Duke Baseball - 2009 Thread

[chrishoke]

Duke beat BC today 9-2, taking the first 2 games of the series. They improve to 12-11 in the ACC and jump to 7th place. BC falls to
10-11. Big win.

[dukebsbll14]

great win

Last two ACC series are at UVA and home against GT. UVA is 12-7 in ACC play and GT is leading the Coastal Division.

Go DUKE!!!

[CameronBornAndBred]

When will they know if they qualify for the ACC tournament, or has it already been decided? I'm assuming with a winning conference record, the chances have to be looking good.

[chrishoke]

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=3728013

[chrishoke]

When will they know if they qualify for the ACC tournament, or has it already been decided? I'm assuming with a winning conference record, the chances have to be looking good.

Very unlikely that we will keep that winning record - after Sunday's game w/ BC, we have three game sets with virginia and GT, both ranked. Still could go down to the wire.

[chrishoke]

Duke loses to BC in 11, 7-6.

[Inonehand]

We look to be in pretty good shape. You can pretty much count out Wake and Maryland (oddly enough, we lost both those series) and NCSU is almost in that category (they'd have to win 5 more games than us to finish ahead since they are 4 behind and we won our head to head series). 3 out of 4 of the following will round out the tourney field...

Duke (Virginia and Ga Tech to play)
Miami (one game up on us and have BC and Wake left)
BC (tied with us but with one less win; Miami and NC left)
Virginia Tech (1.5 games behind us with FSU and Virginia)

I like our chances of finishing in 7th place! Great move up for the Devils!

[burnspbesq]

We look to be in pretty good shape. You can pretty much count out Wake and Maryland (oddly enough, we lost both those series) and NCSU is almost in that category (they'd have to win 5 more games than us to finish ahead since they are 4 behind and we won our head to head series). 3 out of 4 of the following will round out the tourney field...

Duke (Virginia and Ga Tech to play)
Miami (one game up on us and have BC and Wake left)
BC (tied with us but with one less win; Miami and NC left)
Virginia Tech (1.5 games behind us with FSU and Virginia)

I like our chances of finishing in 7th place! Great move up for the Devils!

Duke's magic number vs. VPI is five, i.e., any combination of Duke wins and Hokie losses totaling five and Duke is in. The magic number vs. State is three. The magic number vs. Maryland and Wake is one.

[chrishoke]

Duke's magic number vs. VPI is five, i.e., any combination of Duke wins and Hokie losses totaling five and Duke is in. The magic number vs. State is three. The magic number vs. Maryland and Wake is one.

BC lost to the U today and VPI is down 7-2 to FSU in the 8th. Duke doesn't olay this weekend so all i can do is scoreboard watch.

[Inonehand]

I really like this team. Not only will they be an ACC tourney team but I believe without the NCAA mandated schedule change, they would have made it to the NCAA regionals. Because of the shortened calendar, teams are having to play more midweek games in a shorter time period. This puts a team like Duke at a distinct disadvantage. It is hard to fill up a pitching staff beyond 5-6 high quality D1 pitchers when it costs $50k for a walk-on to pay for school. Baseball is THE hardest sport at Duke to field a competitive program. I believe McNally and staff are doing a phenomenal job.

[burnspbesq]

FSU is helping Duke for the second night in succession. The Noles lead VPI 10-3 in the seventh.

[chrishoke]

FSU beat VPI 10-4
U beat BC 7-5.
Excellent.

[chrishoke]

FSU just pulled off a triple play - VPI had the bases loaded with, of course no outs in the third. FSU leads 2-1.

[chrishoke]

FSU beats VPI 9-4. Our magic number with VPI is now down to 2.
BC killed Miami.

[burnspbesq]

Murlund has lost two to Clemson this weekend, so they are done in terms of having a chance to overtake Duke.

I think the standings on theacc.com have VPI's conference record incorrect. They are 10-16 in conference, not 10-15. They had a game against Carolina rained out, and their only remaining conference series is against the Hoos.

[burnspbesq]

Duke leads Virginia 7-3 in the top of the eighth.

State has defeated Carolina, 3-0.

Last I checked, Maryland was leading Wake by a bunch, late.

If those results hold, Wake is eliminated and Duke's magic number is down to two against both State and VPI.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Thanks for update Burns, forgot they were playing tonight. I know they got game bumped to 1 tomorrow. Duke might make me a fan of baseball before the end of the season. Paintings for next year?, hmmm.

[chrishoke]

Duke beat the Cavs 11-4.

[jimsumner]

Big win for the Devils on the road against a quality opponent. Home run by Feiman and grand-slam homer by Lemmerman. Plus, another solid starting effort by Manno.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Onward to the tounament, hopefully. Wow, what a beat down. Tomorrow a win would put the Devils in a great position.

[devildeac]

Big win for the Devils on the road against a quality opponent. Home run by Feiman and grand-slam homer by Lemmerman. Plus, another solid starting effort by Manno.

Agreed. That is a huge win against a top 25 (top 15?) team, one of 6, I think, ACC BB teams in the top 25.

[devildeac]

Final:

Duke 9
'hoos 10 with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th yesterday afternoon.

We had a 9-3 lead going to the bottom of the 8th and our 'pen failed us:(.

Perhaps this thread could be re-titled: Duke Baseball-2009 Edition as the guys try to qualify for the ACC tourney for the 1st time in centuries, or so it seems.:rolleyes:

[roywhite]

Final:

Duke 9
'hoos 10 with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th yesterday afternoon.

We had a 9-3 lead going to the bottom of the 8th and our 'pen failed us:(.

Perhaps this thread could be re-titled: Duke Baseball-2009 Edition as the guys try to qualify for the ACC tourney for the 1st time in centuries, or so it seems.:rolleyes:

The Devils got thumped 12-1 today to lose the series; shame they couldn't hold the lead yesterday. This moves their record to 13-14 in the ACC.

[devildeac]

The Devils got thumped 12-1 today to lose the series; shame they couldn't hold the lead yesterday. This moves their record to 13-14 in the ACC.

I think we may be 1 W (for us) or 1 L from VT or NCSU away from that 8th spot for the ACC tourney. Coughing up that 6 run lead on Saturday hurts, in addition to losing the series to the terps earlier this season.

[dpslaw]

NCSU is out.

[jimsumner]

"NCSU is out."

State cannot overtake Duke because Duke owns the tiebreaker. But I believe State can still finish eighth ahead of BC and VT. Unlikely but possible.

[dpslaw]

My apologies. Earlier today, State was listed at 9-18, instead of 10-17, on the ACC website. It has since been corrected.

[jimsumner]

Manno honored,

"Florida State’s Tommy Oravetz has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Week, while Duke’s Christopher Manno was tabbed for Pitcher of the Week of the honors.

In Friday’s 11-4 win at Virginia, Manno held the 11th-ranked Cavaliers to just one run over six innings to improve to 5-4 on the season. Manno struck out eight Cavaliers. Virginia entered the game with the second fewest strikeouts in the ACC and currently leads the league in hitting as a team with a .341 average.

Manno’s eight strikeouts were the most by a starter against Virginia since April 19, when Boston College’s Pat Dean also struck out eight, and tied for the second-most strikeouts by a starting pitcher against Virginia.


