Late Rally Propels Duke To 9-8 Win Over No. 16 Virginia

Friday, March 14

Durham, N.C.

3:00 PM

Duke University

Virginia

Duke Heads North For Three-Game Set Against Boston College

Late Rally Propels Duke To 9-8 Win Over No. 16 Virginia

3/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Freshman Jake Lemmerman drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out double in the bottom of the eighth to lead Duke to a 9-8 come-from-behind victory over No. 16 Virginia Friday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

Lemmerman went 2-for-3 with a triple, double and three RBI while also scoring once and drawing a pair of walks. The freshman shortstop's go-ahead double capped a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth in which Duke (15-2, 2-2 ACC) overcame an 8-6 deficit by scoring all three runs with two outs on the board.

The Blue Devils banged up Virginia ace Jacob Thompson, scoring six runs in three innings off of the junior right hander. Thompson entered the game with a 0.98 ERA, but could not hold down a Blue Devil offense that knocked out eight hits off of the highly touted junior.

The game featured four lead changes, as Duke first overcame a 2-0 deficit to go ahead 6-2 before Virginia rallied to take an 8-6 lead. Jeremy Gould, Kyle Kreick and Jonathan Nicolla each drove in two RBI, with both of Nicolla's runs coming on a two-run homer in the third inning. The homer was the first of the season for the senior first baseman, who has now driven in nine RBI in his seven games played. Kreick's second RBI was perhaps the most clutch hit of the game, as the senior drove in Gould from first base in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out double after falling behind 0-2 in the count.

Sophomore outfielder Alex Hassan went 3-for-4 with two runs at the plate for Duke and closed out the ninth inning on the mound to pick up his team-leading third save of the season. Hassan raised his batting average to .441 with the performance while lowering his ERA to 1.50 through five appearances on the mound.

Junior catcher Matt Williams contributed three hits and a run, while freshman Dennis O'Grady collected his first career multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 outing. O'Grady also made a pair of game-saving defensive plays in the top of the ninth to stifle a late Cavalier rally.

Michael Ness (2-0) picked up a win in his second straight outing for Duke after contributing 2.1 innings out of the bullpen. He came in to spell starter Andrew Wolcott, who went 5.1 innings while scattering five runs (three earned) on eight hits. He exited with a 6-2 lead before Virginia bounced back to tie the score at 6-6, and has now left with the lead intact in each of his four starts this season.

Virginia (13-3, 1-3 ACC) received two RBI apiece from shortstop Greg Miclat and second baseman David Adams, while Davis also added a solo home run. Third baseman Tyler Cannon went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs, while Dan Grovatt (3-for-5), Franco Valdes (2-for-4) and Jarrett Parker (2-for-4) also collected multiple hits. Jake Rule (0-1) was credited with the loss after giving up the go-ahead run in the eighth.

Virginia had a chance to take an early lead after putting runners on second and third with one out in the first inning, but two clutch strikeouts from Wolcott allowed Duke to escape the inning unharmed. After Wolcott retired Virginia's leadoff man, Cannon started a Cavalier rally with a base knock through the left side that was followed by another single from Adams. Both runners moved into scoring position after a failed pickoff attempt resulted in a balk, setting up a prime RBI opportunity for Virginia cleanup hitter Grovatt. Wolcott settled down, however, and fanned Grovatt with a 1-2 breaking ball before sending Jeremy Farrell to the bench with another strikeout to end the inning.

The Cavaliers threatened to blow the game open after loading the bases with no outs in the top of the third, but came away with just two runs, both of which scored on fielder's choice ground balls. Virginia opened the inning with three straight hits, including a pair of infield singles by Jarrett Parker and Cannon. With the bases loaded and no outs, Wolcott forced Adams to roll a ground ball to third baseman Ben Condon, who fielded the grounder and stepped on third for the force out. Condon then fired to the plate, but his throw was too late to get Parker, who scored standing up to give Virginia a 1-0 lead. An ensuing single from Grovatt loaded the bases again, which set up James Farrell, who sent in another run with a fielder's choice ground ball down the first base line.

