Manno Strikes Out 12 Through Six Scoreless Innings In 10-1 Win Over Clemson

Saturday, April 19

Durham, N.C.

2:00 PM

Duke University

Clemson

Manno Strikes Out 12 Through Six Scoreless Innings In 10-1 Win Over Clemson

4/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? In his first career weekend start, Christopher Manno struck out a career-high 12 batters through six shutout innings and received two home runs from Nate Freiman and four RBI from Matt Williams to back a 10-1 Duke win over Clemson Saturday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

Manno (4-0) was untouchable in his first two innings, as it took the Tigers (19-20, 7-13 ACC) eight batters before they were able to put a ball in play against the left-hander. They were only able to manage four hits off the 6-1, 160 pound sophomore, who fired 112 pitches en route to his third straight scoreless start. Manno struck out six straight from the first through third inning and fanned at least one batter in each of his five-plus innings, including three in the second and fourth innings. Manno has not allowed a run to score in his last 12.2 innings of work and raised his strikeout average to an ACC-leading 14.22 per nine innings.

Manno exited with a 3-0 lead in the fifth before Duke (27-13, 6-13 ACC) busted the game open with a five-run sixth inning that featured a three-run double from Williams and a two-run home run from Freiman, which was his second of the game. Williams finished 1-for-4 with four RBI and a pair of runs, while Freiman reached base in all five of his plate appearances with three hits, a walk and a hit by pitch. Freiman drove in three RBI with his two home runs and is now batting .514 over his last eight games with four home runs, 17 RBI and seven multi-hit outings.

The Blue Devils also received RBI from sophomores Alex Hassan and Gabriel Saade, while freshman Jake Lemmerman and sophomore Ryan McCurdy each contributed a pair of runs. Hassan also notched his fifth save of the season after holding the Tigers to three hits and one over the final 3.1 innings of the game.

The Blue Devils hammered Clemson starter Graham Stoneburner (4-2) for eight runs on eight hits over 5.2 innings. Seven of the runs were earned, with one Blue Devil receiving a free pass to first after a Clemson fielding error. Reliever Clinton McKinney tossed the final two innings for the Tigers, giving up one earned and one unearned run on two hits.

Clemson's lone run scored on a Duke throwing error in the seventh inning. Shortstop Matt Sanders scored the run after doubling in the inning.

Manno was sharp as usual in his first inning and added two more strikeouts to the team-leading 47 he had entering the game. He walked leadoff man Mike Freeman after losing a 3-2 count to start the game, but followed by blowing a 1-2 fastball by Jeff Schaus for the first out. He then took three-hitter Doug Hogan into a 3-2 count before picking off Freeman at first base for his third pickoff of the season. With the bases cleared, he blew his next pitch past Hogan for the final out.

The Blue Devils followed by putting a pair of runners on base with two outs in the bottom of the first, but Stoneburner stifled the rally with a well-timed strikeout to end the threat. Stoneburner retired the first two batters and nearly put Freiman away after jumping ahead 0-2 in the count, but the Blue Devil first baseman was patient enough to watch the next four pitches go by to draw a walk. Cleanup hitter Jeremy Gould then followed with a base hit up the middle to move Freiman to second, setting up a potential RBI situation for second baseman Gabriel Saade. Saade and Stoneburner battled into a 3-2 count, but Stoneburner came away on the winning side after painting the outside corner with a called strike to end the scoring threat.

Manno stayed dialed in and kept dealing in the second to strike out the side in order and extend a streak of five straight punchouts. Through two full innings, the Tigers had yet to put a ball in play against the sophomore left-hander.

Meanwhile, Duke continued to make good contact against Stoneburner and it paid off with a run in the second inning. Duke got some help in the inning from a Clemson passed ball that allowed designated hitter Jonathan Nicolla to score from third after the senior designated hitter led off the inning with a single. Senior Kyle Kreick also ripped a single in the second to follow Nicolla's base knock before Lemmerman moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Stoneburner nearly escaped the jam after inducing a foulout for the second out, but Hassan battled him into a 2-2 count before his next offering escaped Hogan's grasp behind the plate. The ball rolled to the backstop, giving Nicolla just enough time to score from third.

