DURHAM, N.C. – A four-run second inning for Duke set the tone in what was a high-scoring affair the Blue Devils took, 11-5, from Longwood Tuesday afternoon at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Duke (28-20, 10-14 ACC) had three multi-run innings to best Longwood (28-21, 12-9 Big South) in the midweek matchup. The Lancers, playing a game for the fourth straight day with the previous series against UNC Asheville pushed back a day, put multiple runners on base in each of the first four innings against Duke. The Lancers broke through with a three-run third inning and scored a pair more in the fourth inning.
"I was pleased with our effort and offense approach today," Longwood head coach
Ryan Mau said. "It was good to see the middle of our lineup continue their attack on the ball."
Three players for Duke finished with multi-RBI games, including Chris Perez who was 2-for-3 with a three-run home run and three runs scored. Perez was one of four players for Duke to score multiple runs.
The Lancers picked up double digit hits for the third straight game and finished the game tied in hits with Duke.
Alex Lewis led all hitters with three hits. The junior finished 3-for-5 with a run scored, putting together his fifth three-hit performance and team-leading 20th multi-hit game of the season.
Michael Osinski and
Drew Kitson each had two-hit days for Longwood. Osinski picked up his third consecutive multi-hit game with a 2-for-5 performance, scoring two runs and driving in one. Kitson was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in and one run scored. It was the second straight multi-hit game for the junior outfielder after a 3-for-5 game Monday.
Al Pesto (1-0) picked up the win after tossing 2.1 innings of relief out of the bullpen in what was a staff day for Duke.
Allen Ellis (1-1) took the loss in his first start since making nine starts as a sophomore in 2014. Ellis tossed 2.2 innings with seven runs allowed on five hits with a season-high four strikeouts.
Devin Gould pitched 2.1 innings of hitless ball with four strikeouts to one walk and allowed one unearned run.
Garrett Paul pitched 1.0 scoreless inning for Longwood.
"[Gould] did a good job in relief and showed command of both pitches today," Mau said.
Duke jumped out to a four-run lead with a big second inning. Peter Zyla started the frame reaching first base on a dropped third strike. Zack Kone reached on a single and Perez was hit by pitch to load the bases. The next man up, Michael Smiciklas, cashed in for a two-run double to start the scoring in the four-run frame.
After the Lancers had multiple men reach in each of the first three innings, Longwood finally got on the board in the top of the third inning.
Connar Bastaich and Lewis each singled to start the frame with runners on the corners and no outs. Osinski reached on an RBI fielder's choice to get Longwood on the board. Four batters later, with the bases loaded and two outs,
Janos Briscoe doubled to right field and drove in a pair of runs. The double was the first of the season for Briscoe and cut Longwood's deficit to one.
"We strung together some quality at-bats and got timely hitting from Kitson and Briscoe," Mau said.
The Blue Devils struck for three in the bottom half of the third inning to extend the lead back to four. With a pair on and two down, Perez homered to left field to make it 7-3 Duke.
The Lancers bounced back again in the fourth inning. After Lewis and Osinski each singled with two outs, Kitson doubled to left to bring the Lancers within a pair. Duke extended the lead to three with a run in the fifth inning, leading 8-5, until the Blue Devils scored three runs in the home half of the seventh inning to pull away.
"This was a good four-day stretch for us that challenged us both physically and mentally," Mau said. "We'll look to hopefully use this experience down the road in tournament play."
Longwood takes Wednesday and Thursday off before returning to the field for the final conference series of the regular season. Longwood is at Winthrop for a three-game weekend series that begins Friday. Longwood and Winthrop enter the series in fourth and fifth place in the Big South standings, respectively. Game one will be broadcast on ESPN3. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Friday at the Winthrop Ballpark.
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