| GAME 1 | ||||||||||||
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| When: May 8, 2016 | 1 p.m. | ||||||||||||
| Where: Jack Coombs Field | Durham, N.C. | ||||||||||||
| Follow: BDN+ | Audio | Stats | ||||||||||||
| GAME 2 | ||||||||||||
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| When: May 8, 2016 | 45 minutes after Game 1 | ||||||||||||
| Where: Jack Coombs Field | Durham, N.C. | ||||||||||||
| Follow: BDN+ | Audio | Stats | ||||||||||||
| DUKE (25-20) | ||||||||||||
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| Schedule & Results | ||||||||||||
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| GARDNER-WEBB (31-16) | ||||||||||||
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| CONNECT | ||||||||||||
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| @Duke_BASE | ||||||||||||
| /DukeBaseball | ||||||||||||
| @Duke_BASE | ||||||||||||
LEADING OFF
Duke returns to action following the exam break Sunday, May 8, taking on Gardner-Webb in a doubleheader at Jack Coombs Field starting at 1 p.m. ... Duke has won 15 of its past 21 games and sits at 25-20 (10-14 ACC) on the year ... Gardner-Webb reached 30 wins this past weekend and brings a 31-16 (9-9 Big South) mark into the weekend ... BDN+ will broadcast both games of the doubleheader via GoDuke.com with Chris Edwards on the call.
DUKE'S SECOND HALF SUCCESS
The Blue Devils have won 15 of their past 22 games entering the weekend ... Six of Duke's seven losses during that span came against ranked teams ... Over the past 22 games, five Blue Devils are hitting .300 or better: Justin Bellinger (.370), Zack Kone (.321), Chris Proctor (.321), Jimmy Herron (.316) and Jack Labosky (.306) ... As a team, Duke owns a .282 batting average over its past 22 games, 44 points higher than its average through the first 23 games (.238).
DUKE vs. GARDNER-WEBB
Duke and Gardner-Webb have met five times in program history ... The Blue Devils are undefeated against the Runnin' Bulldogs at 5-0 ... The two North Carolina schools have not met in 30 years ... Duke most recently beat Gardner-Webb, 11-1, April 14, 1986.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Duke relies heavily on its corps of talented underclassmen ... The Blue Devils have not featured a lineup with more than three upperclassmen this season ... Redshirt junior Jalen Phillips is the only Duke upperclassman to start at any position in the infield and Duke has not started a single upperclassmen in the outfield all year ... Duke's top seven batting averages all belong to underclassmen ... Despite its youth in the field, Duke has started an upperclassman on the mound in all but one game this season.
IMPACT FRESHMEN
Three Duke freshmen lead the team in batting average: Jimmy Herron (.306), Zack Kone (.302) and Chris Proctor (.298) ... That trio is hitting a combined .302 (137-for-453), compared to a .241 clip for the rest of the team.
HERRON REACHES BASE
Freshman Jimmy Herron has reached base in 40 of 44 games this season, including a streak of 17-straight contests from to April 2-29 ... He leads the team in both batting average (.306) and on base percentage (.409).
HERRON ON THE BASE PATHS
Freshman Jimmy Herron leads the team and ranks third in the ACC with 17 stolen bases ... He is 17-for-20 in stolen base attempts and has swiped two bases in three games this season ... Herron's 17 stolen bases are also the most by a Duke freshman since Gabriel Saade totaled 11 in 2007.
THE BIG LABOSKY
After recording just one extra base hit as a freshman in 2015, sophomore Jack Labosky has emerged as one of the top hitters in Duke's 2016 lineup ... Labosky currently leads the team in seven offensive categories: slugging percentage (.500), runs (29), RBI (38), doubles (16), home runs (6), walks (24) and times hit by pitch (8) ... In addition, Labosky is tied for the team lead with 20 relief appearances ... He owns a 1.54 ERA over 23.1 innings in relief and leads the team in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5:1).
LABOSKY'S MONSTER GAME
Sophomore Jack Laboksy had a monster game Saturday, April 2 at Georgia Tech, going 4-for-5 with two homers, a double, eight RBI and three runs scored ... Only two ACC players have totaled more RBI in a game since 2013: Miami's David Thompson (9 vs. Georgia Tech, May 15, 2015) and Notre Dame's Jake Shepski (9 vs. Virginia Tech, March 24, 2016).
