Blue Devils Best Lancers 11-5

Tuesday, May 10

Durham Bulls Athletic Park

11:40 AM

Duke University

Longwood

Blue Devils Best Lancers 11-5

5/10/2016 4:56:00 PM | Baseball

BASE vs. LONGWOOD: Smiciklas Two-Run Double BASE vs. LONGWOOD: Pollard Interview BASE vs. LONGWOOD: Perez Three-Run Bomb Box Score (PDF)Box Score (HTML)

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Junior Cris Perez and sophomore Michael Smiciklas drove in three RBI each to lead Duke past Longwood, 11-5, Tuesday afternoon at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Perez launched a three-run homer in the third, his fifth of the season, and adde3d a seventh-inning double. Smiciklas was 2-for-4 with a two-run double in the second and an RBI single in the seventh.

Freshman Zack Kone added a 2-for-4 performance with two runs scored and two RBI, while classmate Jimmy Herron was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his 21st of the season.

“I'm particularly impressed with 6-7-8 in our lineup,” said head coach Chris Pollard. “This is where the week off and the ability to work in practice really showed up. Zack Kone with great adjustments, great at bats today. Cris Perez continued to have great at bats. Michael Smiciklas had good at bats. You get that kind of production out of 6-7-8, you feel good about your chances.”

Freshman Al Pesto (1-0) came on in relief with two outs in the third, striking out Hayes Nelson to strand two Lancer baserunners. Pesto tossed 2.1 innings in his first career win, allowing two runs on three hits.

“The maturation for Al Pesto has been fastball command to go along with a really good slider,” Pollard said. “He's 90-91, has an electric arm. He's developed a slider that's become a swing-and-miss pitch and he's really learned how to command his fastball. Even his misses were good misses.”

In the bottom of the second, Duke loaded the bases before Smiciklas drove a ball into the left center gap. A passed ball and Max Miller RBI groundout gave Duke an early 4-0 cushion.

Longwood counter with a three-run third. Designated hitter Janos Briscoe did the bulk of the damage on a two-out, two-run double.

Duke put a three-spot on the board the same frame to regain momentum. Jack Labosky walked and Kone singled prior to the Perez long ball to deep left field.

The Lancers counter in the fourth, scoring a pair of runs on Drew Kiston's double to left. Pesto limited the damage and pitched a scoreless fifth to preserve Duke's then 7-5 advantage. Longwood would come no closer as sophomore Ryan Day followed with three scoreless innings and senior Nick Hendrix tossed a shutout ninth.

“Our bullpen was really, really good today,” Pollard added. “Goes back to making adjustments last week. Ryan Day with his best outing of the year. Nick Hendrix threw the ball well at the end.

Duke tacked on an eight run in the fifth after Zyla reached via a Lancer fielding error then later scored on Kone's RBI groundout. The Blue Devils put the game out of reach with a three-run seventh. Labosky was hit by a pitch to start the frame and Justin Bellinger clocked a triple to center field. A Perez double and Smiciklas double completed the scoring.

Labosky reached base in four of his five plate appearances, going 1-2 with a walk and two times hit by pitch.

Longwood's Allen Ellis (1-1) suffered the loss, allowing seven runs on five hits over 2.2 innings.

Duke welcomes Norfolk State Wednesday, May 11 to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park for its final non-conference game. First pitch between the Blue Devils and the Spartans is 11:40 a.m.

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