Manno fired 94 pitches in the start, 62 of which were strikes. Over his last seven starts, Manno is 4-1 with a 2.35 ERA. Manno, who also worked a scoreless inning vs. Davidson earlier in the week, is averaging 9.63 strikeouts per game during that span."

[burnspbesq]

Hoos and Hokies start at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. Duke and Tech start at 7.

Both games are listed as being shown on ACC Select, and there should be gametrackers running somewhere.

Duke's magic number to clinch its first ACC tournament berth since 2005 is one. One Duke win or one Hokie loss is all it takes.

One win in the ACC tournament and Duke becomes almost a lock for its first NCAA tournament bid since 1961. Two wins in the tournament and you can book a flight to somewhere. I selfishly hope they get put into a regional in Fullerton or Irvine.

[devildeac]

Hoos and Hokies start at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. Duke and Tech start at 7.

Both games are listed as being shown on ACC Select, and there should be gametrackers running somewhere.

Duke's magic number to clinch its first ACC tournament berth since 2005 is one. One Duke win or one Hokie loss is all it takes.

One win in the ACC tournament and Duke becomes almost a lock for its first NCAA tournament bid since 1961. Two wins in the tournament and you can book a flight to somewhere. I selfishly hope they get put into a regional in Fullerton or Irvine.

Not sure 1 W gets us in. The N&O thinks more like 2/3 W over GT this weekend and 2 W in the ACCT gets us an NCAA bid. That might mean 8 teams from the ACC to the NCAA. It might come down to leaving us or BC out.

[jimsumner]

I suspect Duke needs to win at least twice against GT and at least twice in the Tourny to even get in the NCAAT discussion. The RPI is in the 80s and there are far too many non-conference losses to second-tier teams. Teams that lose at home to Liberty tend to stay home from the post-season.

Note that the ACC got six teams in the tourny last season and nobody thinks the league is stronger this season than last season. Eight bids is awfully ambitious and probably unrealistic.

So, Duke has a lot of work to do. A lot.

[chrishoke]

I am excited about Duke potentially qualifying for the ACC Tournament. That will be a big step forward for this program. Duke is not an NCAA tourny team this year. I remember years ago when we had MVP Ryan Jackson and tied, I believe for first place in the ACC and still didn't make the NCAA field. Of course if we win the ACC tourny we willk automatically qualify.

[jimsumner]

Duke tied Georgia Tech for second in the ACC in 1994, four games behind Clemson. Duke hasn't had a winning mark in conference play since then.

[chrishoke]

Thanks for that correction Jim. Tied for second is still great. I believe our current coach was a member of that team.

[burnspbesq]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4158027&name=college_sports

Duke is number 67 in a 64-team field.

[burnspbesq]

http://www.hokiesports.com/baseball/live/?SPSID=88831&SPID=10613&DB_OEM_ID=17800

Hoos lead, 1-0, middle of the third.

[roywhite]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4158027&name=college_sports

Duke is number 67 in a 64-team field.

Thanks for the updates, and thanks for not using Lunardi terms.

[burnspbesq]

http://www.hokiesports.com/baseball/live/?SPSID=88831&SPID=10613&DB_OEM_ID=17800

Hoos lead, 1-0, middle of the third.

Hokies win on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth.

Duke trails GT, 6-2, in the bottom of the sixth.

[Tom B.]

Duke tied Georgia Tech for second in the ACC in 1994, four games behind Clemson. Duke hasn't had a winning mark in conference play since then.


How that Georgia Tech team managed not to finish first in the ACC is beyond me. That was an awesome team, featuring players like Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra and Jay Payton, and they ultimately won the national championship that year.

In one of their games at Duke, Jason Varitek hit a home run that still ranks as probably the longest homer I've ever seen in person in a live game. He hit it from the left side of the plate, over the right-center field fence. At the time, the public policy building was under construction and there was a large crane sitting probably 40 or 50 feet beyond the right-center field fence. The ball cleared the crane easily. Had to be at least 450 feet on the fly.

[jimsumner]

"That was an awesome team, featuring players like Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra and Jay Payton, and they ultimately won the national championship that year."

Awesome team for sure. But they lost the NCAA title game to Oklahoma.

In fact, the ACC has only won a single CWS, Wake Forest in 1955. Truly hard to believe. Note that Miami won some titles prior to joining the ACC.

[chrishoke]

Duke leads GT 6-4 in the bottom of the 6th with Andrew Wolcott pitching.

GO DUKE!

[burnspbesq]

Sill 6-4 Duke, middle of the eighth. GaTech had the tying run up in the top of the eighth. Wolcott has thrown 116 pitches; I assume we will see Alex Hassan in the ninth unless Duke blows it open in its half of the eighth.

[chrishoke]

Wolcott is starting the ninth.

[burnspbesq]

Leadoff batter grounds to second.

[burnspbesq]

Two out, none on.

[burnspbesq]

a 129-pitch complete game for Wolcott. Way to go, fellas! On to the ACC Tournament!

[chrishoke]

Exactly, on to the Acc Tourny. Fortunately, I am here in Raleigh so I can go and cheer the guys on.

Great game by Wolcott!

[dukebsbll14]

a 129-pitch complete game for Wolcott. Way to go, fellas! On to the ACC Tournament!

YES!! Can't wait to see us play in the ACC (and hopefully) NCAA Tourney. This team looks good and its only going to get better. I tip my cap to Coach Mac on a job well done, and what I hope to be a good post season run.

This year's Fresno State could be Duke? Unlikely, but hey, who knows?

[jimsumner]

Wolcott really gutted it out. He gave up four runs early and then shut down one of the best offensive teams in college ball.

It's great to qualify for the ACCT by beating a top team rather than back in by having somebody else lose.

[CameronBornAndBred]

It would be nice if we topped it off with another win to take the series.
Congrats on being tourney bound Devils!

[devildeac]

This is fabulous news. A hearty congrats to these guys.

[Faison1]

It's great to qualify for the ACCT by beating a top team rather than back in by having somebody else lose.

I totally expected Duke to back in......after watching parts of the the FSU/GTech series, I was wondering if Duke had it in them to win any games in our series.

I am very impressed (and hopeful) with the direction of ALL Duke Athletics!

[dpslaw]

If Duke and BC both finish at .500, does Duke get the seventh seed having won the series?

[CameronBornAndBred]

Going into the 6th, Duke has 3-1 lead in the last game at Coombs for the seniors. Streaming audio on GoDuke.com.

[chrishoke]

After giving up a 2 run homer to tie the game Duke hits a two rum homer of its own and has a 5-3 lead in the ninth.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Ness comes on in relief, 9th inning, GT has 2 on, batter has the go ahead homer. If Ness works it, game over and series won. GO DUKE!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Sounds like a hell of a catch off the very first Ness pitch, bounces off wall. Duke just won. Wooohooo!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Duke might have 7 seed for tourney, but either way congrats to the seniors, the rest of the team, and to the coaching staff, for bringing Duke back to relevance in ACC baseball.

[devildeac]

Full story here:http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=3739402

Heck of a win for the game and series and season.

A huge congrats.

[jimsumner]

I'm not sure if Duke has the horses to make a deep run next week or not. But I'm seeing a team that loose, confident, and trusts itself. Duke could pull an o'fer next week but I wouldn't count on it. Manno and Wolcott can get anyone out and there's some solid upperclass leadership that has worked long and hard to turn around this program and get a chance to make some noise in the post-season. The transformation on this program under McNally is quite impressive and I think he's building a program, not a one-year wonder.

