Duke Opens the Weekend with 5-1 Win over Purdue

Friday, February 28

Minneapolis, Minn.

4 p.m.

Duke University

8-1

Purdue

6-2

Purdue Boilermakers

Duke

Photo by: Parker Handley

Duke Opens the Weekend with 5-1 Win over Purdue

2/28/2020 7:44:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Boxscore

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A solid performance from the Duke pitching staff lifted the 14^th-ranked Blue Devils to a 5-1 victory over Purdue on Friday afternoon inside U.S. Bank Stadium. With the win, the Blue Devils improve to 8-1 on the campaign, while the Boilermakers fall to 6-2.

"We played well offensively," said head coach Chris Pollard. "We pitched really well again—no walks in nine innings against 12 strikeouts. Our infield defense was really good."

Duke received another strong start from junior Bryce Jarvis (2-1), who picked up his second win of the season. The right-hander worked 7.0 innings of one-run baseball, scattering six hits while striking out 11 batters across 97 pitches of work. The junior duo Matt Dockman and Thomas Girard combined to cover the final two frames, working one inning apiece while allowing no baserunners.

Offensively, the Blue Devils were led by seniors Chase Cheek and Erikson Nichols, who contributed two hits apiece and one run scored. Redshirt sophomore Wil Hoyle registered a career-high two RBI to lead the team, as part of his 1-for-3 afternoon in his second straight start.

"Wil is a great example of taking advantage of your opportunities," Pollard added. "He gets a couple of pinch-hits and he takes advantage of those opportunities. He gets the start against Air Force and plays great. He came in a played really well tonight. Defensively, offensively, he was really good from both sides of the plate. He did a lot of things well today"

Duke struck first in Friday's matchup, plating one run in the first to grab the early advantage. Nichols began the frame with a leadoff single, marking the team's first hit of the game. After advancing to third on a failed pickoff attempt, Nichols came across to score the game's first run on a RBI groundout from Hoyle to put Duke in front, 1-0, after three full.

The Blue Devils put up a four-spot in the sixth to widen the advantage. The inning began with a single from Cheek, followed by a walk to junior Michael Rothenberg. After Cheek advanced to third on a stolen base to place runners on the corners, senior Matt Mervis lined a single through the right side to score one. One batter later, sophomore Ethan Murray delivered a base knock to left field to plate the inning's second run.

The frame continued with a pinch-hit at-bat from Chad Knight, as the freshman collected his second RBI with a fielder's choice. Two batters later, Hoyle registered his second RBI of the afternoon with single through the left side to make it a 5-0 contest through six innings of play.

Purdue scored its lone run of the game in the seventh. With one down in the inning, the Boilermakers used a hit-by-pitch followed by a RBI double to center field to plate one run and set the score at 5-1, the eventual final.

Duke returns to the diamond on Saturday night, as the Blue Devils are set to face Minnesota in their second game of the CambriaCollegeClassic. The two teams are set for an 8 p.m. ET first pitch at U.S. Bank Stadium, with action airing live on BTN+.

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".

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