Defensive Woes Plague Duke In 15-8 Loss To UNC Wilmington

Wednesday, March 29

Durham, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

UNC Wilmington

Adams? Three-Run Double Sparks No. 18 Virginia?s 7-3 Win Over Duke

Defensive Woes Plague Duke In 15-8 Loss To UNC Wilmington

3/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Six Duke errors led to six unearned runs for UNC Wilmington as the Seahawks defeated the Blue Devils, 15-8, on Wednesday night at Jack Coombs Field. The Blue Devils fall to 8-22 on the season while the Seahawks improve to 21-6.

Leading 1-0 entering the top of the third, catcher Chris Hatcher reached second on a two-base error to start the inning. After right fielder Jason Appel lined out to third and third baseman Matt Poulk struck out swinging, center fielder John Raynor reached on an infield single, giving UNCW runners on the corners. The Seahawks then scored on a double steal to take a 2-0 lead. After Duke catcher Matt Williams threw to second in attempt to get Raynor, Hatcher broke from home and slid in safely under Williams' tag to give the Seahawks the two-run advantage.

Duke answered in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs to take a 3-2 lead. After center fielder Jonathan Anderson was hit by a pitch, Williams singled down the right field line to give the Blue Devils runners on the corners. Following a walk to shortstop Brett Bartles that loaded the bases, right fielder Jimmy Gallagher reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Anderson and advancing Williams to third. Second baseman Javier Socorro then grounded out to first, allowing Williams to score to tie the game at 2-2. First baseman Jonathan Nicolla capped the inning with an RBI-single up the middle to score Gallagher.

The Seahawks then put up four runs in the fourth to take a 6-3 lead. After left fielder Justin Barefoot drew a walk to start the frame, second baseman Daniel Hargrave doubled down the left field line to give UNCW runners on second and third. Designated hitter Lee McLean then turned on a 1-2 pitch and lined a three-run homer off the top of the right field wall to give the Seahawks the lead for good. Shortstop Kenny Smith would then reach second on another two-base error before advancing to third on a bunt single by Appel. Smith would score the final run of the inning on a wild pitch.

UNCW would score a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to take an 8-3 lead. After three consecutive singles by first baseman Jonathan Batts, Barefoot and Hargrave, McLean hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Batts. Barefoot would then score on an error by Duke third baseman Jeff Blickman to give the Seahawks the five-run advantage.

The Blue Devils would score on an RBI-triple by Socorro in the bottom of the fifth to make it a four-run ballgame.

After doubling down the left field line in the sixth, Raynor stole third base and then scored when Williams' throw bounced off the bag and into foul territory.

Left fielder Daniel Palmer led off the bottom of the sixth with a double over Raynor's head in center before advancing to third on a groundout by designated hitter Tony Bajoczky. Anderson followed with a single down the left field line to score Palmer.

The Seahawks would score three unearned runs in the top of the seventh to take a 12-5 lead. UNCW would then score a pair of runs in the eighth and a run in the ninth to make it a 15-5 ballgame.

Duke would score three times in the bottom of the ninth but it was not enough to overcome the Seahawks' 10-run lead. Socorro and Nicolla both had RBI-singles in the final frame before Socorro scored on a passed ball to make it a 15-8 ballgame.

UNCW starter Jeff Hatcher improved to 4-1 on the season, holding the Blue Devils to five runs on six hits in 6.0 innings of work.

Duke starter Jim Perry fell to 0-3 on the year after allowing eight runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings pitched. Two of the eight runs charged to Perry were unearned.

Socorro led the Blue Devils at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored. Nicolla went 2-for-5 with two RBI while Anderson and Williams both had a pair of hits for Duke.

McLean led the way for the Seahawks, going 2-for-2 with five RBI and two runs scored. Hargrave went 3-for-4 with two runs scored on the day while Appel, Poulk, Raynor, Batts, Barefoot and left fielder Grayson Evans all collected a pair of hits in the win.

The Blue Devils will head to Brockton, Mass., to take on Boston College for a three-game series this weekend. The ACC series has been moved from Chestnut Hill to Brockton, Mass., and will be played at Campanelli Stadium, home of minor league baseball's Brockton Rox. Friday's game is slated for a 3:30 p.m. start, Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. and Sunday's series finale is set for 12 noon.

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