BELLINGER AT THE PLATE
Since entering the starting lineup March 27 at Wake Forest, sophomore Justin Bellinger has hit a team-best .370 (27-for-73) with four home runs, eight doubles, 21 RBI and 16 walks ... He is slugging .644 during that 22-game span and has recorded a .489 on base percentage.
CORNELL COMBINATION
After graduating from Cornell University with a year of eligibility remaining, graduate students Kellen Urbon and Brian McAfee enrolled in Duke's Fuqua School of Business and joined the Blue Devils for the 2016 season ... McAfee and Urbon are a combined 11-4 on the year with a joint 2.29 ERA (141.2 IP, 46 ER) and 11 quality starts ... Both McAfee and Urbon are also among the top ACC pitchers in walks per game.
URBON MOVES TO FRIDAYS
Graduate student Kellen Urbon has filled many roles for the Blue Devils ... He made six midweek starts, two Saturday starts and six relief appearances prior to assuming the Friday starter role April 23 at Virginia Tech ... Urbon leads the team in ERA (2.17), opposing batting average (.214) and fly outs per game (11.67) ... Among ACC pitchers, he ranks sixth in ERA, sixth in opposing batting average and seventh in walks allowed per game (1.90).
SWART AMONG CAREER ERA LEADERS
Graduate student Trent Swart ranks fourth in Duke history with a 3.15 career ERA ... That marks is also the second lowest for a Blue Devil in the aluminum bat era (since 1974) ... Swart is the only Blue Devil to start over 40 games and register an ERA under 3.90 ... In addition, his 236 career strikeouts are good for 10th in program history.
LIMITING FREE BASES
Graduate student Brian McAfee leads the ACC in walks allowed per nine innings (1.31) ... McAfee set the Cornell career record, averaging 1.14 walks per game ... He also ranks fifth nationally among active career leaders in fewest career walks per nine innings (1.19).
McAFEE TOSSES TWO COMPLETE GAMES
Graduate student Brian McAfee is the only league pitcher to toss two complete games in ACC play this season ... McAfee threw a shutout March 13 against then-No. 14 Virginia and allowed just one unearned run over nine innings April 10 versus then-No. 18 Clemson ... Notre Dame's Michael Hearne is the only other conference pitcher with two complete games this season ... In addition, McAfee is the third pitcher under head coach Chris Pollard to register a shutout.
CLARK AMONG TOP ACC PROSPECTS
Junior right-hander Bailey Clark leads the team in total strikeouts (58) and strikeouts per game (10.10) ... He ranks fifth in the ACC in strikeouts per contest ... Clark was named an alternate for the 2015 U.S. Collegiate National Team and joined the squad for its five-game series against Cuba July 1-6 in Cary, N.C. ... He made two appearances with Team USA, coming out of the bullpen in both ... The United States won the series, 3-2 ... Clark is the second Blue Devil to compete with the U.S. Collegiate National Team ... Former Duke right-hander and current Toronto Blue Jay Marcus Stroman was a member of the U.S. Collegiate National Team in 2011 ... In addition, Clark was tabbed No. 41 on Perfect Game's list of top 150 college prospects for the 2016 MLB Draft.
POLLARD REACHES 500 CAREER WINS
Head coach Chris Pollard registered his 500th career win Sunday, May 1 at NC State ... He owns a 500-414-3 record in 16 seasons as a head coach, In addition, Pollard has posted a 114-94 record as head coach of the Blue Devils ... Pollard recorded his 100th win at Duke Tuesday, March 15 against UMES, becoming the fastest Blue Devil head coach to reach 100 wins in program history ... He is also the first Blue Devil head coach to guide the team to two 30-win seasons in his first three campaigns.
IN SEARCH of THIRD STRAIGHT 30-WIN SEASON
Duke must win five of its final 10 games to reach 30 wins for the third straight season ... Should Duke reach 30 wins in 2016, it would mark the program's first stretch of three-straight 30-win seasons since the Blue Devils compiled a run of seven consecutive 30-win ledgers from 1992-98 ... With 31 wins this past season and 33 in 2014, the Blue Devils recorded back-to-back 30-win seasons for the first time since 2008-09 ... Duke has recorded 12 30-win seasons in program history: 2015 (31-22), 2014 (33-25), 2009 (35-24), 2008 (37-18-1), 1998 (38-20), 1997 (33-25), 1996 (39-18), 1995 (30-27), 1994 (33-20), 1993 (39-19-1), 1992 (38-16) and 1952 (31-7).
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