Camels Rally to Upend Blue Devils 9-6

Tuesday, March 31

Durham, N.C. (Jack Coombs Field)

6:00 PM

Duke University

Campbell

Camels Rally to Upend Blue Devils 9-6

3/31/2015 11:02:00 PM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

Boxscore | Highlights | Pollard Interview | Audio Archive

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke scored the first five runs of the contest but could not hold Campbell off in the end, falling 9-6 Tuesday evening at Jack Coombs Field. The setback marked the Blue Devils' first midweek loss of the season.

Duke (19-10, 4-8 ACC) led 5-0 after the second before Campbell (21-8, 4-5 Big South) chipped away at the margin by scoring lone runs in the third, fourth and sixth. The Camels took their first lead of the night with a four-run seventh, then added two more in the eighth.

The Camels totaled 11 hits to the Blue Devils' eight and capitalized on eight walks and two hit batters. Campbell amassed four hits in two-strike counts, generating four RBI. Duke totaled four hits over the first two frames, but received just two hits from the third to the eighth.

“We gave them a lot of free offense,” said head coach Chris Pollard. “I thought they put on a really good clinic with their two-strike approach. They had a number of two-strike hits, which wound up being a big difference. We jumped out early, but you're not going to put a four or five-spot on a team that's won 100 ballgames over the past two years and have them just go away. They just kept chipping back in there.”

Freshman Peter Zyla extended his hit streak to six games, recording a 2-for-5 outing against the Camels with three RBI and a run scored. Zyla is batting .526 (10-for-19) during that span with four RBI, two doubles and a triple.

Zyla got the scoring started in the bottom of the first. Hitting out of the three-hole, he lined a two-out base hit to center field and ultimately scored on Campbell error.

The following frame, Zyla delivered a bases-clearing triple off the right field wall to make it a 5-0 Duke lead. The second inning began with a Jack Labosky double followed by a Justin Bellinger walk. Freshman Max Miller tallied an RBI base knock up the middle before senior Andy Perez walked to load the bases for Zyla.

Redshirt senior Dillon Haviland earned his first start of the season, pitching two scoreless innings to start the ballgame.

Campbell began its comeback with an unearned run in the third. The Camels added a second run to start the fourth as Matt Parrish walked and crossed home on Brian Taylor's RBI single.

Duke responded in the bottom of the fifth. Bellinger drove in his 17th RBI of the season with an RBI groundout that plated Jalen Phillips, who drew a one-out walk earlier in the inning.

Campbell's pitching combination of Andrew Witczak (2-0), Coley Thompkins and Cole Hallum shut out the Blue Devils the rest of the way. Witczak tossed two scoreless stanzas to earn his second win of the season. The trio combined for four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out three.

The Camels took their first lead of the night in the seventh, sending four around for the 7-6 advantage. Three of the four runs scored with two outs as five-straight Camels reached base with two away. A Cedric Mullins leadoff double started the rally and the Campbell center fielder scored on Steven Leonard's RBI groundout. A pair of walks and a base hit loaded the bases for Anthony Lopez, who laced a two-run single. Taylor added his second RBI single of the evening to put the Camels up by a run.

“There in the seventh, we had two outs with nobody on in a 6-4 ball game and we just didn't get off the field,” Pollard said. “We walked a couple guys. We had the opportunity to execute in a two-strike count and didn't do it. They took advantage of it and that's what a good team does.”

LaRue and Parrish drove in a run each in the eighth to extend the Camel advantage to three runs.

Seven Blue Devil pitchers took the mound and freshman Ryan Day (1-1) suffered the loss after yielding Campbell's fourth run in the seventh. The run was the first allowed by Day this season.

The Blue Devils hit the road to take on No. 15 Miami this weekend. Duke and Miami face off in a three-game series Friday-Sunday, Apr. 3-5 at Mark Light Field.

#GoDuke