Completed Event: Baseball versus Murray State on June 9, 2025 , Loss , 4, to, 5

4/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Freiman had missed the previous 18 games with an injury, but returned in a big way to launch his fourth homer of the season in addition to a two-RBI double in his first at bat of the game. His three RBI aided the pitching performance of junior Andrew Wolcott (3-2), who held
Sophomore Michael Ness came in from the bullpen to hold the Wolfpack scoreless over the final three frames on the way to his second save of the season.
Duke (23-10, 5-10 ACC) roughed up Clayton Shunick (3-4) for three runs in the first inning before the N.C. State ace settled down to hold Duke without a run through the seventh inning. He racked up eight strikeouts in the outing, but gave up an eighth-inning solo shot to Freiman before relinquishing the ball after eight complete innings.
Jeremy Gould also tagged Shunick for a run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning for Duke's other RBI. His fly ball drove in catcher Matt Williams, who went 1-for-4. Gabriel Saade and Alex Hassan also crossed the plate for Duke, while Jonathan Nicolla contributed a hit for the third straight game.
The Blue Devils stormed out to an early three-run lead after putting their first four runners on base, including Freiman, who slashed a two-run double down the right field line to score Saade and Hassan. Duke took advantage of early control issues on the part of Shunick who issued a leadoff walk to Saade before hitting Hassan with the next pitch. Williams then loaded the bases after driving a base hit through the left side on a 1-2 count before Freiman sent in a pair with a ground ball that stayed just inside the first base line for a double. The two-bagger sent Williams to third, setting up Gould's sacrifice fly ball to deep center field for the third run of the inning.
Wolcott came out firing in the first and was just one pitch away from a perfect first inning before Payne ruined his chance at retiring the side after beating out a ground ball to shortstop for an infield single. The base hit did little damage, however, as Wolcott sawed off cleanup hitter Jeremy Synan with an 0-2 changeup on the inside corner to induce an inning-ending ground ball.
Cartwright became the first member of the Wolfpack to advance past first base after slapping a ground ball down the left field line that bounced just out the reach of a leaping Ryan McCurdy at third base. The high-hopper continued slowly down the left field line to allow Cartwright to coast into second base on his feet. He would move to third on an ensuing groundout to deep shortstop before Drew Martin joined him on the base paths after drawing a walk. The runners failed to advance past the corners, however, as Wolcott's next pitch resulted in a lineout to Gould in left field for the final out of the inning.
Meanwhile, Shunick settled into a groove after the three-run first inning, holding the Blue Devils to a single over the next three frames. The 6-1, 170 pound right-hander chalked up five strikeouts during that span, including two each in the second and fourth innings.
Wolcott was just as effective for the Blue Devils though, before experiencing a temporary lapse of control to walk in a run in the fourth. Wolcott recorded the first two outs of the inning with a runner on first, but followed by walking Nick Stanley before plunking Martin to load the bases. He nearly got out of the two-out jam, but lost a full count battle to Foschi to turn the wheel for
Wolcott regained his form in the fifth, however, and began a run of six consecutive batters retired to hold Duke's 3-1 lead heading into the seventh inning. He used just 12 pitches in each inning to sit down the side in order while racking up a pair of strikeouts in each frame. All four of his strikeouts in the two-inning span came on changeups, including consecutive 1-2 pitches to Ryan Pond and Payne in the two and three spots of
Following six innings of one-run baseball, Wolcott relinquished pitching duties to
After a six-inning scoreless drought, Freiman added to Duke's lead with two-out solo home run. The long ball to left field was the fourth of the season for the Blue Devil first baseman and ended a streak of six homerless games for Duke, which is the team's the longest drought of the year.
The Wolfpack tried to get a rally started in the eighth after driving a leadoff single off
The three outs came easily for
Duke will have the opportunity to put the series away on Saturday, April 12 in a 6:30 p.m. meeting with the Wolfpack. Freshman Dennis O'Grady (3-0, 0.48 ERA) will make the first weekend start of his career opposite