Duke Scores Seven Unanswered to Upend UNCG

Tuesday, April 5

Jack Coombs Field

6:00 PM

Duke University

UNC Greensboro

Duke Scores Seven Unanswered to Upend UNCG

4/5/2016 10:19:00 PM | Baseball

BASE vs. UNCG: Audio Archive BASE vs. UNCG: Duke's Three-Run Fifth Inning BASE vs. UNCG: Zyla Ties the Game with Two-Out RBi Single BASE vs. UNCG: Pollard Interview BASE vs. UNCG: Bellinger Interview BASE vs. UNCG: Stallings Records Final Out Box Score (PDF)Box Score (HTML)

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke scored seven unanswered runs beginning in the bottom of the fifth to earn a 7-4 decision over UNCG Tuesday evening at Jack Coombs Field. The Blue Devil victory snapped the Spartans' eight-game win streak and Duke has now won five of its past six games.

Sophomore Justin Bellinger continued his streak of strong performances at the plate. Duke's first baseman went 3-for-4 with three RBI, a double and a run scored. Bellinger has reached base safely in six straight games, hitting .550 (11-for-20) in that span while slugging .900.

Freshman Jimmy Herron contributed two doubles out of the leadoff spot and five different Blue Devils recorded an RBI in the contest.

UNCG (23-7, 3-0 SoCon) entered Tuesday's game as the national leader in batting average, slugging percentage and on base percentage. With the exception of UNCG's four-run fifth, seven Duke (15-14, 4-8 ACC) pitchers combined to limit the Spartan offense to nine hits, just one for extra bases. UNCG went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 baserunners overall.

Junior Kevin Lewallyn (1-0) earned the win after tossing two scoreless innings in relief. Sophomore Jack Labosky and Mitch Stallings followed with a shutout inning each. Stallings blanked UNCG in the ninth to register his second save of the season.

“[Lewallyn] was the player of the game for me,” said head coach Chris Pollard. “They had captured some momentum. We had the answer. We need a shutdown inning at that point and he comes in and gives us a great shutdown inning in the sixth and backs it up with a zero in the seventh. I'm really proud of Kevin. I thought it was a really outing.”

UNCG's Chad Sykes (2-2) suffered the loss. Sykes relinquished the Spartan lead after yielding two seventh-inning runs, both unearned. He allowed one hit, walked three and struck out two batters.

Duke kept UNCG off the board for four innings before the Spartans sent four around on two singles and three walks in the fifth. Ben Spitznagel began the rally with a leadoff single prior to a pair of walks loading the bases. A wild pitched scored the game's first run before Dillon Stewart and Ryne Sigmon added an RBI each. A passed ball allowed the Spartans' fourth and final run of the game to cross home.

Batting out of the leadoff spot, Spitznagel led the Spartans at the plate with three hits, a run scored and a walk.

The Blue Devils answered immediately in the bottom half. Sophomore Ryan Day beat out an infield single and freshman Chris Proctor knocked a two-out RBI base hit through the right side to start the scoring. Bellinger added a two-run double to the opposite field to pull Duke within one, 4-3.

“Chris Proctor started that and then Justin Bellinger finished it off,” Pollard said. “That was very close to being an inning where [UNCG] had a shutdown inning. Credit Chris and we strung together some good at bats behind him.”

Duke plated two seventh-inning runs to take its first lead of the game. Proctor led off with a walk and Bellinger was issued a two-out intentional pass. Freshman Zack Kone chopped a grounder to first that Michael Goss was unable to handle, extending the inning. Sophomore Peter Zyla then delivered the game-tying RBI single and classmate Michael Smiciklas coaxed a bases-loaded walk to give Duke a lead it would not relinquish the remainder of the evening.

RBI singles from Max Miller and Bellinger in the eighth provided the Blue Devils with a three-run cushion heading to the final frame.

Graduate student Trent Swart returned to the mound for the first time since March 19. He pitched the first three innings for Duke and did not surrender a run. Swart allowed two hits, walked one and fanned a pair.

“We pitched well,” Pollard added. “Even the crooked number in the fifth was kind of our own doing. We were able to expand the plate. Trent helped us with that because he was pitching in early, which opened up the plate later. Jack [Labosky] threw the ball really well tonight. Mitch [Stallings] came in and did his job to get the save.”

Duke will remain at Jack Coombs Field the rest of the week, playing host to Clemson Friday-Sunday, April 8-10.

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