The biggest news today was the solid performance of starter Eric Pfisterer. Duke has really struggled finding a third quality starter behind Manno and Wolcott. Pfisterer gave Duke a solid 5+ innings today and really deserved the win; O'Grady couldn't hold the lead and Pfisterer had a no decision but that doesn't change the fact that he may have solidified the rotation. And he's a true freshman, so he's going to get better.

Duke's D continues to be an asset. McCurdy and Freiman made high-quality plays today, as did GT SS Derek Dietrich. BTW, if you think of Freiman as just a big, home-run hitting galoot, you're not getting the full picture. Kid can play.

The ACC may well be the second-best conference in the country and going
.500 in league play is an accomplishment worthy of celebration.

And there may well be more accomplishments this season.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Congrats to the baseball team! First ACC tourney in years, the #7 seed, and the best ACC record in school history! Keep up the great play! Beat carolina! GTHc! 9F!

[4decadedukie]

Beating nationally-ranked Georgia Tech to earn the #7 ACC Tournament seed is GREAT NEWS and such rapid, substantial progress. CONGRATULATIONS to the team, the coaches, and the fans.

[chrishoke]

Congrats to the baseball team! First ACC tourney in years, the #7 seed, and the best ACC record in school history! Keep up the great play! Beat carolina! GTHc! 9F!

Ozzie, I'm pretty sure we had a better ACC record in 1994 - 16-9 I think.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Congrats to the baseball team! First ACC tourney in years, the #7 seed, and the best ACC record in school history! Keep up the great play! Beat carolina! GTHc! 9F!


Ozzie, I'm pretty sure we had a better ACC record in 1994 - 16-9 I think.
I heard that on the WRAL news last night just before I posted. I was surprised that 15-15 was our best ACC record, but maybe the reporter meant to add "since 19xx". I don't know.

[CameronBornAndBred]

We play the holes first, on Wednesday.

[burnspbesq]

Every bracketologist, prognosticator, and guru out there seems to agree that BC will be in the NCAA tournament and Duke will not. I must confess to being mystified by this.

Yes, Duke has seven non-conference losses and a pretty miserable strength of non-conference schedule. But BC has eight, including losses to such juggernauts as Holy Cross and LeMoyne. Duke won the series against BC. Duke also won two weekend series against teams that will be hosting regionals (Carolina and GaTech). BC has only one quality series win, against FSU.

What am I missing?

[jimsumner]

Duke has had many better ACC finishes, including first-places in 1956, 1957, and 1961.

I suspect what Oz heard or what the reporter meant to say is that this is the most ACC wins in Duke history. But teams play a lot more games these days so it's a misleading stat. I think most folks would acknowledge that 12-3 trumps 15-15.

[jimsumner]

Tournament match-ups announced.

DIVISION A – No. 1 Florida State, No. 4 Georgia Tech, No. 5 Miami, No. 8 Boston College

DIVISION B – No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Clemson, No. 6 Virginia, No. 7 Duke



Wednesday’s games

Noon – Georgia Tech (34-15-1, 17-10-1) vs. Miami (35-18, 18-12)

4 p.m. – Florida State (40-14, 19-9) vs. Boston College (31-23, 13-15)

8 p.m. – North Carolina (41-14, 19-10) vs. Duke (34-22, 15-15)



Thursday’s games

Noon – Georgia Tech vs. Boston College

4 p.m. – Florida State vs. Miami

8 p.m. – Clemson (39-17, 19-11) vs. Virginia (39-12-1, 16-11-1)



Friday’s games

Noon – Miami vs. Boston College

4 p.m. – Clemson vs. Duke

8 p.m. – North Carolina vs. Virginia



Saturday’s games

Noon – Florida State vs. Georgia Tech

4 p.m. – North Carolina vs. Clemson

8 p.m. – Virginia vs. Duke



Sunday’s game

1 p.m. -- Championship

[CameronBornAndBred]

Thanks much Jim. I'm going to try to get there for Saturday's game. It might be my last chance to take any photos for some baseball paintings. Do they still play even if it's obvious they don't have a chance?

[jimsumner]

They will play all the games.

[CameronBornAndBred]

They will play all the games.
Very cool. If it ain't raining, I'll be there. Probably been over 20 years since I was at a baseball game last.

[jimsumner]

ALL-ACC team

Wolcott, Freiman, and Gould make it. A case could be made for Hassan and Williams but I don't think Duke has much room for complaint.


2009 ALL-ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL TEAMS



FIRST TEAM

Name Cl. Position School

Tony Sanchez Jr. Catcher Boston College

Dustin Ackley Jr. First Base North Carolina

Phil Gosselin So. Second Base Virginia

Kyle Seager Jr. Third Base North Carolina

Tyler Cannon Jr. Shortstop Virginia

Jeff Schaus So. Outfield Clemson

Tyler Holt So. Outfield Florida State

Luke Murton Sr. Outfield Georgia Tech

Jeff Rowland So. Outfield Georgia Tech

Dan Grovatt So. Outfield Virginia

Jarrett Parker So. Outfield Virginia

Danny Hultzen Fr. Utility (1B/SP) Virginia

Andrew Wolcott Sr. Starting Pitcher Duke

Deck McGuire So. Starting Pitcher Georgia Tech

Alex White Jr. Starting Pitcher North Carolina

Sean Gilmartin Fr. Starting Pitcher Florida State

Kyle Bellamy Jr. Relief Pitcher Miami



SECOND TEAM

Name Cl. Position School

Yasmani Grandal So. Catcher Miami

Nate Freiman Sr. First Base Duke

Tony Plagman Jr. First Base Georgia Tech

Jason Stidham Jr. Second Base Florida State

Scott Lawson Jr. Second Base Miami

Mickey Wiswall So. Third Base Boston College

Derek Dietrich So. Shortstop Georgia Tech

Stephen Cardullo Jr.. Shortstop Florida State

Steve Domecus Jr. Outfield Virginia Tech

Robbie Anston Jr. Outfield Boston College

Jeremy Gould Jr. Outfield Duke

Mike Belifore Jr. Utility (1B/RP) Boston College

Mike McGee So. Utility (OF/SP) Florida State

Adam Warren Sr. Starting Pitcher North Carolina

Chris Hernandez So. Starting Pitcher Miami

Jimmy Gillheeney Jr. Starting Pitcher NC State

Brian Moran Jr. Relief Pitcher North Carolina



Player of the Year – Dustin Ackley, North Carolina



Pitcher of the Year – Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech



Freshman of the Year – Danny Hultzen, Virginia



Coach of the Year – Mike Martin, Florida State

[burnspbesq]

The latest ESPN bracketology is just making me nuts.

"Stuggling" Georgia Tech may have played its way out of a top-eight national seed (the top eight automatically host super-regionals if they win their regional), but the team they struggled against gets no love at all. Still showing BC in and Duke out.

What am I missing here?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4175542&name=college_sports

[Inonehand]

The latest ESPN bracketology is just making me nuts.

"Stuggling" Georgia Tech may have played its way out of a top-eight national seed (the top eight automatically host super-regionals if they win their regional), but the team they struggled against gets no love at all. Still showing BC in and Duke out.

