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Duke Set to Begin Fall Practice Saturday
9/25/2020 6:10:00 PM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. – On the eve of the first official fall practice of the 2020-21 season, Duke head coach Chris Pollard and seniors Joey Loperfido and Michael Rothenberg met with members of the media virtually Friday afternoon.
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Pollard, who enters his ninth season at the helm of the Blue Devil program, saw the unfortunate abrupt cancelation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic after reaching the NCAA Super Regionals the year prior. At the time of cancelation, Duke held a 12-4 record and was just beginning ACC play. Pollard holds a 630-495-3 career record, including a 245-177 tally at Duke. When asked about having to deal with difficult circumstances, Pollard expressed his gratitude to just be back at Duke training this fall.
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"I'm extremely excited to be on the eve of our first practice of the fall," Pollard said. "I think that the biggest emotion that I have right now is just an overwhelming sense of gratitude. We're really grateful to Duke for trusting our athletics department to get back on campus and get back to doing what we love doing and working with our players. We're also grateful to Bob Weiseman, our Associate AD for Facilities and Operations, Dr. Cameron Wolfe from the Duke Medical Center and all of the work that he did on our COVID mitigation strategies, Hap Zarzour with athletic medicine and just extremely grateful to our players for trusting that process and the job that they have done to get us to this point in the semester.
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"The way they handled quarantine and how they've conducted themselves since they've been back speaks to just how strong our culture is and I'm exceptionally proud of them. I can't wait to get into a full team practice with a scrimmage tomorrow."
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With the current COVID-19 pandemic, Pollard's club will follow policies and guidelines to safely train in preparation for the upcoming season. One of the primary challenges that is being faced is sponsoring cohesion and connections between the student-athletes.
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"We've had some baseball nights in Coombs where we'll put a major league game on the video board and have the guys out, buy some pizzas and let them spread out there and watch a baseball game together," Pollard said. "This past Wednesday, we had a golf outing over at the Washington Duke Inn and the guys had a lot of fun with that. But, we've got to continue to figure out ways that we can safely get them together away from the field so that they can be developing those relationships that we know are an important part of their experience here at Duke."
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Coming off a strong junior season playing center field, Loperfido started 15 games for the Blue Devils last season and finished with a .264 clip. Returning to campus has brought new challenges, but for the Haddonfield, N.J., native the love for the game hasn't faded.
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"Baseball is the fun part, to be honest with you," Loperfido said. "Getting out in the field this weekend with the guys is a little bit of release for everyone. Duke's done a great job bringing us back in August and I felt safe every step of the way. I think I can say the same for my teammates. But it's tough. We can't hang out with each other like we normally can. Online classes present a different kind of challenge compared to in-person. Definitely some new challenges but I think we're all taking advantage of the opportunities we've got on the field and trying to make the best of it."
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Rothenberg was a staple behind the plate for Duke last spring, starting all 16 games. Offensively, he led the ranks with 17 RBI, a .349 batting average and .605 slugging percentage. The native of Boca Raton, Fla., touched on the depth that this current Duke team has.
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"I think no one could have predicted what we're all going through right now but I'm thrilled to be back," Rothenberg said. "This is one of the best, if not the best groups I've been a part of. We're 45 guys right now. I think the level of talent on this team is something that we haven't seen before and I can't wait to get to work."Â
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#GoDuke
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Pollard, who enters his ninth season at the helm of the Blue Devil program, saw the unfortunate abrupt cancelation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic after reaching the NCAA Super Regionals the year prior. At the time of cancelation, Duke held a 12-4 record and was just beginning ACC play. Pollard holds a 630-495-3 career record, including a 245-177 tally at Duke. When asked about having to deal with difficult circumstances, Pollard expressed his gratitude to just be back at Duke training this fall.
Â
"I'm extremely excited to be on the eve of our first practice of the fall," Pollard said. "I think that the biggest emotion that I have right now is just an overwhelming sense of gratitude. We're really grateful to Duke for trusting our athletics department to get back on campus and get back to doing what we love doing and working with our players. We're also grateful to Bob Weiseman, our Associate AD for Facilities and Operations, Dr. Cameron Wolfe from the Duke Medical Center and all of the work that he did on our COVID mitigation strategies, Hap Zarzour with athletic medicine and just extremely grateful to our players for trusting that process and the job that they have done to get us to this point in the semester.
Â
"The way they handled quarantine and how they've conducted themselves since they've been back speaks to just how strong our culture is and I'm exceptionally proud of them. I can't wait to get into a full team practice with a scrimmage tomorrow."
Â
With the current COVID-19 pandemic, Pollard's club will follow policies and guidelines to safely train in preparation for the upcoming season. One of the primary challenges that is being faced is sponsoring cohesion and connections between the student-athletes.
Â
"We've had some baseball nights in Coombs where we'll put a major league game on the video board and have the guys out, buy some pizzas and let them spread out there and watch a baseball game together," Pollard said. "This past Wednesday, we had a golf outing over at the Washington Duke Inn and the guys had a lot of fun with that. But, we've got to continue to figure out ways that we can safely get them together away from the field so that they can be developing those relationships that we know are an important part of their experience here at Duke."
Â
Coming off a strong junior season playing center field, Loperfido started 15 games for the Blue Devils last season and finished with a .264 clip. Returning to campus has brought new challenges, but for the Haddonfield, N.J., native the love for the game hasn't faded.
Â
"Baseball is the fun part, to be honest with you," Loperfido said. "Getting out in the field this weekend with the guys is a little bit of release for everyone. Duke's done a great job bringing us back in August and I felt safe every step of the way. I think I can say the same for my teammates. But it's tough. We can't hang out with each other like we normally can. Online classes present a different kind of challenge compared to in-person. Definitely some new challenges but I think we're all taking advantage of the opportunities we've got on the field and trying to make the best of it."
Â
Rothenberg was a staple behind the plate for Duke last spring, starting all 16 games. Offensively, he led the ranks with 17 RBI, a .349 batting average and .605 slugging percentage. The native of Boca Raton, Fla., touched on the depth that this current Duke team has.
Â
"I think no one could have predicted what we're all going through right now but I'm thrilled to be back," Rothenberg said. "This is one of the best, if not the best groups I've been a part of. We're 45 guys right now. I think the level of talent on this team is something that we haven't seen before and I can't wait to get to work."Â
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#GoDuke
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