DURHAM, N.C. – Nate Freiman stole the spotlight on Senior Night and went 5-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles and three RBI to lead Duke to a 10-5 win over Campbell Tuesday evening at Jack Coombs Field that locked up a perfect 27-0 non-conference record for the Blue Devils.
Led by Freiman’s bat, Duke (35-17-1, 8-17-1 ACC) turned in its first season in school history without a non-conference loss after defeating all 13 non-conference opponents in 2008. Freiman’s outing on Tuesday marked his third multi-home run game of the season and the first five-hit game of his three-year career. The homers were the 10th and 11th of the season for Duke’s 6-8, 240 pound first baseman, who becomes the first Blue Devil since 1998 to reach double digit home runs. He also jumped to 11th place on Duke’s all-time home run list with 23 round trippers in his career.
Senior designated hitter Jonathan Nicolla also homered for the second straight game with a three-run shot in the first inning. The blast was the fifth of the season for Duke’s 6-2, 220 cleanup hitter, matching a single-season high he set as a sophomore.
Nicolla was one of four seniors who played their final home game at Jack Coombs Field on Tuesday. Nicolla, outfielder Kyle Kreick and pitchers Ryan Perry and Ron Causey all contributed in their final appearance in front of their home crowd, with Perry and Causey closing out the game with a combined two innings of hitless relief.
Freshman Grant Monroe (5-3) picked up the win against Campbell (18-34) with five innings of work in which he scattered five hits and four runs and struck out two. He tossed 86 pitches in the outing before handing the ball over to the relief quartet of Michael Ness, John Bunder, Perry and Causey who each threw one inning each.
The Blue Devils received offensive contributions from all around the lineup as eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit. Catcher Matt Williams went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Ryan McCurdy, Alex Hassan and Jake Lemmerman each picked up a pair of hits. Hassan also stole his 13th base of the season and was busy in the outfield, recording a career-high six putouts in center. Comparatively, fellow outfielder Jeremy Gould had just three balls hit his way, but extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single.
The Fighting Camels received a two-RBI effort from leadoff man Brandon Scott along with a 2-for-2 night from third baseman John Watlington. Watlington came off the bench to double and send in a run, while right fielder Mike Causey accounted for the other RBI with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.
Campbell’s starter Travis Smith (0-3) was hit hard and knocked out early after surrendering six runs on eight hits through 1.1 innings of work. He was relieved by the trio of Ryan Gardo, Josh Fish and Jeffery Hoffman, who combined to hold the Blue Devils to four runs (two earned) over the remainder of the game. Fish was the most effective of the group, scattering two hits over three scoreless innings.
Control issues plagued Monroe in the first inning and put Campbell in a position to score, but the Blue Devil freshman escaped a bases-loaded jam by forcing an infield popup. All three Campbell base runners reached with free passes, including two walks and a hit batter. Monroe settled down when he needed to though, forcing Mike Causey to pop up to the mound to end the threat.
The Blue Devils, meanwhile, used their bats to get on base in the first inning and cracked six straight hits to open the game, including a three-run homer from Nicolla. The three-run blast to left field was the second long ball in as many games for Nicolla and sent in Hassan and Freiman who reached with singles. Hassan’s RBI single sent in McCurdy from second base to start the opening rally that continued with base hits from Williams and Gould to follow Nicolla’s bomb. Smith would finally settle in though, and got three straight outs to strand Williams and Gould in scoring position.
Monroe followed by making quick work of the Fighting Camels in the second and retired the side on just eight pitches. Control was not an issue for Monroe in the second, as all eight of his pitches went in for strikes.
Duke’s bats refused to quiet down, however, as the Blue Devils turned in two more runs in the second to go ahead 6-0. Freiman sent in both runs with a two-run homer to left field on a pitch that was below his knees on the outside part of the plate. The line drive shot over the left field wall was the 10th of the season for the 6-8, 240 pound first baseman, who became the first Blue Devil since Ed Conrey in 1998 to reach double digit home runs in a season.
John Watlington recorded Campbell’s first hit in the top of the third with a one-out double to the warning track in the right-center gap, but got no further than second as Monroe sat down two of the next three batters to end the inning. Monroe stranded a pair on base by striking out Causey with a 1-2 change-up that painted the outside corner.
Watlington’s double was a sign of things to come, however, as Campbell’s bats finally came alive in the fourth and cut the deficit to 6-4. The Fighting Camels knocked four hits in the inning, including a two-run double by Scott and an RBI single from Watlington. Scott moved over to third on Watlington’s double and scored four pitches when Monroe balked on a 2-1 offering to Hamme. The balk bumped Watlington up to second base where he would easily have scored from three pitches later had Lemmerman not robbed Hamme of a base hit up the middle. Lemmerman was shaded toward the bag before the hit to hold Watlington on second base and reacted just quick enough to snag a laser back up the middle of Hamme’s bat.
Duke reclaimed three of the runs in the bottom half of the fourth, however, thanks to an RBI double from Williams and a two-out RBI single by Saade. Williams’ two-bagger followed a dropped fly ball by Campbell center fielder Graham Fronk that led to two unearned runs in the inning. Fronk’s error followed a leadoff double by Freiman and allowed him to cruise into third where he scored on a wild pitch just before Williams mashed his RBI double to the left field gap. Gardo followed by getting what should have been the third out of the inning, but instead had to face Saade who came through with an RBI single to left field that scored Williams.
Monroe rebounded from Campbell’s four-run fourth to retire the side once again in the sixth. He needed just eight more pitches to get through the fifth before handing the ball over to Ness at the start of the sixth. Ness was just as effective and used just nine pitches to extend the streak to six straight batters retired through the sixth.
The Fighting Camels would not stay down for long, however, and put their leadoff man on base in the seventh and eventually got him in with a sacrifice fly that cut the deficit to 9-5. Causey sent in the run with a deep fly ball to right field to score Watlington, who was hit by a pitch to start the inning before advancing on a two-strike single Hamme and a balk. The run was credited to Bunder, who took over for Ness at the start of the inning in his first appearance since April 23.
Duke swapped pitchers once more to start the eighth and called on Perry to hold the 9-5 lead in his final appearance at Jack Coombs Field. Perry did anything but savor his final outing at his home field, using just four pitches to sit down the side in order. The scoreless outing extended a streak of 18 innings in which the senior sidearmer has given up just one run and 13 hits.
Already ahead 9-5 heading the bottom of the eighth, Freiman made it an even 10 runs for Duke with a two-out solo shot in the Blue Devils’ last offensive series. Freiman crushed a 1-1 fastball from Hoffman well over the left field wall, moving him from 12th to a tie for 11th place on Duke’s all-time home run list.
Now up 10-5, Duke called on senior reliever and team ERA leader Ron Causey to take the mound to get the final three outs of the game. Causey needed just 10 pitches to end the game, despite having to compensate for a Duke fielding error. The scoreless outing marked the sixth time this season that the senior reliever has come out of the bullpen to hold the opposition without a run and lowered his ERA to an even 1.00 this season.
The Blue Devils will close out their 2008 season with a three-game set at Virginia Tech later this week, beginning with a 5:30 p.m. meeting on Thursday, May 15. An ACC Tournament berth is on the line for the Blue Devils, who can make the eight-team field with a sweep of the Hokies.
