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Photo by: Duke Athletics
No. 15 Duke Hosts Army West Point on Opening Weekend
2/13/2020 12:29:00 PM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. – A new season is on the horizon for the Duke baseball team, as the 15th-ranked Blue Devils are set to welcome Army West Point this weekend for a three-game series at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Duke returns 28 letterwinners from 2019's Super Regional squad, including seven of nine positional starters.
The Blue Devils and Black Knights are set for a 4 p.m. start in Friday's series opener, while the first pitch for Saturday's and Sunday's games are both set for 1 p.m. Fans can catch all three games on ACC Network Extra.
Series History
Duke and Army West Point will meet for the 11th time in program history when the two schools square off in Friday's season opener to begin the 2020 campaign. Duke owns the series advantage at 8-2, including a 4-2 record across games in Durham. The series marks the second meeting between the Blue Devils and Black Knights in the past four seasons, as Army made the trip to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 2017 during the second week of the season. Duke won the bookend games of the three-game set to claim the series, winning the series opener. Head coach Chris Pollard owns a 4-1 career record against Army West Point, including a 2-1 mark during his time at Duke.
Scouting the Black Knights
This weekend's series pits a pair of 2019 NCAA Tournament teams against one another. Army concluded its 2019 season in the NCAA Lubbock Regional, dropping its first two games of the tournament. The Black Knights enter the new season having won the past two Patriot League titles, and were picked to finish first in the conference's preseason poll. Senior outfielder Jacob Hurtubise was selected as the Patriot League Baseball Preseason Player of the Year, while junior Anthony Giachin and sophomore Jeremiah Adams received Preseason All-Patriot League honors. Additionally, Giachin was named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, giving the program its first Preseason All-American since 2013.
Duke Ranked in Preseason Polls
The Blue Devils come into the 2020 campaign ranked within the top 20 in five of the six national collegiate baseball polls. Duke landed at No. 11 in Perfect Game's Preseason Top 25, marking the highest-ever preseason ranking in program history. Additionally the Blue Devils were ranked No. 15 by Baseball America, D1Baseball and the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), while checking in at No. 20 in the USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll. This is the third consecutive and third-ever season that Duke has been ranked in the preseason. The program concluded the 2019 campaign as a consensus top-20 team for the second-straight season. Duke received rankings as high as 16th in the national polls, while being recognized as a top-20 team by five different publications.
Blue Devils Picked to Finish Fourth in ACC Coastal Division
Duke was picked to finish fourth in the 2020 ACC Coastal Division in a poll voted on by the conference's 14 head coaches. Twelve coaches picked Miami to win the Coastal Division, while North Carolina and Georgia Tech each received one first-place vote apiece. The Hurricanes tallied 93 points, ahead of both North Carolina and Georgia Tech, who tallied 68 points and 66 points, respectively. Duke placed fourth with 65 points, while Virginia (55), Virginia Tech (27) and Pittsburgh (18) rounded out the teams in the division. On the other side, Louisville was picked to take the ACC Atlantic Division with 13 of the 14 potential first-place votes. The Cardinals were also picked as the conference's overall champion.
All-America Honors for the Junior Right-handed Duo
Following a pair of impressive sophomore seasons leading the Duke pitching staff, the right-handed duo of Bryce Jarvis and Thomas Girard have been named Preseason All-Americans. The two were both named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America Third Team, while D1Baseball recognized Jarvis as a Second Team Preseason All-American and Girard as a Third Team Preseason All-American. Jarvis keyed Duke's magical postseason run in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, sporting a team-low 0.60 ERA (1 ER/15.0 IP) across his two starts. In 2019, Girard led the team in appearances with 28 on the year. The Blue Devil closer went a perfect nine-for-nine in save opportunities to lead the team, which tied for third in the ACC. His nine saves tied him for sixth all-time in program history for most saves in a single season. Additionally, the Simsbury, Conn., native enters the season sitting tied for 11th in Duke history for most career saves.
Back For Seconds
Sophomore infielder Ethan Murray looks to carry over his success from his freshman campaign into year two as one of the leaders of the Duke offense. Murray bolsters a Duke infield that returns four of five of its starters. Murray was tabbed as a consensus Freshman All-American after being named to the Freshman All-America Second Team by Baseball America, Perfect Game and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association while receiving first team honors from D1Baseball. The Crozet, Va., native became the first player in Duke history to be named a Freshman All-American by four publications after his stellar first season in Durham. The ACC All-Freshman Team honoree started 58 contests across 2019, leading the team in on-base percentage (.391), while ranking second in batting average (.305), RBI (40) and runs scored (48). The Blue Devil infielder also tied for second on the team in hits with 61, while placing third in walks with 28.
Pollard in Season Openers
Head coach Chris Pollard owns a 4-3 record in season openers across his seven seasons at Duke. The Blue Devils have won four of their six three-game series on opening weekend in the Pollard-era, while owning an 11-11 mark during the first weekend of the season under Pollard.