Manno extended his streak to six straight strikeouts in the third before Clemson finally put a ball in play. Their first fair ball was off the bat of designated hitter Adam Ward, but hit right back at Manno who snagged it and flipped to first base for the second out. J.D. Burgess then broke up the early no-hit bid with a two-out single to left field, but got no further than first base as Manno issued his seventh strikeout of the game to Freeman.

Stoneburner ran into control problems in the third, and the Blue Devils took advantage to load the bases and score a run for a 2-0 lead. Stoneburner did a good job of limiting the damage to one run, however, despite having to make up for a Clemson fielding error in the inning. The error came on the same play that gave Duke its run when Saade ripped a ground ball to Sanders at shortstop with the bases loaded. His grounder easily scored Williams from third, but resulted in another bases loaded situation when Burgess dropped a short throw from Sanders to third base. Still without an out, Stoneburner regained his form and struck out Nicolla before escaping the jam with a double play ground ball back to the mound. He picked up the ball himself and immediately fired to the plate for the force out before Hogan completed the turn by firing to first for the third out.

Manno encountered his own control issues in the top of the fourth and gave up a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases with one out. The loss of command was only temporary though, as he followed by dishing out two consecutive strikeouts to strand all three runners.

Freiman added to Duke's lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth that improved Duke's advantage to 3-0. The opposite field blast stayed just inside the right-field foul pole for Freiman's sixth homer of the season and his third in the last eight games.

Manno stayed on to start the sixth and picked up his career-high 12th strikeout of the game before handing the ball to Hassan with two outs on the board. Hassan inherited a first-and-third situation after Manno walked Hogan and gave up a single through the right side to Wilson Boyd. But even with Clemson threatening to cut into Duke's thin lead, Hassan needed just three pitches to induce an inning-ending groundout to keep the 3-0 lead and Manno's scoreless five-plus innings intact.

Duke's three-run lead suddenly ballooned to 8-0 following a three-run double from Williams and another home run from Freiman in the bottom of the sixth. Duke loaded the bases in the inning, thanks to consecutive hit batsmen and a leadoff infield single from newly-inserted outfielder Tom Luciano. The stadium went silent for a moment when Hassan took a pitch square on the elbow, but he toughed it out and jogged down to first to load the bases. Williams then stepped to the plate and crushed the first pitch he saw into the right-center gap for a base-clearing double. He was soon sent home when Freiman launched his second home run of the game off the scoreboard in right field. The second bomb marked the second multi-home run game of the season for Freiman and the fifth two-home run day of his career.

Clemson finally put a run on the board after stringing a double and a pair of singles in the seventh. Sanders scored the run after opening the inning with a double to the warning track in center field. He would score from second two at bats later when pinch hitter John Hinson knocked a flyout to deep center field that resulted in an error when Luciano's throw into the infield sailed over his cutoff man's head. The Tigers followed with consecutive singles that would have scored the run anyway, but Hassan limited any further damage by inducing a flyout to Kreick in right field to end the inning.

Hassan settled down and had a much smoother eighth inning after retiring the side in order on just seven pitches. Luciano made an outstanding catch for the first out after tracking a deep fly ball all the way to the warning track where he made the catch over his head on the run before crashing into the center field wall.

After the quick eighth, Hassan helped himself out with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning. Williams also contributed with an RBI fielder's choice ground ball that capped the two-run inning and ran Duke's lead to 10-1.

Needing just three more outs, Hassan made quick work of the Tigers and used 11 pitches to sit down the side in order. He picked up his first strikeout of the game in the inning and completed a streak of six straight batters retired to notch the save.

The win broke an 11-game losing streak to Clemson for the Blue Devils. With the series tied at one game apiece, the team's will decide the winner on Sunday at 1 p.m. Starters for either team have yet to be announced.

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