Hassan's Bat And Arm Lead Duke To 5-2 Win Over Quinnipiac

Tuesday, March 11

Durham, N.C.

3:00 PM

Duke University

Quinnipiac

Friday's Baseball Game Postponed Due To Rain

Hassan's Bat And Arm Lead Duke To 5-2 Win Over Quinnipiac

3/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Alex Hassan went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, a run and the go-ahead RBI single while also closing out the final two innings on the mound to lead Duke to a 5-2 win over Quinnipiac Tuesday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

Hassan drove in classmate Gabriel Saade with a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh to give the Blue Devils a 3-2 lead as part of a three-run, tie-breaking seventh inning for Duke (13-2, 1-2 ACC). The sophomore center fielder and pitcher then took the mound with a 5-2 lead to start the eighth and allowed just one hit over the final two innings of the ballgame to pick up his second save of the season.

Hassan took over on the mound for senior right-hander Ryan Perry (2-0), who earned his second win of the season after contributing 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in relief of starter Christopher Manno. Perry gave up just one hit during his time on the mound while striking out three. The senior relief specialist lowered his season ERA to 0.82 with the performance and has now allowed just four hits and one walk over his first 11.0 innings of work.

Senior designated hitter Kyle Kreick contributed two RBI in a 2-for-4 outing and scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh after driving in Duke's first run with an RBI double in the same inning. Catcher Matt Williams and designated hitter Jonathan Nicolla also joined Kreick with multiple hits, as Williams finished 2-for-5 while Nicolla went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly in the sixth that scored Kreick to tie the game. The Blue Devils put together 14 hits in the game, marking the ninth time this season that Duke has had 10 or more base knocks.

Duke swiped six bases against Quinnipiac (1-4), with two coming from Hassan and one each from Saade, Jeremy Gould, Jake Lemmerman and Dennis O'Grady. Five of Duke's bags came in the seventh inning, including both of Hassan's. Hassan single-handedly created a run in that inning by stealing second and third and scoring after drawing an errant throw from the catcher on his second attempt. Hassan owns the team lead with eight stolen bases in 12 attempts, while Saade has gone a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts.

Pete Kummerfeldt and Bryn Doyle each went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Quinnipiac, while starter Eric Weber (0-1) scattered 11 hits and three runs over six innings in his first start of the season. The three runs allowed were just enough to earn Weber the loss, as Duke's pitching staff held the Bobcats to two runs.

Quinnipiac struck first with back-to-back hits in the first inning that produced a 1-0 lead. The consecutive singles from Kummerfeldt and Doyle came with two outs on the board, with Doyle's base hit to right-center sending in center fielder Brian Monack to score from third base.

Duke matched the Bobcats with consecutive hits in the bottom of the first, but could not capitalize with the two runners on base. Williams drove the first base hit into center field, while Hassan followed with an infield single to deep shortstop. Weber kept the runners at bay however, by inducing back-to-back ground balls to end the inning.

Manno settled down after allowing the run in the first the first and retired six of his next seven batters to hold the score at 1-0 through the third inning. Manno racked up four strikeouts through his first three innings, including two in the third. The sophomore southpaw ran into trouble in the top of the fourth, however, as Quinnipiac loaded the bases with two outs after singling and receiving a pair of free passes with a walk and a hit batter. Manno buckled down under the pressure, however, and forced a flyout to right field to escape the inning unharmed

Duke had a chance to knot the score at 1-1 in the next half inning, but the Bobcats came out on the winning end of a play at the plate in the bottom of the fourth. Duke was in the midst of a two-out rally after Nicolla ripped a ground ball through the left side and junior Tim Sherlock followed with a double down the right field line. Nicolla rounded third on Sherlock's double and headed for home, but Quinnipiac right fielder Ben Farina picked up the ball in the corner and hooked up with cutoff man Doyle to gun down Nicolla at the plate.

After saving the run, the Bobcats took advantage of a pair of singles and a balk in the top of the fifth to go ahead 2-0. Manno opened the inning by fielding a bunt and firing to first for an out, but gave up a pair of consecutive singles back up the middle to John Delaney and Kummerfeldt. A balk prior to Kummerfeldt's base knock sent Delaney to second, which was close enough to score Quinnipiac's leading hitter on Kummerfeldt's ensuing single. After the RBI single, Perry took the mound and retired two straight with a pair of groundouts to end the inning.

Meanwhile, Weber had quietly put together five shutout innings for the Bobcats while scattering six Blue Devil hits. The Bobcat senior gave up at least one hit in each inning, but allowed just two Duke runners to get past second base until the Blue Devils finally put together a rally in the sixth.

Duke opened the sixth inning with three straight hits en route to two runs that tied the score at 2-2. Gould dropped a perfect bunt down the third base line and reached first uncontested to open the inning before scoring all the way from first on a double to the left-center gap by Kreick. Lemmerman then punched a base hit through the right side to send Kreick to third, setting up Nicolla to drive him in with a deep fly ball to center field that tied the game.

Perry stayed on the mound through the sixth and seventh and gave up just one hit to keep Duke in the game. Perry walked the leadoff batter to start the seventh, but got some help from his catcher as Williams gunned down the runner at second to foil a stolen base attempt. The caught stealing was the third of the season for Duke's junior backstop.

A go-ahead RBI single from Hassan started a three-run seventh inning in which Duke drove three hits and stole five bases on the way to taking a 5-2 lead. Saade got things started with a line drive base hit through the left side and a stolen base that put him in scoring position. After a Quinnipiac pitching change that sent junior Mike Oskandy to the mound, Williams moved Saade to third with a groundout to the right side just before Hassan sent him in with a base knock to left field. Hassan then stole second and drew a bad throw from catcher Bobak Emamian by stealing third, allowing him to cross the plate standing up. Duke was not done scoring, however, as Gould drew a walk and stolen second before scoring on another RBI base knock from Kreick.

Duke sent Hassan to the mound from center field to start the eighth, and the two-way sophomore needed just six pitches to retire the side and take Duke into the ninth inning. The 6-3, 200 pound right hander then used just 10 more pitches to close out the game in the ninth with a popup, flyout and strikeout.

With the win, Duke is off to the third-best start in school history, matching the 13-2 starts of the 1995 and 1993 Blue Devils. Next up for the Blue Devils is another mid-week home matchup against Richmond on Wednesday, March 12 at 3 p.m. that will precede another three-game ACC series against No. 16 Virginia at Jack Coombs Field.

-d-u-k-e-