Bartles? Grand Slam Highlights Seven-Run Sixth Inning In Duke?s 13-7 Win Over Seton Hall

Friday, February 10

Durham, N.C.

3:00 PM

Duke University

Seton Hall

Smith?s Fourth-Inning Grand Slam Leads East Carolina Past Duke

Bartles? Grand Slam Highlights Seven-Run Sixth Inning In Duke?s 13-7 Win Over Seton Hall

2/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Sophomore Brett Bartles hit a towering grand slam over the left field wall in a seven-run sixth inning for the Duke baseball team as the Blue Devils captured their first win of the season, defeating Seton Hall, 13-7, on Friday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field. The Blue Devils improve to 1-1 on the year while the Pirates fall to 0-1.

The win also marked the first collegiate victory for first-year head coach Sean McNally.

“It was a good win,” McNally said. “I feel good for the kids. We played hard all the way through. I thought we really played the game. Situationally, we hit pretty well. It's a good feeling and a good win.”

Leading 4-1 entering the bottom of the sixth, Duke third baseman Jonathan Nicolla led off the inning with a single to right field. Catcher Matt Williams followed with another single to right and center fielder Jonathan Anderson added a bunt single to load the bases. Nicolla then scored on a wild pitch while Williams and Anderson each moved up a base. After Pirates reliever Pete VandenBout walked right fielder Tim Sherlock to load the bases, Seton Hall skipper Rob Sheppard brought in right-handed reliever Andy McNulty to face Bartles. Bartles answered by blasting his first career home run to give Duke a 9-1 lead.

After McNulty walked pitcher Jimmy Gallagher and hit first baseman Nate Freiman, left fielder Javier Socorro flew out to left, advancing Gallagher to third to give the Blue Devils runners at the corners. Gallagher then scored on a passed ball while Freiman advanced to second. After second baseman Adam Murray grounded out to shortstop, Nicolla capped the seven-run inning with an RBI-double to left center, scoring Freiman to give the Blue Devils a ten-run lead at 11-1.

Prior to the seven-run sixth inning, Duke took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of fifth. Williams started the inning with a single to right center which was followed by a bunt single from Anderson. Sherlock then drew a walk from Seton Hall starter Dan Merklinger to load the bases. VandenBout came in to replace Merklinger and gave up a bases-loaded walk to Bartles to give Duke a 1-0 lead. Gallagher followed with a sacrifice fly to right to score Anderson from third. Freiman then laced an RBI-double off the right field wall to plate Sherlock and advance Bartles to third base. Socorro finished the four-run inning with a sacrifice fly, scoring Bartles to right to give the Blue Devils a four-run lead.

“The key to those innings was getting good pitches to hit and guys who didn't get pitches took walks and got on base,” McNally said. “If they don't give you a pitch to hit, the next guy has to get the job done. I thought we really relied on each other pretty well there and that's how you score runs.”

Seton Hall made it an 11-3 game with one run in the top of the sixth and two runs in the top of the seventh before Duke pushed its lead back to ten with two runs in the bottom half of the eighth inning. Gallagher led off the inning with a walk and then advanced to second on a single by Freiman. After McNulty hit Socorro to load the bases, Murray hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Gallagher. Nicolla then singled through the left side, scoring Freiman to cap Duke's offensive outburst.

Gallagher (1-0) picked up his first career win, holding the Pirates to three hits in 5.0 scoreless innings. He also struck out a career-high six batters in his third career start. Merklinger (0-1) suffered his first loss of the year, allowing three runs on five hits in 4.0 innings of work.

“I thought Jimmy Gallagher really battled out there,” stated McNally. “He threw the ball well. He pounded the (strike) zone. It was a good start for him and a really important start for us because that was a tight game early. He did a nice job keeping it right where it was and giving us a chance to score and take control of the game.”

Bartles finished the day 1-for-4 from the plate with two runs scored and a career-high 5 RBI. Nicolla collected a career-high four hits, going 4-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored while Freiman was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate with two runs scored and one RBI. Anderson went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Socorro was 1-for-3 with an RBI for the Blue Devils.

Right fielder Brandon Cohen led Seton Hall at the plate, going 3-for-4 on the day with two RBI and two runs scored. First baseman Mark Pappas went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored and left fielder Dan Lopez added two hits and a run for the Pirates.

Seton Hall scored four runs in the top of the ninth to make it a six-run game but that was as close as they would get. After allowing four runs on three hits in the top of the frame in his first collegiate appearance, freshman right-hander Colin Ratcliffe struck out shortstop Tim McCann to end the game.

The Duke baseball team will host Seton Hall for the second game of a three-game series tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Jack Coombs Field. Sunday's series finale is scheduled for noon.

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