Completed Event: Baseball versus Murray State on June 9, 2025 , Loss , 4, to, 5
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Final
Baseball
4
vs Murray State
5
Tuesday, April 20
Lynchburg, Va.
6 P.M.
Duke University
at
Liberty
Duke Travels to Liberty on Tuesday
4/19/2021 4:30:00 PM | Baseball
DURHAM – The Duke baseball team travels to Liberty on Tuesday for a midweek nonconference game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Liberty Baseball Stadium in Lynchburg, Va.
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FIRST PITCH
HOW TO FOLLOW
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Chris Edwards has the call on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield IMG College and will be available on GoDuke.com or the TuneIn app.
Tuesday, 6 p.m. – TuneIn – Live Stats
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SERIES HISTORY
Duke and Liberty meet for the 23rd time in the two programs' histories, dating back to 1989. Duke evened the series, 11-11, earlier this season but trails by a 4-5 mark in Lynchburg. The Blue Devils and Flames last met on March 30, when Duke picked up a 5-4 win behind the bats of Joey Loperfido (2-for-4, an RBI) and Chris Crabtree (1-for-2, three RBIs and a walk) while Jimmy Loper picked up a save. The Blue Devils are seeking their first win at Liberty since an 8-7 win on April 19, 2016. Duke head coach Chris Pollard holds a 7-7 record against the Flames, with all 14 games coming during his time at Duke.
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SCOUTING THE FLAMES
Since the two teams last met, Liberty has gone 9-1 to improve to 25-8 overall. In the span since March 30, Liberty swept series against Lipscomb and at North Alabama. Also in that span, Liberty picked up two more wins over ACC opponents, including No. 12 Virginia Tech (8-2) and Wake Forest (8-4). Liberty has been solid defensively, ranking in the top-10 nationally in fielding percentage (.982) and top 20 in WHIP (1.20), ERA (3.15) and shutouts (4). Offensively, the Flames rank second nationally in doubles (83) and doubles per game (2.48). Individually, Aaron Anderson leads the team with a .370 batting average, second in the ASUN conference. In addition, Anderson ranks fourth in the nation in doubles with 15. Gary Betts leads on the bases, totaling 39 runs which ranks 11th in the country.
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ROTHENBERG APPROACHING RECORD BOOKS
Senior Michael Rothenberg is currently tied for 19th in program history in home runs with 18. He is also nearing the top-25 charts in school history in walks and RBIs. The Boca Raton, Fla., native has 77 career walks, nearing Luis Duarte's 86 from 1992-95 that ranks 25th. His 107 career RBIs are approaching JD Alleva (1998-01) and Jeff Piscorik (1992-95) who tie for 25th in school history with 122.
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DUKE CONTINUES K'S 4 KIDS' CANCER
Duke baseball announced the renewal of the K's 4 Kids' Cancer campaign, which is now in its third season with the team. Fans can help Duke baseball strikeout children's cancer by making a pledge for every strikeout that Blue Devil pitchers rack up this season. In just two years, the campaign has raised over $25,000 and all funds go directly to support cancer research and patient care at Duke Children's Hospital.
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DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Blue Devils are currently among the conference leaders in doubles (75 - first in the ACC) and doubles per game (2.34 - second in the ACC). Duke's 2.34 doubles per game ranks seventh nationally. Senior Michael Rothenberg ranks fourth in the ACC with 11 doubles so far this season. Senior Joey Loperfido holds 10 to tie for eighth in the conference while junior Ethan Murray boasts nine.Â
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STARTING GAMES STRONG
This season, Duke has jumped out on its opponents in the opening four innings of games. The Blue Devils hold a +45 run differential in the first four innings, out-scoring opponents, 119-70.
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Duke Run Differential By Inning
First      Second    Third      Fourth
23-15 Â Â Â Â Â 30-27 Â Â Â Â Â 25-21 Â Â Â Â Â 41-7
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JOHNSON CLOSING FOR DUKE
Sophomore Marcus Johnson has emerged as Duke's go-to closer during the 2021 season. The Fontana, Calif., native has shown excellent control and pounded the strike zone, totaling 31 strikeouts to just five walks in 30.2 innings pitched for a team-leading strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.2. Against Wake Forest, Johnson pitched the final two innings on Saturday before closing and earning the win in three innings on Sunday, striking out eight of the minimum 15 batters faced in the combined five-inning showing. Johnson's 2.93 ERA leads the team for pitchers that have thrown at least eight innings.
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MATT, LOPERFIDO RECORD CAREER HIT NO. 150
Senior Joey Loperfido registered his 150th career hit with a double against NC Central on April 6. Graduate Peter Matt recorded his 150th career hit at Notre Dame on March 19. His 175 career hits current rank in the top 120 career leaders while Loperfido's 162 hits rank in the top 170 in the category in Division I. Prior to Duke, Matt played four seasons at Penn.