What am I missing here?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4175542&name=college_sports

It makes NO sense at all. None. Duke handled BC two games and BC won in 11 innings the third. They have ONE quality series win...against FSU back in MARCH! They only played GT one of the three scheduled games and lost that one. Our record against ranked teams, especially highly ranked teams, should matter. Even looking at games against teams in the ACC Tournament (this should matter, shouldn't it), Duke is 9-9 and BC is 7-12.

The committee should know better. Hopefully, they do.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Tonight's game will be broadcast on FSN. It will be the first Duke baseball game I have ever watched on TV.

[devildeac]

Things looking a bit dim for the good guys at this time trailing the evil empire 0-4 in the 5th.:(

[devildeac]

Even dimmer now in the bottom of the 6th and the evil ones with a man on 3rd with 2 out and a 6-1 lead.:(:(

[CameronBornAndBred]

It's almost dark enough for a seeing eye dog now. 7-1

[devildeac]

It's almost dark enough for a seeing eye dog now. 7-1

final was 8-3. I think we gotta win 2 to get that NCAA bid.

[dukebsbll14]

Leading Clem 2-1 in bot 5

Need to win today, have UVA beat UNC, and beat UVA to play FSU in championship game I believe.

[dukebsbll14]

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=3741739

Former Duke Pitcher Burke Gets Call To Big Leagues
Greg Burke( class of 2005) gets called up to the bigs by Padres.
Congrats to Greg


Oh!
Nate Freiman just became Duke's all-time home run leader. Congrats to Nate!

[devildeac]

Duke 10
clemson 2
clemson batting, top of the 8th with 1 out and 2 on
Walcott still pitching with a pitch count of 115-hope he can get another out or two and then we can go to the 'pen and close 'em down

[dukebsbll14]

Duke 10
clemson 2
clemson batting, top of the 8th with 1 out and 2 on
Walcott still pitching with a pitch count of 115-hope he can get another out or two and then we can go to the 'pen and close 'em down


Duke 10
Clem 4

bottom 8.
AHH! Three duke errors (and one by McCurdy who didn't make an error all season).

[dukebsbll14]

Duke 10
Clemson 4
Final


Duke keeps ACC Championship hopes alive. If UVA beats UNC tonight, and Duke beats UVA tomorrow night, Duke plays for championship

[devildeac]

Duke 10
Clemson 4
Final


Duke keeps ACC Championship hopes alive. If UVA beats UNC tonight, and Duke beats UVA tomorrow night, Duke plays for championship

Go 'hoos!:D (just tonite, that is)
GTHCGTH!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Laid down the smackdown. GO DUKE. Still contemplating going tomorrow night for painting purposes.

[burnspbesq]

Duke 10
Clemson 4
Final


Duke keeps ACC Championship hopes alive. If UVA beats UNC tonight, and Duke beats UVA tomorrow night, Duke plays for championship

Not sure it's that simple. Suppose the Hoos beat the Heels tonight, and then Duke and Carolina win tomorrow. Then the final standings in the group would have Duke, Carolina, and Virginia all at 2-1, with Clemson at 0-3. And all three would be 1-1 against each other. What's the second tiebreaker?

[dukebsbll14]

Not sure it's that simple. Suppose the Hoos beat the Heels tonight, and then Duke and Carolina win tomorrow. Then the final standings in the group would have Duke, Carolina, and Virginia all at 2-1, with Clemson at 0-3. And all three would be 1-1 against each other. What's the second tiebreaker?


My bad. I'm an idiot.

here's tiebreaker rules from theacc.com
if more than one team is tied at the completion of round-robin play in the divisions, the following tie-breaking procedure will be used:
(1) Two Teams Tied: (a) The team that won the head-to-head competition in Championship games will advance.
(2) Three Teams Tied: (a) The team with the best overall conference winning percentage in regular season play will advance; (b) The team with the best head-to-head conference winning percentage among the tied teams in regular season play, provided that all teams were common opponents during the regular season, will advance;(c) The team with the highest seed in the respective bracket will advance.


1.)So we need UNC to lose tonight and Friday. If they go 2-1, they win tiebreaker
2.)Beat UVA. If #1 happens, we win tiebreaker and play in championship.

Sorry for all of the confusion. I overlooked the fact that UNC only played one game.

[jimsumner]

Virginia just put up a ten spot on the Heels in the bottom of the third. Truly stuinning.

[roywhite]

Virginia just put up a ten spot on the Heels in the bottom of the third. Truly stuinning.

stuinning = a truly stunning inning, as when your least favorite team gives up double digits; I like it. :)

[godukerocks]

Final:

UVA:11
UNC:1

[Son of Jarhead]

On the 11pm news at WRAL, Jay Jennings said something like "they had to invoke the mercy rule"... how great is that? :-))

Go Duke!!!! GTHC!

[4decadedukie]

If, on Saturday, Duke beats UVa and Clemson beats UNC-CH, we'll play for the ACC Tournament Championship . . . win or lose, that's unbelievable progress in a very brief time.

[jve666]

For those of us not able to see the games in person, both the UNC-Clemson game and our game are televised live on one of the Fox College sports networks. By the way, who will Mcnally start Saturday?

[4decadedukie]

For those of us not able to see the games in person, both the UNC-Clemson game and our game are televised live on one of the Fox College sports networks. By the way, who will Mcnally start Saturday?

FYI, in the DC area -- at least on Verizon FIOS in Fairfax County -- ComCast Sports Net (channel 76) is re-broadcasting the Fox feed.

[jimsumner]

"By the way, who will Mcnally start Saturday? "

Staff.

Duke might pitch nine guys for one inning each.

Seriously, Sean told me after the game that everyone on the staff except for Wolcott might be called on.

Look, if you're anywhere near Durham and you have any interest in Duke baseball, indeed Duke athletics, come out tonight. Forget the Heels. Duke hasn't played in the NCAA tournament since 19 freaking 61 and a win over Virginia will go a long way to rectifying this. Big, big game.

[Acymetric]

"By the way, who will Mcnally start Saturday? "

Staff.

Duke might pitch nine guys for one inning each.

Seriously, Sean told me after the game that everyone on the staff except for Wolcott might be called on.

Look, if you're anywhere near Durham and you have any interest in Duke baseball, indeed Duke athletics, come out tonight. Forget the Heels. Duke hasn't played in the NCAA tournament since 19 freaking 61 and a win over Virginia will go a long way to rectifying this. Big, big game.

Man, I wish I could be there. I'm no baseball fan...I've been to about 4 Bulls games ever. But if I weren't in Atlanta for a wedding I'd be at this game in a heartbeat...but instead I'll be at a rehearsal dinner. What time is the game so I can try to follow it on my phone?

[dkbaseball]

"By the way, who will Mcnally start Saturday? "

Staff.

Duke might pitch nine guys for one inning each.

Seriously, Sean told me after the game that everyone on the staff except for Wolcott might be called on.

Look, if you're anywhere near Durham and you have any interest in Duke baseball, indeed Duke athletics, come out tonight. Forget the Heels. Duke hasn't played in the NCAA tournament since 19 freaking 61 and a win over Virginia will go a long way to rectifying this. Big, big game.

Would make it if I were within 250 miles. As the starting pitcher in the first ACC tournament game Duke ever played, I showed up well off of regular season form and helped launch a pretty ignominious history in this tournament.