Duke responded in the bottom of the third, however, and took a 5-2 lead after a two-RBI triple from Lemmerman and a two-run homer by Nicolla. The Blue Devils managed five hits in the inning off of Thompson, including four extra base knocks. Three of the multi-base hits came in succession, as Tim Sherlock followed Lemmerman's two-run triple and Nicolla's two-run homer with a double of his own. Hassan got the rally started by drawing a leadoff walk and advancing to third on a double down the right field line from Williams. Gould then ripped a line drive single to right field to score Hassan just before Lemmerman cleared the bases with a triple to the right-center field gap. With Lemmerman on third and one out on the board, Nicolla gave Duke two more runs with his first home run of the season, an opposite field blast that came on a 1-0 offering from Thompson. Nicolla's blast was the first long ball allowed this season by Thompson, who entered the game holding opposing hitters to a .191 average.

After a scoreless fourth for the Cavaliers, Duke added another run in the bottom half of the inning to go ahead 6-2. Hassan scored the run on a groundout by Kreick after reaching base for the third time in as many at bats. The run was the second of the game for Hassan and marked the ninth time this season that the sophomore center fielder has crossed the plate at least twice in a game. After giving up the back-to-back singles to open the fourth, Thompson was relieved in favor of southpaw Neal Davis. Davis went on to shut down Duke's momentum over the next four innings, holding the Blue Devils scoreless on two hits and a walk while striking out five.

Meanwhile, Wolcott was cruising on the mound for Duke until Adams got ahold of 2-2 fastball and sent it over the left field fence for his team-leading third long ball of the season. That pitch was Wolcott's only mistake though, as the junior right hander retired six of seven batters in the fourth and fifth innings.

Adam's solo shot cut the Virginia deficit to three runs at 6-3, a total that was completely erased after a three-run sixth inning by the Cavaliers. Duke used three pitchers in the inning as Ryan Perry relieved Wolcott before Ness came in to get the final out of the inning. Virginia scored all three runs with two outs, thanks to an RBI single from Parker and a two-run triple by Miclat.

The tied score lasted for just one inning as Virginia scored in the top of the seventh on an RBI fielder's choice. A bases-loaded ground ball off the bat of Jarrett Parker sent the run across the plate, though the roller up the middle could have been converted into an inning ending double play. Parker beat out the throw at first, however, to extend the inning and allow Farrell to score from third.

The Cavaliers would score one more run in the eighth on a pair of doubles from Cannon and Grovatt to take an 8-6 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. Virginia sent reliever Jake Rule to the mound to take over for Davis, which was just what Duke needed to jump back on top. O'Grady got the rally started with a leadoff single up the middle which was followed by another base knock to the same spot from Williams. O'Grady moved to third on the play, putting runners at the corners with one out on the board. Gould then approached the plate and sent a ground ball to the right side that forced Virginia to trade the out at second base for a run, as O'Grady scored on the play to cut the deficit to 8-7. With one out and Gould on first, Rule was within one pitch of shutting down the Blue Devil rally after taking Kreick to an 0-2 count. The senior refused to let the game end there, however, and ripped the next pitch he saw to the warning track in right field to send Gould all the way to the plate. With Kreick now representing the go-ahead run on second base, Lemmerman roped Rule's 1-1 offering down the right field line to send in Kreick and give Duke a slim 9-8 lead.

Hassan then took over to close out the ninth and needed just 10 pitches to pick up his third career save. After giving up a leadoff single to Valdes, Hassan received some help from his defense for the next two outs as O'Grady flashed his range on the next two at bats to pick up a pair of fielder's choice putouts at second base. After O'Grady flashed his leather at second, Gould recorded the final putout on a shallow fly ball in left field.

Duke will have a chance to take the series on Saturday, as the Blue Devils and Cavaliers will meet at 1 p.m. at Jack Coombs Field for the second game. The game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., but was moved up an hour due to the possibility of rain later in the afternoon.

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