For more information on Duke baseball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeBaseball". You can also find all-access coverage of all Duke athletic programs on SnapChat by searching for "dukeathletics".
#GoDuke
The Blue Devils and Black Knights are set for a 4 p.m. start in Friday's series opener, while the first pitch for Saturday's and Sunday's games are both set for 1 p.m. Fans can catch all three games on ACC Network Extra.
Series History
Duke and Army West Point will meet for the 11th time in program history when the two schools square off in Friday's season opener to begin the 2020 campaign. Duke owns the series advantage at 8-2, including a 4-2 record across games in Durham. The series marks the second meeting between the Blue Devils and Black Knights in the past four seasons, as Army made the trip to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 2017 during the second week of the season. Duke won the bookend games of the three-game set to claim the series, winning the series opener. Head coach Chris Pollard owns a 4-1 career record against Army West Point, including a 2-1 mark during his time at Duke.
Scouting the Black Knights
This weekend's series pits a pair of 2019 NCAA Tournament teams against one another. Army concluded its 2019 season in the NCAA Lubbock Regional, dropping its first two games of the tournament. The Black Knights enter the new season having won the past two Patriot League titles, and were picked to finish first in the conference's preseason poll. Senior outfielder Jacob Hurtubise was selected as the Patriot League Baseball Preseason Player of the Year, while junior Anthony Giachin and sophomore Jeremiah Adams received Preseason All-Patriot League honors. Additionally, Giachin was named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, giving the program its first Preseason All-American since 2013.
Duke Ranked in Preseason Polls
The Blue Devils come into the 2020 campaign ranked within the top 20 in five of the six national collegiate baseball polls. Duke landed at No. 11 in Perfect Game's Preseason Top 25, marking the highest-ever preseason ranking in program history. Additionally the Blue Devils were ranked No. 15 by Baseball America, D1Baseball and the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), while checking in at No. 20 in the USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll. This is the third consecutive and third-ever season that Duke has been ranked in the preseason. The program concluded the 2019 campaign as a consensus top-20 team for the second-straight season. Duke received rankings as high as 16th in the national polls, while being recognized as a top-20 team by five different publications.
Blue Devils Picked to Finish Fourth in ACC Coastal Division
Duke was picked to finish fourth in the 2020 ACC Coastal Division in a poll voted on by the conference's 14 head coaches. Twelve coaches picked Miami to win the Coastal Division, while North Carolina and Georgia Tech each received one first-place vote apiece. The Hurricanes tallied 93 points, ahead of both North Carolina and Georgia Tech, who tallied 68 points and 66 points, respectively. Duke placed fourth with 65 points, while Virginia (55), Virginia Tech (27) and Pittsburgh (18) rounded out the teams in the division. On the other side, Louisville was picked to take the ACC Atlantic Division with 13 of the 14 potential first-place votes. The Cardinals were also picked as the conference's overall champion.
All-America Honors for the Junior Right-handed Duo
Following a pair of impressive sophomore seasons leading the Duke pitching staff, the right-handed duo of Bryce Jarvis and Thomas Girard have been named Preseason All-Americans. The two were both named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America Third Team, while D1Baseball recognized Jarvis as a Second Team Preseason All-American and Girard as a Third Team Preseason All-American. Jarvis keyed Duke's magical postseason run in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, sporting a team-low 0.60 ERA (1 ER/15.0 IP) across his two starts. In 2019, Girard led the team in appearances with 28 on the year. The Blue Devil closer went a perfect nine-for-nine in save opportunities to lead the team, which tied for third in the ACC. His nine saves tied him for sixth all-time in program history for most saves in a single season. Additionally, the Simsbury, Conn., native enters the season sitting tied for 11th in Duke history for most career saves.
Back For Seconds
Sophomore infielder Ethan Murray looks to carry over his success from his freshman campaign into year two as one of the leaders of the Duke offense. Murray bolsters a Duke infield that returns four of five of its starters. Murray was tabbed as a consensus Freshman All-American after being named to the Freshman All-America Second Team by Baseball America, Perfect Game and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association while receiving first team honors from D1Baseball. The Crozet, Va., native became the first player in Duke history to be named a Freshman All-American by four publications after his stellar first season in Durham. The ACC All-Freshman Team honoree started 58 contests across 2019, leading the team in on-base percentage (.391), while ranking second in batting average (.305), RBI (40) and runs scored (48). The Blue Devil infielder also tied for second on the team in hits with 61, while placing third in walks with 28.
Pollard in Season Openers
Head coach Chris Pollard owns a 4-3 record in season openers across his seven seasons at Duke. The Blue Devils have won four of their six three-game series on opening weekend in the Pollard-era, while owning an 11-11 mark during the first weekend of the season under Pollard.
For more information on Duke baseball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeBaseball". You can also find all-access coverage of all Duke athletic programs on SnapChat by searching for "dukeathletics".
#GoDuke
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