It's time to get on the Mcnally bandwagon bigtime. I thought he might be missing a bit in the gladhanding/networking department, but if so it appears not to matter. No question he's doing a great job of coaching the game and has the respect of the players. He has his team entirely competitive in a conference that's right there with the top two or three in the country, and he's doing it with substandard facilities. And I believe there's a top 25 recruiting class coming in next year.

[jimsumner]

Game time is scheduled for eight, although that could change a bit if the preceding game (UNC-Clemson) goes long or the weather gods get capricious.

Duke does indeed have an esxcellent recruiting class coming. They're sweating out the draft on a couple of the newbies but that's actually a sign that they're recruiting at a higher level.

[Inonehand]

Game time is scheduled for eight, although that could change a bit if the preceding game (UNC-Clemson) goes long or the weather gods get capricious.

Duke does indeed have an esxcellent recruiting class coming. They're sweating out the draft on a couple of the newbies but that's actually a sign that they're recruiting at a higher level.

All Duke fans in the area: please come out! This is a HUGE game for Duke Baseball. HUGE. I have no idea how the baseball RPI works but it is a joke! Duke needs this win because their RPI is in the 70s and BC's is in the 30s and everyone thinks if the ACC gets a 7th team in, it will be BC. The ONLY edge BC has over Duke right now is RPI. Record against quality opponents during the regular season all goes to Duke. But BC won two in the tourney and we need to match that!

Go Devils...and by the way...Nate Freiman's home run yesterday was impressive to say the least. But his double off the wall might have been the longest line drive I have ever witnessed. It was unbelievable.

[jimsumner]

Folks, BC is in. A rock-solid lock. No way Duke leap-frogs BC. Duke needs to be the ACC's 8th bid.

[DU82]

Tigers are up over the evil ones 3-2 in the middle of the seventh (Clemson is the home team.) IF they hold on, the winner of the night game between Duke and Virginia goes on to the championship game against FSU.

[devildeac]

clumpson throws out a heel at the plate in the top of the 10th to preserve a 3-3 tie and are batting in the bottom of the 10th now. go tiggers!

[Son of Jarhead]

Clemson wins in 11th! Go Duke!!!!

[devildeac]

tigers win, 4-3, with a walk-off single off the wall in the bottom of the 11th!
If Duke beats the 'hoos, they play f$u for the ACC title.
Let's go Devils-clap, clap, clap/clap/clap.

[DU82]

Great game. Fundamentals by Clemson. Perfect bunt down third for a hit, the hole pitcher should have eaten the ball, but throws it over the first baseman. Batter to third. After walking the bases loaded to set up the force at home, the next Clemson batter strikes out looking at an outside pitch (as the announcers said, it might have been outside the strike zone, but was a strike all game.) Then the final Clemson hitter battles to a full count, then hits the ball off the wall for a walk-off single.

Loved the shots of the Duke team with their rally caps in support of Clemson waiting for the end of the game (if Clemson lost, then Duke would be eliminated.)

This means the winner of the Duke-UVa game goes to the finals tomorrow against FSU.

Time to head down to the DBAP!

[burnspbesq]

That's one of the stranger three-run innings I've seen in a while. Duke scores on a wild pitch, a throwing error, and a botched run-down.

Duke leads, 3-0, going to the fourth. Pfisterer has gotten the job done so far, but his pitch count is astronomical. Going to be a long night for the Duke bullpen.

[DukeCO2009]

Ouch. Top 7 was ugly. Time for a comeback.

[Son of Jarhead]

Devils showed great heart... we're proud of you guys! Go Duke!!!!

Now we just have to hope the selection committee smiles on us...

[wolfpackdevil]

Does Duke really have a chance at getting an at-large bid???

I mean they did win 8 games vs. top 25 teams, and won 2 out of 3 against UNC and GT.

[Jim3k]

Does Duke really have a chance at getting an at-large bid???

I mean they did win 8 games vs. top 25 teams, and won 2 out of 3 against UNC and GT.


Let's see. Two outs. Two walks. Two hit batsmen. An error. A Triple. A double. Went from 4-2 to 4-9. Final 7-11.

Nope. No NCAA bid.

Comeback effort was nice, but ultimately of no consequence to the NCAA.

In baseball, the name of the game is: Pitching. Pitching Pitching.

Duke needs some Pitching.

And Marcus Jones's pinch-hit double was sweet. What a great athlete!

[jimsumner]

The consensus of the media last night was that Duke most likely has played its final game of the season. The committee could pull a surprise but it would be a surprise.

Last night was devastating, no doubt about it. Seven outs.

But if Duke misses, they have only themselves to blame. Too many mid-week losses to second-tier teams and a 2-4 record against Wake and Maryland, the two worst teams in the league. Go 4-2 instead of 2-4 and we're not having this discussion.

[wolfpackdevil]

The consensus of the media last night was that Duke most likely has played its final game of the season. The committee could pull a surprise but it would be a surprise.

Last night was devastating, no doubt about it. Seven outs.

But if Duke misses, they have only themselves to blame. Too many mid-week losses to second-tier teams and a 2-4 record against Wake and Maryland, the two worst teams in the league. Go 4-2 instead of 2-4 and we're not having this discussion.

Jimsumner you are right that they should have been able to go over .500 against Wake and Maryland, but I do not think that Duke should be blaming themselves for anything.

They made it to their first ACC tournament in 4 years, and they have had their first over .500 acc season in a long time.

This Blue Devil Baseball team has one of the best young rising coaches in the nation.

They also had the best fielding team in the conference, and the 5th best fielding team in the Nation.

This team is getting better and taking big strides. So they should not be blaming themselves, they sould be congradulating each other on a great season, and on how much better this program is getting.

[jimsumner]

Wolfpackdevil,

I know what you're saying. I follow the program quite closely. I was the only print media writer at many home games.

Duke does have much to be proud of and I think the future of the program is bright, especially if Duke gets off their rear-ends and spends some money on Coombs.

But I absolutely guarantee you that the goal of this team was not making the ACC Tournament, the goal of this team was making the NCAA Tournament. There still is some hope that Duke will get a bid but it's a long shot. Duke left a lot of winnable games on the table and they darn well know that better than you or I.

[burnspbesq]

The selection committee shows much love to the Big 12 - both Oklahoma State and Baylor are in, which is ridiculous.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/college/?p=1301#more-1301

Indiana's upset win in the Big 10 tournament may have killed Duke's last slim chance of getting in.

We lose a lot of seniors, and we will be sweating out the draft to see whether any of our recruits decide to go pro. But the program is clearly on the upswing.

FWIW, Virginia got absolutely hosed. They are the second seed in Irvine, and will face the best pitcher in college baseball in their first game against San Diego State.

[dkbaseball]

FWIW, Virginia got absolutely hosed. They are the second seed in Irvine, and will face the best pitcher in college baseball in their first game against San Diego State.

So did UC Irvine, for a team that's been ranked number one the past several weeks. A number two seed in the regional of UVA's caliber, and SD State as a third. Maybe UVA will catch a break and Gwynn will hold the horse out for the second game, assuming he can get by UVA with his number two.

[wolfpackdevil]

Just wondering, why did Boston College get an at-large bid since Duke had a better overall and conference record, and we beat the eagles 2 out of 3 in the series.

?????

