Blue Devils & Pirates Split Sunday?s Doubleheader

Sunday, February 12

Durham, N.C.

11:00 AM

Duke University

Seton Hall

Maryland Edges Duke, 5-3, In ACC Baseball

Blue Devils & Pirates Split Sunday?s Doubleheader

2/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? The Duke Blue Devils and Seton Hall Pirates split Sunday's doubleheader at Jack Coombs Field to close out their three-game series. Duke won game one, 3-2, while Seton Hall won game two, 7-5.

The Blue Devils won the season series over the Pirates, improving to 2-2 on the year. Seton Hall begins its season 1-2.

“I feel good about the way we played,” said Duke Head Coach Sean McNally. “The goal every time is to win the series and we were able to do that. We can take a lot of positives out of this weekend. We got a lot of guys more experience. To win two out of three is a good weekend for us.”

Duke fell behind early in game one, allowing Seton Hall to score two runs in the top of the first inning. After Duke starter Nate Freiman got center fielder Matt Smedberg to fly out to right, left fielder Mark Pappas roped a single to left. Freiman then walked right fielder Brandon Cohen before leaving the game with one out in the opening frame. Duke freshman Andrew Wolcott came on in relief and gave up an RBI-double to first baseman John Walsh down the left field line. Cohen scored on the following at-bat when Pirates starter Dan McDonald grounded out to second, giving Seton Hall a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Devils answered with one run of their own in the bottom half of the frame, scoring on a passed ball. First baseman Jonathan Anderson reached base and advanced to second on a throwing error by McDonald. Anderson then advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a passed ball to cut Seton Hall's lead to 2-1.

Anderson led off the bottom of the third inning with a single to left before stealing second to give Duke a runner in scoring position. Sherlock then laced an RBI-single up the middle, scoring Anderson to tie the game at 2-2.

Duke grabbed a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning and held on for the win in game one. With one out, Anderson singled up the middle. Anderson then advanced to second base on a throwing error by McDonald on a pick-off attempt before advancing to third on a balk. Sherlock followed with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Anderson to give the Blue Devils their first lead of the game.

Junior Danny Otero (1-0) picked up the win for Duke, holding the Pirates to two hits and no runs in 3.0 innings of work. Wolcott added 3.2 scoreless innings for the Blue Devils in his first collegiate appearance. The two Duke relievers recorded three strikeouts apiece in the win.

Seton Hall starter Dan McDonald (0-1) suffered his first loss of the season, allowing three runs on six hits in 6.0 innings pitched.

Anderson led the way for the Blue Devils at the plate in game one, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Sherlock was 1-for-1 with two RBI while shortstop Brett Bartles, designated hitter Jeff Blickman and left fielder Javier Socorro each went 1-for-3.

In game two, Seton Hall again jumped out to an early lead, this time scoring three runs in the third inning. Shortstop Robbie Hine lined a two-run single through the right side to score McDonald and third baseman Greg Miller. Center fielder Dan Lopez followed with a sacrifice fly to right to score catcher Matt Skopak for the 3-0 lead.

The Blue Devils again answered in the bottom half of the inning, scoring twice in the frame to cut the deficit to one run. Catcher Ron Causey led off the second inning with a single to center field. Causey then advanced to second and third on consecutive balks called on Seton Hall reliever Scott Fisher. Second baseman Adam Murray then reached on a throwing error by Miller which allowed Causey to score from third. After third baseman Jonathan Nicolla drew a walk, designated hitter Matt Williams bunted Murray and Nicolla over to give Duke two runners in scoring position. Sherlock then laced a two-out RBI-single through the left side to score Murray from third.

Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Blue Devils scored three runs on three hits to take a 5-4 lead. Bartles led off the inning by drawing a walk before advancing to second on a passed ball. After center fielder Jimmy Gallagher was walked, Socorro singled to right to load the bases. Causey then hit into a 6-4-3 double play that allowed Bartles to score from third. Murray followed with an RBI-single to right to tie the game at 4-4. Murray then stole second and scored on an RBI-single by Nicolla to give Duke its first lead of the game.

Seton Hall tied the game at 6-6 in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI-double by Lopez. The Pirates then took a 7-5 lead in the seventh on an RBI-double by McDonald and an RBI-single by Miller.

Chris Basso (1-0) picked up the win for Seton Hall, holding the Blue Devils to five hits and no runs in 3.1 innings of relief. Corey Young earned his first career save by pitching a scoreless ninth inning. Duke reliever Tony Bajoczky (0-2) suffered his second loss of the season, allowing three runs on seven hits in 3.0 innings of work. Blue Devils starter Jimmy Saris lasted 5.0 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out four.

Murray went 1-for-5 in game two with two RBI and two runs scored. Causey was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored while Sherlock went 2-for-5 with an RBI and Nicolla was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Anderson and Bartles both went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Blue Devils in Sunday's nightcap.

The Duke baseball team will return to action on Wednesday at Elon at 3 p.m. for their only game of the week. Elon (1-1) is coming off Saturday's 2-1 win over 14th-ranked South Carolina.

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