches, including an 0-2 breaking ball that started belt high before sharply diving into the dirt.
Currier continued to be effective in the third, but suffered from three Duke fielding errors in the inning to give up five runs, four of which were unearned. The Hurricanes banged just two hits in the inning, including a single from Tekotte and a two-out RBI single from Severino. The inning was kept alive by the three Duke fielding errors, including consecutive faults that allowed a pair of runs to score. The three errors in the inning matched Duke’s season-high for errors in a single game, which the Blue Devils have reached for just the second time this season.
Duke took back one of the runs in the fourth after stringing together a pair of singles after McCurdy reached base with his second hit by pitch of the game. After McCurdy was granted his third free pass of the series, Williams beat out an infield single to third base to put runners at first and second with one out. Garcia then retired the next hitter for the second out, but Gould came through with a two-out single up the middle to drive in McCurdy for his 13th two-out RBI of the season.
Currier rebounded from the scoring outburst in the third to retire the side in order in the fourth before contributing another scoreless outing in the fifth. He picked up the first two outs in the sixth before Duke brought in reliever Ryan Knott to get out of a first-and-second jam with two outs. The freshman right-hander struggled with his control at first, issuing a pair of walks to Miami’s three and four hitters to send in a run before being bailed out of the inning by McCurdy, who stopped a potential two-run single after diving to his glove side and coming up with a ground ball to end the inning. The earned run allowed by Knott was the first of the season for the Huntley, Ill., product, who had maintained a 0.00 ERA through his first five appearances.
Meanwhile, Garcia matched Currier’s performance, holding Duke without a hit over the next three innings while retiring nine straight after issuing a walk to Nicolla to start the fourth. Garcia picked up a pair of strikeouts over that span to bring his total to five in the game while keeping Miami’s 6-1 lead intact into the seventh inning.
Garcia got some more run support in the seventh off of a two-out RBI single from Tekotte. Tekotte’s base knock drove in Jackson after the Miami shortstop reached with a single before moving to second after a walk and tagging up on a fly ball to foul territory in right field.
Garcia kept cruising through the seventh and eighth, retiring the side in order to continue a run of 15 straight outs. He was rewarded with one more run in the top of the ninth that came on a sacrifice fly ball from catcher Jason Hagerty. Hagerty’s sac fly drove in Jackson from third after the Miami shortstop reached with his second double of the game before advancing to third on an ensuing single from Severino.
With an 8-1 lead intact, Garcia called it a day and handed the ball to Miami reliever Iden Nazario. Nazario allowed Kreick to reach base after the Blue Devil senior beat out a dribbler down the third base line for Duke’s fourth single of the game. He quickly shut down the rally though after dishing out a pair of strikeouts to end the game.
Duke will look to block a sweep on Sunday as the teams meet for the series finale at noon at Jack Coombs Field. Freshman right-hander Grant Monroe (4-1, 3.46 ERA) has the ball for Duke, while Miami will send right-handed sophomore Alex Koronis.
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