Duke Baseball

[sagegrouse]

You are right that making the top six is going to be a big challenge. And I see your point about being tied for 5th versus being tied for 6th--but the difference is a bit more than a quibble. Tied for 5th means the two teams hold, collectively, spots 5 and 6, and if the tournament were seeded right now, both would be in. Tied for 6th would mean the two teams hold, collectively, spots 6 and 7, and there would only be room for one of them, presumably based on some tiebreaker, if the tournament were seeded right now.

So clearly at the moment Duke is better off than if they were tied for 6th. Unfortunately, that is not especially helpful since the tournament will not be seeded right now and there are tough games ahead.

Oh my, MCFinARL! The math wizards here are really gonna give you screen after screen of counterargument pretending to be explanation! You're a brave poster!

[MCFinARL]

Oh my, MCFinARL! The math wizards here are really gonna give you screen after screen of counterargument pretending to be explanation! You're a brave poster!

Well, hey, is it that obvious I was an English major? I don't suppose it will be the first time I have taken a beating on DBR.

[Olympic Fan]

I don't claim to know a lot about ACC baseball, but I was just looking at the preseason poll by Baseball America. It included six ACC teams:

1. Virginia
5. NC State
6. FSU
13. Clemson
16 Miami
17 UNC

Looking at the current ACC standings, at least three of those six have been a major disappointment -- Clemson somewhat and UNC a bit, but none have been as disappointing as NC State. They returned the core of a team that played in the College World Series last season, including the guy who was supposed to be the best pitcher in the nation. Carlos Rodon has not been terrible -- he has a 2.15 ERA, but he's 3-6 for a team that's 7-14 in the ACC. ESPN picked the Pack No. 2 in the nation in their preseason poll.

It's a funny thing about ACC baseball. The league always has a lot of top teams ... a lot of ranked teams. And they usually send 1 or 2 teams a year to the College World Series (three last year). Yet, no ACC team has won a NCAA baseball title since Wake Forest in 1955 (Miami and FSU do have pre-ACC titles).

[Here is a Turtle]

I don't claim to know a lot about ACC baseball, but I was just looking at the preseason poll by Baseball America. It included six ACC teams:

1. Virginia
5. NC State
6. FSU
13. Clemson
16 Miami
17 UNC

Looking at the current ACC standings, at least three of those six have been a major disappointment -- Clemson somewhat and UNC a bit, but none have been as disappointing as NC State. They returned the core of a team that played in the College World Series last season, including the guy who was supposed to be the best pitcher in the nation. Carlos Rodon has not been terrible -- he has a 2.15 ERA, but he's 3-6 for a team that's 7-14 in the ACC. ESPN picked the Pack No. 2 in the nation in their preseason poll.

It's a funny thing about ACC baseball. The league always has a lot of top teams ... a lot of ranked teams. And they usually send 1 or 2 teams a year to the College World Series (three last year). Yet, no ACC team has won a NCAA baseball title since Wake Forest in 1955 (Miami and FSU do have pre-ACC titles).

ACC is down in baseball, but they are still strong. 3rd in RPI with the Big 12 and SEC higher. Looking at the bracket projections for the NCAA tournament, it looks like the ACC will get 6-8 teams in.

Virginia, Clemson, Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Maryland looks like solid bets if they stay on their current paths. North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Duke can play themselves in, especially with the ACC Tournament coming up.

[Bob Green]

Final: Duke 2, UNCG 0

[Olympic Fan]

Duke gets its series with Wake Forest off to a good start, beating the Deacs 5-2 in Game 1 Friday night.

That's 13-9 in the ACC. Wake falls to 12-10.

Two more games in Winston this weekend ...

[Reilly]

Do folks like that the baseball team went away from the fancy (Old English?) "D"? I had found the non-uniformity of the baseball uniforms as compared to the rest of the Duke athletic uniforms jarring, so was happy to see the Detroit Tigerish "D" scrapped.

[jimsumner]

Duke edged Wake 6-5 on Saturday, as the Deacs left runners on the corners.

