The Empire Strikes Back.
It took Virginia all of two pitches to take the lead Saturday afternoon against Duke in the Charlottesville Super Regional.
Except for one half-inning the Virginia lead kept growing and growing and growing.
For those of you who decided there were better ways to spend your Saturday, the final was 14-4.
Duke started Alex Gow. Gow is a grad-student transfer from Kenyon and he’s done a lot of good things for Duke this season. The descriptors for Gow include “grinder,’ “tough,” “competitor.” He’s the one starter who can eat some innings and get Duke deep into its bullpen with a chance to win.
But he does not have elite stuff, not by ACC standards at least. His margin for error is small and he made mistakes and Virginia is going to exploit mistakes.
Then again, Duke did close to a run in the fourth, so maybe that’s a success for Gow. But it’s not a good sign when Virginia’s lead-off hitter Griff O’Ferrall picks the game’s first at-bat as a good time to hit his first college homer.
And that bullpen? Well, look at the final score.
Virginia followed that solo shot in the first with two more runs in the second and another in the fourth, sending Duke to its bullpen.
Duke made it interesting in the fourth, three unearned, two-out runs, a two-run double by Luke Storm and a one-run double by Damon Lux.
A ball-game?
Not for long. Aaron Beasley struck out Virginia’s Ethan O’Donnell to lead off the top of the fifth and Duke replaced him with Adam Boucher.
Chris Pollard and pitching coach Brady Kirkpatrick have made lots of good bull-pen calls this season.
This was not one of them. A single, a hit batter and a home run by Ethan Anderson and it was 7-3. Anthony. Stephan homered a few batters later and it was 8-3.
Pollard began to manage for tomorrow, using relievers like Edward Hart, Gabriel Nard and Jason White. The first two threw shut-outs but White surrendered four runs in the eighth, a two-run homer by Jake Gelof and a two-run double by Casey Saucke.
Duke did have their chances. The Blue Devils had 12 hits and had two runners on with one out in the second, when the game was still winnable. But came up empty.
Duke left nine on base.
Duke’s winning formula has been the long ball and a deep bullpen. Neither worked Saturday.
So, winner-take-all Sunday, the second time in a week for Duke, both on the road. Hopefully, they can replicate--or come close to replicating-what we saw Monday in Conway.
Who starts Sunday? Maybe Ryan Higgins. Andrew Healy only went three innings Friday and relief pitchers go three, take a day off and come back all the time. But Healy has been a starter. Does he have a couple of innings in him? Beasley only threw eight pitches Saturday and Duke didn’t use Fran Oschell III, James Tallon or Charlie Beilenson at all, although I’m not sure Beilenson is much of an option after his woeful performance Friday.
And a dominant performance by Virginia starter Connelly Early left Virginia’s key relievers rested and ready.
It’s easy to write this team off after a 10-run loss. But this is a team that entered April 4-6 in the ACC, a team that entered the NCAAs on a four-game losing streak, a team that could have been written off after losing to Coastal Carolina last Sunday.
This is not a team that goes away easily. But it truly is going to have to be all hands on deck tomorrow if Duke is going to end that 61-year streak of staying at home and watching someone else play in Omaha.
If you had six weeks ago offered me one game for a trip to Omaha, I'd have accepted instantly.
Go Duke!!!