[jimsumner]

"We lose a lot of seniors, and we will be sweating out the draft to see whether any of our recruits decide to go pro. But the program is clearly on the upswing."

Correct about the draft. That's actually a good thing. You cannot compete in the ACC without recruiting players good enough to at least contemplate going pro after high school.

I do not expect any of the juniors to be drafted high enough to justify a departure.

Not an awful lot of seniors but quality is higher than quantity. Freiman, Williams, and Wolcott were among Duke's best players and Sherlock had his moments.

Duke will have a true freshman starting at catcher next season, with another backing him up. Gould needs to improve his power stats, a first baseman has to be found, and Duke needs more quality pitching depth. Duke also needs to upgrade their non-conference schedule to more RPI-friendly regions.

But Gould, Hassan, and Lemmerman are quality players to build around, several freshmen had solid seasons this year, and the defense will continue to be an asset.

Most of these guys will be playing summer ball, a good many at the Cape. I'll try to update when I can.

One positive that posters may not be aware of. Stud pitcher Michael Seander is expected to be at 100% for fall ball. He was a freshman A-A before hurting his arm and undergoing TJ surgery. A Manno, Seander, Pfisterer weekend rotation can compete with anybody.

If you've read the thread from the beginning, you know that I'm disappointed but not surprised by the NCAAT near miss. But trust me, I have lots of non-Duke friends and contacts in the ACC and there is no question that Duke is a program on the rise. I'm not looking through Duke-tinted lenses here folks.

One of my goals is the apply for NCAA Tournament media credentials for Duke baseball. I don't think I'm going to have to wait much longer.

[A-Tex Devil]

Baylor has no business being in there. It's the equivalent of a 5-11 ACC team getting in in basketball.

[jimsumner]

"Just wondering, why did Boston College get an at-large bid since Duke had a better overall and conference record, and we beat the eagles 2 out of 3 in the series"

I've already addressed this in earlier posts but I'll reiterate. Duke's non-conference schedule was weak, which lowered the RPI. Further, Duke lost too many of these games. Duke also went 2-4 against Maryland and Wake Forest, the two weakest teams in the ACC.

As a result Duke's RPI just wasn't high enough to warrant an at-large bid. BC had a much higher RPI as a result of better non-ACC teams. That's why BC is making travel plans and Duke is not.

[dkbaseball]

"Just wondering, why did Boston College get an at-large bid since Duke had a better overall and conference record, and we beat the eagles 2 out of 3 in the series"

I've already addressed this in earlier posts but I'll reiterate. Duke's non-conference schedule was weak, which lowered the RPI. Further, Duke lost too many of these games. Duke also went 2-4 against Maryland and Wake Forest, the two weakest teams in the ACC.

As a result Duke's RPI just wasn't high enough to warrant an at-large bid. BC had a much higher RPI as a result of better non-ACC teams. That's why BC is making travel plans and Duke is not.

If memory serves, I was hammering on the non-conference schedule a couple of years ago -- a disgraceful array of cupcakes that is a legacy from the not-so-distant past when they had no chance to compete in the ACC and coaches wanted to pad their records. Once you become competitive, the players often don't bother to show up for the mid-week "laughers." There have got to be close to a dozen very solid non-ACC programs right there in North Carolina that Duke could play without damaging the RPI, instead of hosting every Quinnipiac that wants to come south.

[jimsumner]

For those on this thread who haven't closely followed Duke baseball, let me make a couple of points.

When Sean McNally took over Duke baseball was in shambles, an absolute laughing-stock. Joe Alleva's decision to fire Steve Traylor and replace him with Bill Hillier was absolutely indefensible.

Second, Duke needs to make some hard decisions about infrastructure and they need to make them soon. The ACC is very, very good in baseball and Duke needs more resources to compete at the highest level. If anyone has a spare 5-6 million dollars lying around, I think I know a way to spend it.

[Inonehand]

If memory serves, I was hammering on the non-conference schedule a couple of years ago -- a disgraceful array of cupcakes that is a legacy from the not-so-distant past when they had no chance to compete in the ACC and coaches wanted to pad their records. Once you become competitive, the players often don't bother to show up for the mid-week "laughers." There have got to be close to a dozen very solid non-ACC programs right there in North Carolina that Duke could play without damaging the RPI, instead of hosting every Quinnipiac that wants to come south.

A couple of years ago? Non-conference scheduling is what kept a couple of teams that McNally played on out of the NCAA Tournament. Especially 1994. But, let's be honest here...baseball voters are just lazy if RPI is what kept Duke out of the tourney. Certainly wish Duke had taken at least one more from Wake and Maryland...but would I give up wins over UNC and GT to get them? No. Our performance against top flight competition was extremely solid. This Duke team COULD NOT have beaten much better competition than they were scheduling midweek. Not enough pitching. And it isn't easy to fill a roster at Duke like it is done other places.

Jim is right about Coombs. It is a disgrace. Something should be done. It will help McNally continue the major improvements he's made to the program. It will always be the hardest job in the ACC however.

[Inonehand]

For those on this thread who haven't closely followed Duke baseball, let me make a couple of points.

When Sean McNally took over Duke baseball was in shambles, an absolute laughing-stock. Joe Alleva's decision to fire Steve Traylor and replace him with Bill Hillier was absolutely indefensible.

Second, Duke needs to make some hard decisions about infrastructure and they need to make them soon. The ACC is very, very good in baseball and Duke needs more resources to compete at the highest level. If anyone has a spare 5-6 million dollars lying around, I think I know a way to spend it.

Jim, I so appreciate your interest in and devotion to Duke Baseball. I wish more people cared as much as you do. Almost always agree with you too. Firing Traylor was not a bad decision however. As for Hillier...if Bill had put the same effort into the job as head coach as he did as an assistant, or as he did at UNC-Asheville, he would have done ok. Asheville had gotten better under Hillier. Also, Hillier was allowed to pay his assistants a total of about $20k for the first few years he was at Duke. Pretty hard to staff up with those numbers. Hindsight makes it a much worse decision than it was at the time.

[jimsumner]

Inonehand, we're going to have to agree to disagree here. I think firing Traylor was a major misfire.

[burnspbesq]

How feasible is it for Duke to seriously upgrade its non-conference schedule?

Geography is the principal determinant of who you can play in midweek games. My frame of reference is my two local teams, UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton. They can easily build a solid non-conference schedule, because they have USC, UCLA, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, USD, and San Diego State within a two-hour bus ride. Stretch the travel envelope to include one-hour flights, and you can add Stanford, Cal, Arizona State, and UNLV.

Duke doesn't play the two best teams that are in its midweek travel envelope, East Carolina and South Carolina. That obviously has to change. But beyond that, what's feasible? Is it really an upgrade to play VCU, Charlotte, and Richmond instead of Liberty, Presbyterian, and Radford? Is it feasible to play George Mason or (to go in the other direction) Georgia in midweek? Can we afford to fly to play a midweek game at, say, Vandy?

And it's hard to play SEC and Big 12 schools when there are only two weekends before conference play begins.

[A-Tex Devil]

How feasible is it for Duke to seriously upgrade its non-conference schedule?

Geography is the principal determinant of who you can play in midweek games. My frame of reference is my two local teams, UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton. They can easily build a solid non-conference schedule, because they have USC, UCLA, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, USD, and San Diego State within a two-hour bus ride. Stretch the travel envelope to include one-hour flights, and you can add Stanford, Cal, Arizona State, and UNLV.