[Bob Green]

Duke takes game two 6-5. After jumping out to a 6-0 lead, we had to hang on when Wake scored four runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. The third game of the series is tomorrow afternoon at 1300 EDT.

[msdukie]

Do folks like that the baseball team went away from the fancy (Old English?) "D"? I had found the non-uniformity of the baseball uniforms as compared to the rest of the Duke athletic uniforms jarring, so was happy to see the Detroit Tigerish "D" scrapped.

The Old English "D" was replaced in the early/mid 2000s with the Gothic D. The uniforms were changed to the current Iron Duke "D" when Nike "rebranded" the athletic department in August 2011. You may recall that until October 2011 the Gothic "D" was still on the Cameron end zones...now there are just lights shining on... nothing. There was also a Gothic "D" at center court on press row until 1998, now it is in the Vic Bubas Concourse in a display case.

Also, the Gothic "D" is on my class ring from 1997.

In 2011, all of the letter and number fonts were revised for uniformity. Of course, since football hasn't gotten a jersey update since 2008, it still uses an inconsistent number font.

[Olympic Fan]

It's time to get excited about Duke baseball. After years of mediocrity, they are so close to turning the corner ... it's the baseball equivalence of the 2012 football season.

Going into today's game at Wake, Duke currently has the fourth best ACC record. The top of the standings:

1. Miami 18-5
2. (tie) FSU 17-6
Virginia 17-6
4. Duke 14-9
5. Clemson 12-10
6. (tie) Wake 12-11
UNC 12-11
Georgia Tech 12-11

Duke has 11 games left -- one with Wake today, three with Miami in the DBAP, three with FSU in Tallahassee -- all in conference -- plus three with Longwood and one with Richmond all at Combs Field. The Devils are surging -- they've now won eight straight to go from 19-17 overall to 27-17. (and from 8-9 in the ACC to 14-9).

Obviously, the seven ACC games are most important -- Duke still needs a strong finish to clinch a top six spot and a bye into the ACC Tournament. But I'm thinking those other four could be important too. I'm not a baseball bracketologist by any means, but I've got to think Duke is at least playing itself onto the NCAA bubble. What little NCAA projections I've read suggested that Duke was not a strong candidate for the tournament -- the non-conference schedule was weak and the results spotty. But I have to think a strong finish would help.

I know that Duke finished with a great conference record a few years back (when Ryan Jackson was on the team) -- maybe third? -- and still didn't make the NCAA field due to a poor non-conference record.

Maybe somebody who knows more about the NCAA baseball world than me could give us some idea of Duke's NCAA prospects?

[dpslaw]

Duke has surged past Wake Forest in RPI, moving from the mid to low 90's to 69th. Richmond is at 199 and Longwood is below that. In order to have any shot at an NCAA bid, I would think that Duke would have to win at Wake today, sweep Longwood and Richmond, and avoid a sweep against FSU or Miami. Even then it would be a long shot. A series win against either FSU or Miami and a decent performance in the ACC tournament would help a lot, I would think.

[Bob Green]

It's time to get excited about Duke baseball.

Agreed! I'm listening to the game on the radio right now and I'm not sure I've done that before.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I don't follow baseball closely other than paying attention to box scores, but I would think if we finish strong then Coach Pollard has to be in the COY discussions. How sweet would it be to have two COY awards in sports that we are famous for being bad at? (Or perhaps better said, were famous for...)

[chrishoke]

Agreed! I'm listening to the game on the radio right now and I'm not sure I've done that before.

Me too Bob. Duke leads 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth.

[chrishoke]

Tied at 6 after seven. Come on Devils.

[chrishoke]

Duke takes a 7-6 lead into the ninth.

[Bob Green]

Headed to the bottom of the 9th inning with Duke up 8-6. Let's close this out and sweep the Deacs!

[Bob Green]

And it is a final. Duke sweeps Wake Forest.

[chrishoke]

Duke sweeps, 8-6. 15-9 in the ACC. Awesome. We own the big 4.