Duke Drops Game Two At Georgia Tech 4-2

Saturday, March 22

Atlanta, Ga.

2:00 PM

Duke University

Georgia Tech

Duke Welcomes Longwood and Davidson For Pair Of Early Mid-Week Meetings

Duke Drops Game Two At Georgia Tech 4-2

3/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. -- Eddie Burns held Duke to two runs over seven innings while Brad Rulon closed out the game with two innings of scoreless relief to lock up a 4-2 Georgia Tech win over the Blue Devils Saturday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.

Burns (3-1) had a no-hit bid through the first half of the game before Duke sophomore Ryan McCurdy broke it up with an infield single with two outs in the top of the fifth. The 6-8 Georgia Tech right-hander scattered four hits over his seven innings while delivering 94 pitches and striking out four. Rulon took over in the eighth and gave up just two hits over the final two innings to pick up his first save of the season.

Freshman center fielder Jeff Rowland added a home run and two runs in a 2-for-3 outing for the Yellow Jackets (17-4, 5-3 ACC), while freshman Derek Dietrich and senior Brad Feltes also added RBI.

Will Currier (2-3) went six strong innings for Duke, but was credited with the loss after giving up two runs over his six innings of work. Currier tied a season-high with six strikeouts and had at least one K in all but the third inning. Freshman Dennis O'Grady turned in another solid relief outing for Duke (18-5, 3-5 ACC), closing out the final two innings of the game without allowing a runner to reach base. Through 13.2 innings on the season, O'Grady has yet to allow a run to score while surrendering just six hits and no walks.

Sophomore center fielder Alex Hassan and senior first baseman Kyle Kreick had the lone RBI for Duke (18-5, 3-5 ACC), while McCurdy went 2-for-4 with a run. Catcher Matt Williams scored Duke's other run after reaching base three times with a walk and two hit by pitches.

For the second time in the series, Georgia Tech took the first lead of the game with an RBI double in the first inning. Dietrich drove in the run after ripping an 0-1 offering down the right field line with two outs to send outfielder Charlie Blackmon across the plate from first base. Duke nearly got out of the inning unharmed after Gabriel Saade and Jake Lemmerman turned Duke?s 14th double play of the season, but Blackmon followed by taking a pitch in the back before Dietrich sent him all the way around with his team-leading sixth two-bagger of the season.

After failing to move a runner past first base in the first three innings, Duke finally put together a scoring opportunity in the fourth after Williams drew a walk to open the inning before advancing to third on a pair of groundouts. Burns nixed game-tying situation, however, with an inning-ending strikeout to keep Georgia Tech's 1-0 lead intact.

Currier returned the favor in the bottom of the fourth, stifling a Georgia Tech rally to keep the deficit manageable at just one run. After retiring the first hitter, Currier surrendered a walk to first baseman Luke Murton before forcing a flyout for the second out of the inning. Georgia Tech left fielder Jay Dantzler kept the inning going, however, with a line drive into left field that just escaped the grasp of a leaping Lemmerman at shortstop. The single moved Murton to second, setting up a first-and-second scenario for Georgia Tech catcher Jason Haniger. The runners would advance no further, however, as Currier got out of the jam though by sending Haniger back to the bench with a perfectly-placed 1-2 fastball that painted the outside corner.

Duke finally got on the board in the fifth when Hassan tied the game at 1-1 with a two-out RBI single. Duke strung together two singles and a walk with two outs on the board to break up Burns' no-hitter while erasing a 1-0 deficit. McCurdy started the rally with an infield single up the middle before moving into scoring position after Tim Sherlock drew a 3-1 walk. Hassan then stepped into the box and drilled the first pitch he saw into left field, sending McCurdy to third where he was waived home by head coach Sean McNally. Dantzler's throw to the plate from left field was off-line, forcing shortstop Dietrich to cut it off to allow McCurdy to cross the plate uncontested.

The 1-1 stalemate did not last long, however, as a leadoff home run by Rowland in the bottom half of the fifth regained the Georgia Tech lead. Rowland's bomb to right-center field came on a 2-0 count and was the second of the season for the freshman center fielder.

Currier stayed on the mound to start the sixth and plunked the designated hitter Chase Burnette to start the inning, but received some help from Williams behind the plate to clear the bases. After Currier issued a strikeout to Dantzler, Burnette took off for second on the first pitch to the next batter. He did not make it very far though, as Williams fired to Lemmerman at second base to catch Burnette by two steps for his eighth runner caught stealing of the season. Currier then ended the inning with his second consecutive strikeout for his sixth on the day.

Following a scoreless sixth for the Blue Devils, senior right-hander Ryan Perry took the mound to start the seventh and faced three hitters before being pulled in favor of O'Grady. Perry walked Rowland to lead off the inning before the Georgia Tech center fielder stole second to put himself in scoring position. Thomas Nichols then ripped a ground ball to the hole at shortstop, which was backhanded by Lemmerman but ended up by the first base dugout after Lemmerman misfired to first base in an attempt to throw out Nichols. Rowland scored from second on the play, while Nichols advanced to second. Blackmon then drew another walk to put runners at first and second, prompting Duke to send O'Grady to the mound. With no outs on the board, O'Grady retired the next three hitters and limited the damage to just one run after giving up a sacrifice fly ball to Brad Feltes.

Duke got one of the runs back to cut the deficit to 4-2 in the top of the eighth, thanks to an RBI single from Kreick. Burns turned the ball over to Rulon in the inning after allowing the first two runners to reach scoring position with no outs. The scoring opportunity arose out of a Yellow Jacket fielding error after Rowland misplayed a deep fly ball off Gould's bat to the warning track in right-center field, allowing it to bounce out of his glove to allow Williams to advance to third and Gould to second. Rulon then took the mound and took Kreick into a full count before the Blue Devil senior poked a single through the right side to send in Williams and cut the deficit to two runs.

O'Grady kept Duke in the game by retiring the side in order in the bottom of the eighth, needing just seven pitches to hold the score at 4-2. With the two scoreless innings of relief, O'Grady has now opened his inaugural campaign with a 13-inning scoreless streak over a span of five appearances, including six shutout innings in his first career start.

Rulon was just as effective, however, and came out in the ninth to retire the bottom of Duke's lineup in order.

Duke will look to block a series sweep tomorrow, as the teams meet for the final game at 1 p.m. at Russ Chandler Stadium. Duke will then return home briefly for a single affair against Brown on Tuesday, March 25 at 3 p.m. before taking on N.C. Central at Durham Athletic Park on Wednesday, home of the Durham Bulls.

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