Blue Devils Ready for ACC Tournament

5/22/2017 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

Pollard Discusses Upcoming ACC Baseball Tournament Mitch Stallings Dicusses Upcoming ACC Tournament Jimmy Herron Previews ACC Tournament Bracket Tickets Complete Game Notes

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke (28-27, 12-18 ACC) heads to the 2017 ACC Baseball Championship Tuesday-Sunday, May 23-28 at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Ky., as the No. 9 seed. Members of Pool D, the Blue Devils take on No. 5 seed Clemson (39-17, 17-13 ACC) at 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 23 in their first pool play game before facing No. 4 seed Virginia (41-13, 18-12 ACC) at 11 a.m., Thursday, May 25.

The 2017 ACC Tournament features a pool-play format, leading into a four-team , single-elimination bracket. The four teams with the best records within their respective pools advance to Saturday's semifinals, then the winners play Sunday in the ACC Championship Game.

BY THE NUMBERS
• 0: Home runs allowed by right-hander Ryan Day this season. Day is the only ACC pitcher to throw 1.0 innings per game and not allow a home run this season. Day has allowed just eight extra base hits on the year (five doubles and three triples) to rank 12th in the league in ERA (3.22), eighth (1.10) in WHIP and seventh in walks allowed per game (2.15).

• 2: Sophomores Jimmy Herron and Griffin Conine have both started every game this season. Conine leads the team in slugging percentage (.571), on base percentage (.437), RBI (56), home runs (13), total bases (117) and walks (40), while Herron leads the team in batting average (.326), runs (51), hits (71) and stolen bases (17).

• 3: Sophomore outfielders hitting .300 or better this season. Left fielder Jimmy Herron (.326, .482, .411), center fielder Kennie Taylor (.320, .520, .394) and right fielder Griffin Conine (.307, .571, .437) have combined for a .322 batting average, 130 runs, 115 RBI, 40 doubles, 21 home runs and five triples.

• 4: Number of starts made in 2016 by pitchers currently on the 2017 Blue Devil roster (James Ziemba 3, Jack Labosky 1) following the graduations of this past year's rotation: Brian McAfee, Trent Swart and Kellen Urbon. Friday starter Mitch Stallings and Saturday starter Ryan Day both spent the past two seasons in the bullpen, combining for 88 career relief appearances before moving into the 2017 weekend rotation.

• 7: Quality starts for junior left-hander Mitch Stallings. This season, Stallings leads the team in innings pitched (70.1) and strikeouts (68) and is tied for the team lead with four wins. He has gone at least six complete in eight of his 12 starts this season.

• 7: The number of Blue Devils hitting .300 or better against left-handed pitching: Griffin Conine, Jimmy Herron, Zack Kone, Jack Labosky, Max Miller, Michael Smiciklas and Kennie Taylor. As a team, the Blue Devils have posted a .317 batting average versus lefties in 2017.

• 10: Number of Duke left-handed pitchers to see game action this season. Duke has had a left-hander on the mound in 65 percent of its innings this year (313.2-of-485.1 IP).

• 11: Weekend starts for freshman Adam Laskey. Laskey is the first freshman to appear in Duke's weekend rotation since Trent Swart in 2011. He is tied for the team lead with four wins.

• 13: Sophomore Griffin Conine leads the team and ranks 10th in the ACC with 13 home runs. Conine launched his first career long ball in the ACC opener March 10 versus Virginia Tech and has nine homers in conference play. Conine is the first Blue Devil to blast double-digit home runs in a single season since Jake Lemmerman in 2010 and he currently ranks tied for eighth in Duke's single season records.

• 20: The Blue Devils have given up 20 innings of four or more runs this year. In contrast, Duke had 12 such innings in 2016 and nine in 2015.

• 24: Perfect Game national ranking of Duke's freshman class, consisting of outfielder Chase Cheek, left-hander Bill Chillari, catcher Chris Dutra, right-hander Cameron Kovachik, left-hander Adam Laskey, infielder/right-hander Matt Mervis, infielder Erikson Nichols, left-hander Graeme Stinson and right-hander Coleman Williams.

• 26: Hits for the Blues Devils March 24 at Virginia, the most in a single game for an ACC team this season.

• 41: Career stolen bases for sophomore Jimmy Herron to rank 13th all-time at Duke. Herron's .325 career batting average is also good for 12th in the program record book.

• 49: Double plays turned by the Blue Devils to rank second in the ACC and 37th nationally.

• 56: RBI for sophomore Griffin Conine to lead the team, rank sixth in the ACC and rank 38th nationally. Conine is the first Blue Devil with 50-plus RBI in a season since Nate Freiman (62) in 2009.

• 74: Wild pitches thrown by Duke pitchers this season, the 15th most in NCAA Division I and 17 more than the previous program single-season record (57).

• 117: Doubles for the Blue Devils this season, good for second in the ACC and 15th nationally. Duke's 117 doubles are the most by the Blue Devils since slugging 120 in 2008.

• 117: Career pitching appearances for NCAA Division I and ACC active leader Nick Hendrix. Hendrix broke David Darwin's Duke appearances record (95) with relief stints in both ends of Duke's Virginia Tech doubleheader. Hendrix also ranks tied for ninth all-time in the ACC in career appearances.

• 139: Number of consecutive games in which junior and team captain Max Miller has played. A versatile infielder, Miller has seen time at second, shortstop and third during that span.

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