Duke doesn't play the two best teams that are in its midweek travel envelope, East Carolina and South Carolina. That obviously has to change. But beyond that, what's feasible? Is it really an upgrade to play VCU, Charlotte, and Richmond instead of Liberty, Presbyterian, and Radford? Is it feasible to play George Mason or (to go in the other direction) Georgia in midweek? Can we afford to fly to play a midweek game at, say, Vandy?

And it's hard to play SEC and Big 12 schools when there are only two weekends before conference play begins.

Some of these teams may be on the schedule already, but here are just the teams that made the tourney that could work:

South Carolina
East Carolina
Coastal Carolina
Elon
Vanderbilt
Georgia

And there are plenty of N/S Carolina, Virginia, Georgia teams that are solid they could schedule.

Duke is smack dab in one of the 3 best geographical regions for really good mid-major teams, the others being California and TX/LA/OK.

[blueprofessor]

Excellent discussion about the ACC tournament and ACC teams.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/college/?p=1319

Best regards---Blueprofessor:)

[jimsumner]

Here are the summer-league plans for the Duke team. For those of you who don't follow this stuff, these are wooden bat leagues. The Cape Cod League is considered the top summer league around and having six of the best Duke players suiting up at the Cape is good news.

From Duke press release.

"The Duke baseball team will send 18 players to play in various summer leagues around the country, including six who will compete in the nationally-renowned Cape Cod Baseball League.

After sending five players to the Cape in 2008, Duke will take six players to the wooden-bat league, which is annually hailed as the top summer collegiate baseball league in the country. Juniors Alex Hassan (Orleans Firebirds) and Christopher Manno (Harwich Mariners) and sophomore Jake Lemmerman (Wareham Gatemen) return to the Cape Cod League for the second straight year, while juniors Jeremy Gould (Orleans Firebirds) and Michael Ness (Orleans Firebirds) and freshman Eric Pfisterer (Wareham Gatemen) will join CCBL rosters for the first time in their careers.

Duke also has three representatives in the Midwest-based Northwoods League, including junior Ryan McCurdy (Deluth Huskies), sophomore Dennis O’Grady (Brainerd Lunkers) and freshman Will Piwnica-Worms (Brainerd Lunkers).

The New England-based Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League will have three Blue Devils in sophomore Tom Luciano (Peekskill Robins) and freshmen Joe Pedevillano (Peekskill Robins) and David Putman (Quakertown Blazers).

In the Carolina-based Southern Collegiate Baseball League, senior Marcus Jones (Asheville Redbirds) and freshman Brian Litwin (Lake Norman Copperheads) will represent Duke.

Finally, Duke will have representation in four other leagues, including the California Collegiate League (Trevor Cesar, Santa Maria Packers), the Carolina-Virginia Summer College League (Cam Schulz, Fuquay-Varina Twins), the Texas Collegiate League (Ben Grisz, Coppell Copperheads) and the Valley League (Ryan Knott, Waynesboro Generals).

Those Blue Devils are coming off one of the most successful seasons in Duke history, completing the 2009 campaign with a 35-24 overall record and a 15-15 mark in the ACC. Duke came within one game of reaching the ACC Championship, but lost to ACC Champion Virginia in a game that sent the winner to the conference final.

2009 Duke Baseball Summer League Assignments

Player Year League Team

Trevor Cesar Fr. California Collegiate League Santa Maria Packers

Jeremy Gould Jr. Cape Cod Orleans Cardinals

Ben Grisz Fr. Texas Collegiate League Coppell Copperheads

Alex Hassan Jr. Cape Cod Orleans Cardinals

Marcus Jones Sr. Southern Collegiate League Asheville Redbirds

Ryan Knott So. Valley League Waynesboro Generals

Jake Lemmerman So. Cape Cod Wareham Gatemen

Brian Litwin Fr. Southern Collegiate League Lake Norman Copperheads

Tom Luciano So. Atlantic Collegiate League Peekskill Robins

Christopher Manno Jr. Cape Cod Harwich Mariners

Ryan McCurdy Jr. Northwoods League Deluth Huskies

Michael Ness Jr. Cape Cod Orleans Cardinals

Dennis O'Grady So. Northwoods League Brainerd Lunkers

Joe Pedevillano Fr. Atlantic Collegiate League Peekskill Robins

Eric Pfisterer Fr. Cape Cod Wareham Gatemen

Will Piwnica-Worms Fr. Northwoods League Brainerd Lunkers

David Putman Fr. Atlantic Collegiate League Quakertown Blazers

Cam Schulz So. Carolina-Virginia Summer League Fuquay-Varina Twins

[Inonehand]

Inonehand, we're going to have to agree to disagree here. I think firing Traylor was a major misfire.

I will respectfully agree to disagree. No problem.

[Inonehand]

How feasible is it for Duke to seriously upgrade its non-conference schedule?

Geography is the principal determinant of who you can play in midweek games. My frame of reference is my two local teams, UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton. They can easily build a solid non-conference schedule, because they have USC, UCLA, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, USD, and San Diego State within a two-hour bus ride. Stretch the travel envelope to include one-hour flights, and you can add Stanford, Cal, Arizona State, and UNLV.

Duke doesn't play the two best teams that are in its midweek travel envelope, East Carolina and South Carolina. That obviously has to change. But beyond that, what's feasible? Is it really an upgrade to play VCU, Charlotte, and Richmond instead of Liberty, Presbyterian, and Radford? Is it feasible to play George Mason or (to go in the other direction) Georgia in midweek? Can we afford to fly to play a midweek game at, say, Vandy?

And it's hard to play SEC and Big 12 schools when there are only two weekends before conference play begins.

Considering the compact schedule, Duke's academic requirements, and limited travel budget (and time), scheduling is not easy. And, to be fair, some of the teams played are not always as low in the RPI as they were this year. UNCG is not far removed from having been a VERY good team. Davidson has been pretty decent. However, there are teams we can drive to and they can drive to us that are always higher in RPI than some teams we played. App State, ECU, UNCW, Coastal. Richmond and VCU were both down in RPI this year but they are good options not much farther than Davidson.

One thing we have to realize, however, is the fact we lost to some of these low ranked teams. Win those games and our RPI is higher. I still stand by my belief that this team deserved to be in the tourney. Looking at the RPI over what can be easily inspected (ie our record against top teams) is a lazy attempt to manage the selection process.

Regardless, this was a fun team to watch and I am very proud of them and our coaches.

[jimsumner]

Duke did split with Elon this year and Elon is really good.

Coastal Carolina would make a really good non-conference rival. They're the two-seed in Carolina's regional. George Mason, Western Carolina, UNC-Wilmington, and College of Charleston are all in the RPI top-65 (Nolan's version) this year. i.e. higher than Duke. The Citadel and App State are close to Duke in RPI and distance. So, it doesn't require long plane trips to bump up that RPI.

Duke was a tough call for the committee. The best wins were really good wins. But the worst losses were really bad losses. Losing the season series to Wake and Maryland kept Duke from challenging Miami and Virginia for fifth/sixth place in the ACC. Wake's ERA in the ACC was almost nine and they beat Duke in Coombs 4-2. That hurt.