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#GoDuke
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FIRST PITCH
- Duke (16-16, 8-13 ACC) travels to Liberty (25-8, 11-1 ASUN) on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
- The Blue Devils rank first in the ACC in doubles (75) and sit second in the league in doubles per game (2.34). Senior Michael Rothenberg ties for fourth in the ACC this season with 11.
- Duke and Liberty meet for the second time this season as the Blue Devils enjoyed a 5-4 win over the Flames on March 30.
- Graduate student Chase Cheek recorded his 100th career hit against Wake Forest on April 18. Cheek is one of six Blue Devils on the
current roster to boast triple-digit career hits. - Duke and Liberty meet for the 23rd time in the two programs' histories, dating back to 1989. Duke evened the series, 11-11, earlier this season but trails by a 4-5 mark in Lynchburg.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Chris Edwards has the call on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield IMG College and will be available on GoDuke.com or the TuneIn app.
Tuesday, 6 p.m. – TuneIn – Live Stats
Â
SERIES HISTORY
Duke and Liberty meet for the 23rd time in the two programs' histories, dating back to 1989. Duke evened the series, 11-11, earlier this season but trails by a 4-5 mark in Lynchburg. The Blue Devils and Flames last met on March 30, when Duke picked up a 5-4 win behind the bats of Joey Loperfido (2-for-4, an RBI) and Chris Crabtree (1-for-2, three RBIs and a walk) while Jimmy Loper picked up a save. The Blue Devils are seeking their first win at Liberty since an 8-7 win on April 19, 2016. Duke head coach Chris Pollard holds a 7-7 record against the Flames, with all 14 games coming during his time at Duke.
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SCOUTING THE FLAMES
Since the two teams last met, Liberty has gone 9-1 to improve to 25-8 overall. In the span since March 30, Liberty swept series against Lipscomb and at North Alabama. Also in that span, Liberty picked up two more wins over ACC opponents, including No. 12 Virginia Tech (8-2) and Wake Forest (8-4). Liberty has been solid defensively, ranking in the top-10 nationally in fielding percentage (.982) and top 20 in WHIP (1.20), ERA (3.15) and shutouts (4). Offensively, the Flames rank second nationally in doubles (83) and doubles per game (2.48). Individually, Aaron Anderson leads the team with a .370 batting average, second in the ASUN conference. In addition, Anderson ranks fourth in the nation in doubles with 15. Gary Betts leads on the bases, totaling 39 runs which ranks 11th in the country.
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ROTHENBERG APPROACHING RECORD BOOKS
Senior Michael Rothenberg is currently tied for 19th in program history in home runs with 18. He is also nearing the top-25 charts in school history in walks and RBIs. The Boca Raton, Fla., native has 77 career walks, nearing Luis Duarte's 86 from 1992-95 that ranks 25th. His 107 career RBIs are approaching JD Alleva (1998-01) and Jeff Piscorik (1992-95) who tie for 25th in school history with 122.
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DUKE CONTINUES K'S 4 KIDS' CANCER
Duke baseball announced the renewal of the K's 4 Kids' Cancer campaign, which is now in its third season with the team. Fans can help Duke baseball strikeout children's cancer by making a pledge for every strikeout that Blue Devil pitchers rack up this season. In just two years, the campaign has raised over $25,000 and all funds go directly to support cancer research and patient care at Duke Children's Hospital.
Â
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Blue Devils are currently among the conference leaders in doubles (75 - first in the ACC) and doubles per game (2.34 - second in the ACC). Duke's 2.34 doubles per game ranks seventh nationally. Senior Michael Rothenberg ranks fourth in the ACC with 11 doubles so far this season. Senior Joey Loperfido holds 10 to tie for eighth in the conference while junior Ethan Murray boasts nine.Â
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STARTING GAMES STRONG
This season, Duke has jumped out on its opponents in the opening four innings of games. The Blue Devils hold a +45 run differential in the first four innings, out-scoring opponents, 119-70.
Â
Duke Run Differential By Inning
First      Second    Third      Fourth
23-15 Â Â Â Â Â 30-27 Â Â Â Â Â 25-21 Â Â Â Â Â 41-7
Â
JOHNSON CLOSING FOR DUKE
Sophomore Marcus Johnson has emerged as Duke's go-to closer during the 2021 season. The Fontana, Calif., native has shown excellent control and pounded the strike zone, totaling 31 strikeouts to just five walks in 30.2 innings pitched for a team-leading strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.2. Against Wake Forest, Johnson pitched the final two innings on Saturday before closing and earning the win in three innings on Sunday, striking out eight of the minimum 15 batters faced in the combined five-inning showing. Johnson's 2.93 ERA leads the team for pitchers that have thrown at least eight innings.
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MATT, LOPERFIDO RECORD CAREER HIT NO. 150
Senior Joey Loperfido registered his 150th career hit with a double against NC Central on April 6. Graduate Peter Matt recorded his 150th career hit at Notre Dame on March 19. His 175 career hits current rank in the top 120 career leaders while Loperfido's 162 hits rank in the top 170 in the category in Division I. Prior to Duke, Matt played four seasons at Penn.
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#GoDuke
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