DURHAM, N.C. – Winners of seven straight, No. 14 Duke hits the road for the first time this season as the Blue Devils head north to Minneapolis for the 2020 Cambria College Classic. Duke will face a trio of Big Ten opponents in Purdue, Minnesota and Iowa across the weekend tournament, which will be played at U.S. Bank Stadium--home of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Blue Devils and Boilermakers are set for a 4 p.m. ET first pitch on Friday, while Saturday's contest between Duke and Minnesota is scheduled for an 8 p.m. ET start. The Blue Devils will take on Iowa in the final game of the weekend on Sunday afternoon, which is slated for a 3 p.m. ET start. Action will be streamed on BTN+.
The Cambria College Classic
Duke is set to head north to Minneapolis to compete in the 2020 Cambria College Classic this weekend, which is set to take place at U.S. Bank Stadium -- home of the Minnesota Vikings. The tournament pits the three Triangle ACC schools--Duke, North Carolina and NC State -- against three members of the Big Ten, in Purdue, Minnesota and Iowa. Purdue is the only team that Duke has previously faced in program history, as the Blue Devils own a 1-1 record against the Boilermakers.
Trending for Duke
Duke takes a seven-game winning streak into the weekend, after most recently defeating Air Force, 16-0, on Monday afternoon at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Blue Devils exploded for a season-high 15 hits en route to claiming the team's largest victory since March 24, 2017, when Duke defeated Virginia by a score of 19-3. Last weekend, Duke claimed a series win over Cornell, sweeping the three-game set. The Blue Devils claimed an 8-0 victory on Friday afternoon, highlighted by junior
Bryce Jarvis' perfect game, before winning 2-0 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday. Duke has won every game since dropping the season opener to Army West Point.
Nothing Short of Perfection
Duke junior right-hander
Bryce Jarvis tossed the program's first-ever perfect game last Friday, as the Blue Devils claimed an 8-0 win over Cornell at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Jarvis retired all 27 batters he faced on the afternoon, registering a career-high 15 strikeouts, 10 groundouts and two fly outs in his perfect outing. The Franklin, Tenn., native punched out at least one batter in eight of his nine frames, while managing to work in just one three-ball count the entire afternoon.
The performance marked just the 31st perfect game in NCAA Division I history, and first since Jake Kuchmaner's perfect outing on March 17, 2019. The outing also marked the seventh no-hitter in Duke history, and first since the Blue Devil's combined no-hit effort over Penn State last season on March 1, 2019. He was tabbed ACC Pitcher of the week for his effort, which was also recognized as the Performance of the Week by Golden Spikes and
D1Baseball. Jarvis was also named National Pitcher of the Week by
Perfect Game and the
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and National Player of the Week by
Collegiate Baseball and
D1Baseball.
Shutout Season
Duke has totaled five shutouts on the season, which ranks both first in the nation and the ACC. The Blue Devils registered a span of four straight shutouts earlier in the campaign, which served as the longest streak in program history. The Blue Devils earned a shutout over Army West Point, before holding William & Mary and Cornell scoreless across the next three games to mark the four-game span. Most recently, Duke shutout Air Force, 16-0, on Monday afternoon to pick up its fifth shutout of the season, which ties for the fifth-most in a single season in program history, and is one shy of 2019's total.
Pitching Staff Success
The Duke pitching staff ranks first in the ACC and third in the nation in ERA with a mark of 0.75 (6 ER/72.0 IP), entering the weekend. The Blue Devils have registered shutouts in five of their last six contests, and have surrendered only one run across its last 45.0 innings of work. Duke's strength has proved to be in the bullpen throughout the first eight games, as the Blue Devil relievers have only allowed three earned runs across 37.2 innings pitched and only one run past the fourth inning. The pitching staff has posted scoreless outings in 21 of their 23 relief appearances, combining for a 0.72 ERA out of the pen.
Less Walks, More Strikeouts – The WHIP Appeal
The Blue Devil pitchers have limited opposing offenses, allowing only 40 hits and 17 walks across 72.0 innings this season. Duke owns a WHIP of 0.79, which ranks fourth in the nation and first in the ACC. The Blue Devils have only surrendered 22 hits and nine walks over their last six games, sporting a 0.57 WHIP across the span. Overall, Duke ranks 10th in the country and third in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio, with a mark of 4.82. Additionally, the Blue Devils own the lowest mark of walks allowed per nine innings in the ACC, averaging only 2.13 free passes allowed per contest.
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