Duke Tops Appalachian State, 8-5

Tuesday, February 22

Durham, N.C.

4:00 P.M.

Duke University

3-1

Appalachian State

2-2

Appalachian State

Duke

Duke Tops Appalachian State, 8-5

2/22/2022 8:56:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score BOX SCORE SEASON STATS COACH POLLARD POSTGAME PHOTO GALLERY

DURHAM – Sophomore southpaw Josh Allen was stellar out of the bullpen as he retired the final six batters to help Duke defeat Appalachian State, 8-5, on Tuesday evening at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Allen was electric in his appearance, earning the save for the Blue Devils. The Oviedo, Fla., native struck out five while facing the minimum number of batters in his two-inning outing.

"We got a lot better tonight by tapping into our depth on the mound," head coach Chris Pollard said. "I was really excited to see Michael Foltz get in there and have the outing he had. Caleb McRoy had his first outing in a Duke uniform and looked really good. I loved the way Jonathan Santucci bounced back. Josh Allen was electric at the end of the game. I really like where our strike percentages are right now."

Sophomore Chad Knight finished 2-for-5, including a three-run home run. Rookies Alex Mooney and Andrew Yu also produced multi-hit outings, each going 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Senior left-handed pitcher Aaron Beasley started on the mound for the Blue Devils in a declared staff day. He allowed two runs on four hits while striking out three in two innings of work. The Mountaineers' Cameron Carter suffered the loss after allowing four runs on two hits and two walks.

Duke trailed 2-0 midway through the third but got on the board via an RBI triple from Mooney. The visitors responded, adding two more in the fourth inning to make it 4-1. In the bottom of the fifth, Knight belted a three-run home run to tie the game. Graduate student Chris Davis gave the Blue Devils the lead with savvy baserunning. Davis reached on a walk and scored from first on a wild pitch and throwing error by the Mountaineers' catcher to give Duke the lead, 5-4.

The Blue Devils added another in the sixth as junior Graham Pauley doubled to score graduate student Wil Hoyle. App State responded with a run of their own in the top of the seventh, but Duke countered with two more in the bottom frame. Sophomore Luke Storm recorded a two-base knock to left field to score Davis before Yu singled to left to plate senior Jake Topolski. Allen entered in the eighth and sealed the game for the Blue Devils.

McRoy earned the win after striking out three batters in his lone inning pitched during his first appearance as a Blue Devil. Foltz made his first collegiate appearance, and it was a strong one. The southpaw out of Myrtle Beach, S.C., retired all three faced in his one inning of work.

Duke travels to Baylor this weekend for its first road trip of the 2022 season. Friday and Saturday's first pitches are set for 4 p.m. while the series finale is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday.

NOTES:

After not recording a hit on opening day, Mooney has produced multi-hit outings in three consecutive games to lead the team.
Davis holds a staggering .579 on-base percentage early in the season, in part due to his nine walks in four games.
Duke has drawn 27 walks in four games, while giving up just 14 on the mound.

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