But there were a lot of bad non-conference losses. Liberty (110 RPI) twice; LaSalle (237), High Point (194), UNC-Greensboro (190), Davidson (195). Duke played NC Central three times this year and won all three but Central is 300 in the RPI. Might as well beat a high-school team.

These mid-week games don't get on TV, they don't draw much media attention. But they count. You might squeeze in a bid with this schedule but you'd darn well better win them.

Even playing 33 games against the ACC, Duke's SOS was 79. Way too much dead weight.

A case could be made for putting Duke in. But a case could be made for keeping Duke out. I don't think any great injustice was done.

[BlueintheFace]

I wish our baseball team was this cool:

http://sports.todaysbigthing.com/2009/05/28

[dkbaseball]

Quite the statement for ACC baseball made by the Hoos last night, beating Strasburg 5-1, his first loss of the season. For those who aren't familiar with this guy, he's being called the best pitching prospect ever by some, and his agent Scott Boras is expected to redefine the concept of signing bonus after he's drafted number one next month. He routinely hits over 100 on the gun, good breaking stuff, competetive, etc.

[A-Tex Devil]

I wish our baseball team was this cool:

http://sports.todaysbigthing.com/2009/05/28

That was the awesomest thing I have seen all year.

edited to add -- How bout that 25 inning game last night? Austin Wood pitched 13 innings including the first 12.1 in no hit fashion. Wow!

[shoutingncu]

FWIW, Virginia got absolutely hosed. They are the second seed in Irvine, and will face the best pitcher in college baseball in their first game against San Diego State.

UVa wins its region 3-0, beating Irvine twice in the process. Go ACC! (at least, in that Super Regional, right?)

[A-Tex Devil]

ACC can still get 5 teams into the super regionals, with 3 already in!! Maybe this is finally the year?

Big 12 can only get 3, and will likely only have one.

SEC has a chance at 6, with 3 already in.

PAC 10 is only getting **ONE** team through which is pretty nuts.

Carolina may play East Carolina if the Pirates beat the Gamecocks tonight --- that should be a raucous crowd.

[jimsumner]

"ACC can still get 5 teams into the super regionals, with 3 already in!! Maybe this is finally the year?"

Maybe. But keep in mind that the ACC had four teams in the CWS in 2006 and came up empty.

I was in Chapel Hill last weekend and the baby blue looked really good, Virginia is playing as well as anyone in the country and what Florida State did to Ohio State is illegal in most states.

UNC will play either ECU or South Carolina and either figures to bring some fans.

[gotham devil]

Steven Baron, a very talented catcher that Sean McNally signed, was drafted by the Mariners at #33 overall.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2009/reports.jsp?content=baron

Mercifully, the three others with a high grade, haven't been taken (yet). Stroman, who had arguably the highest grade and was a preseason second-team all-American, apparently let it be known that he was going to be difficult to sign away from Duke.

[jimsumner]

From Duke SID.

" A record-tying four Duke baseball players were selected on day two of the 2009 MLB First Year Player Draft on Wednesday, marking only the second time in school history that four Duke players were drafted in the same year.

Senior first baseman Nate Freiman was the first Blue Devil to go off the board when he was selected by the San Diego Padres in the eighth round with the 234th overall pick. Following him were senior starting pitcher Andrew Wolcott (17th Round - Arizona Diamondbacks), catcher Matt Williams (18th Round - Chicago Cubs) and OF/RHP Alex Hassan (20th Round - Boston Red Sox).

Those four Blue Devils also become the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh players to be drafted under fourth-year head coach Sean McNally, who has seen at least one player drafted in each of the last three seasons.

Incoming freshman catcher Steven Baron (Compensation Round A - Seattle Mariners) was also picked as the 33rd overall selection on day one, while incoming shortstop Marcus Stroman (18th Round - Washington Nationals) was taken 532nd overall and incoming left-handed pitcher Cameron Coffey (22nd Round - Baltimore Orioles) was taken 656th overall."

[shoutingncu]

Maybe. But keep in mind that the ACC had four teams in the CWS in 2006 and came up empty.

I was in Chapel Hill last weekend and the baby blue looked really good, Virginia is playing as well as anyone in the country and what Florida State did to Ohio State is illegal in most states.

Since this got bumped up with the draft info, thought I'd update the post season, as well.

unc continues its run at Buffalo Bills status, and UVa makes good and advances to their first ever CWS. Florida State and Clemson, unfortunately for the ACC, fell short.

[dukebsbll14]

Congratulations to the following Duke Baseball players on being selected in the 2009 MLB Draft:

Nate Freiman-San Diego Padres

Andrew Wolcott-Arizona Diamondbacks

Matt Williams-Chicago Cubs

Alex Hassan- Boston Red Sox (ugh...please come back for senior season like Nate did)


Congrats to those guys (and to the incoming frosh that I didn't mention. But please, come to school!)

[jimsumner]

From Duke SID

"Duke freshman center fielder Will Piwnica-Worms was named to the All-Ping! Freshman Baseball Team, Ping!Baseball announced Thursday.

A third team selection, Piwnica-Worms was the only ACC outfielder that appeared on the national all-freshman squad. He is the second Blue Devil in the past three seasons to appear on the All-Ping! Freshman Team, joining junior Michael Seander, who earned the recognition in 2007.

A 6-2, 195 pound native of St. Louis, Mo. (Ladue Horton Watkins), Piwnica-Worms started all 59 games in center field for Duke. He batted .317 with 13 doubles, four triples and three home runs while ending the season on a 57-game errorless streak.

Piwnica-Worms took little time to adjust in his first season and finished with 24 multi-hit games, which ranked second on the team. Twelve of those multi-hit efforts came in a 16-game span from March 20 to April 8 in which he batted .426 with six doubles, 15 RBI and his first career homer, which he knocked out in a series win against No. 1 North Carolina."

[-bdbd]

Sounds like a Duke recruit was drafted fairly highly. He must be pretty darned good, if the article is right and they have low odds to sign SS/P Stroman, then the Nats wasting a round-18 pick on a "long shot" signee makes a pretty good statement.

Gotta love the tone of the write-up -- he's committed to Duke, therefore is a long-shot to forgo college... Nats didn't draft many HS players this year, as part of their new strategy, so this furthers the statement being made about Stroman. Future looks good for Duke Baseball with recruits like this coming in.


From a Washington Nationals fan website called Nationals Farm Authority:

Round 18: With the 532nd pick, the Nationals select Marcus Stroman NY HS SS … from BA “Scouts love two-way talent Marcus Stroman, but he’s a Duke signee and stands just 5-foot-9, so don’t expect a club to make a serious run at him this year. A switch-hitter with plus speed and good hands at shortstop, Stroman will play both ways for the Blue Devils; scouts prefer him on the mound. He has an electric arm and throws strikes with a 90-93 mph fastball and an excellent hammer curveball.”

[dukebsbll14]

3 more Duke players drafted.

Here's the article:
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=3749231

[Inonehand]

3 more Duke players drafted.

Here's the article:
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=3749231

What an impressive 3 days of the MLB draft for Duke Baseball! Will help recruiting certainly. 4 seniors (Hillier recruits, McNally developees), 3 juniors (all McNally's) and 3 incoming freshmen. We will probably lose the catcher...33rd overall pick is HUGE money for a high school guy. But two big time arms.