Duke Comes Up Short at East Carolina, 5-4 - Duke University - GoDuke.com

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Duke's ninth-inning comeback came up short as the Blue Devils fell to East Carolina, 5-4, on Tuesday night at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C.

An even game through four innings, East Carolina (31-18) hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead, 5-3. Duke (20-27) scored one in the top of the ninth but was unable to complete the comeback.

The Blue Devils created offense through the first four innings, tallying four hits, three walks and three stolen bases. Following the fourth, East Carolina limited Duke to just one hit, an RBI single in the ninth inning.

Senior RJ Schreck led Duke at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI, a walk and a hit by pitch.

Sophomore Adam Boucher earned his first career start for the Blue Devils, serving as the first pitcher in a staff day for Duke. Boucher, a native of Metuchen, N.J., allowed one run on one hit and three walks in two innings of work. Boucher fanned two in the outing.

A back-and-forth game early, Duke and East Carolina were knotted at 3-3 through four innings. East Carolina scored first in the bottom of the opening inning, but Duke responded with a run in the top of the third inning as Schreck hit an RBI single to score freshman Alex Mooney. Mooney extended his hitting streak to 10 games, the longest by a Blue Devil this season.

The Pirates retook the lead in the bottom of the second on a solo home run. The Blue Devils again showed resilience and took their first lead of the game in the top of the third, 3-2. Freshman Devin Obee and sophomore Alex Stone recorded consecutive walks to open the inning before scoring on an errant throw and an RBI single by graduate student Trevor Johnson. East Carolina responded in the bottom frame with a run to tie the game, 3-3.

East Carolina broke the stalemate in the bottom of the seventh inning, plating two runs to make it 5-3. The Pirates hit a one-out single before a two-run home run barely got over the left field wall. Schreck nearly made a spectacular play, having the ball in his glove as he leapt against the wall, but the contact with the wall knocked the ball out of his glove.

Duke had a chance in the ninth inning, putting runners on first and second early in the inning. Junior Chad Knight singled to left center with two outs to plate a run and move the tying run to second. East Carolina was able to seal the win with a strikeout.

Graduate student John Natoli and senior Aaron Beasley put together a strong outings in relief. Natoli allowed recorded one strikeout while retiring all five batters he faced in just 19 pitches. Beasley worked a clean inning with two strikeouts.

Duke hosts its final home series of the season this weekend as NC State comes to Durham. The Blue Devils and Wolfpack will play a three-game series with first pitch times of 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

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