Duke Surges Past Minnesota in Extra-Innings, 7-3

Saturday, February 29

Minneapolis, Minn.

8 p.m.

Duke University

9-1

Minnesota

5-5

Duke

Minnesota Gophers

Photo by: Parker Handley

Duke Surges Past Minnesota in Extra-Innings, 7-3

3/1/2020 1:12:00 AM | Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A four-run 10^th inning propelled the 14^th-ranked Duke baseball team to a 7-3 victory over Minnesota in extra-innings on Saturday evening inside U.S. Bank Stadium. With the win, the Blue Devils improve to 9-1 on the campaign—marking the program's best start under head coach Chris Pollard, while the Gophers fall to 5-5.

"I thought it was great to have to fight our way through a baseball game like that," said Pollard. "It felt very much like an ACC game on the road, being a back-and-forth affair. You knew they were going to have an answer at some point. To lose the lead there like we did in the bottom of the eighth, we were tough enough to get off the field. We finally broke through in the top of the 10^th and we had some really good two-out hitting today."

Entering the 10^th inning with the contest knotted at three apiece, freshman Britt Fuller reached on a four-pitch walk before redshirt freshman Jake Topolski entered to pinch run. After freshman Chad Knight singled to right center to place runners on first and second, a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. One out later, junior Joey Loperfido delivered the game-winning hit with a two-out single up the middle to plate two runs and move Duke in front, 5-3.

The inning continued as Loperfido advanced to second on his fifth stolen base of the season, before senior Chase Cheek lined a RBI single to right center to score one. One batter later, junior Michael Rothenberg delivered the crushing blow with a RBI double off the right field wall to score the inning's fourth and final run to set the score at 7-3, the eventual final.

Duke struck first in Saturday's matchup, plating one run in the third inning to move in front. Senior Erikson Nichols began the scoring sequence, sending a single to left field. In the next at-bat, redshirt sophomore Wil Hoyle laid down a sacrifice bunt that was mishandled by the Minnesota pitcher, allowing him to reach. With runners on first and second, another sacrifice attempt advanced both runners to second and third before an RBI groundout from Cheek brought across the game's first run to put Duke ahead, 1-0.

The Blue Devils added another single tally in the fourth, using a two-out rally to extend their lead. With two down, Nichols collected his second hit of the day with a single to right field. One batter later, Hoyle connected on the very first pitch, sending a RBI triple to deep center field to score one and make it a 2-0 contest.

The two teams went scoreless in the fifth before Duke struck for another run in the sixth to widen the margin. With one down in the inning, sophomore RJ Schreck reached on a four-pitch walk, while Knight followed with a single to left to place runners on first and second. After a walk to Hoyle loaded the bases, Loperfido reached on an infield single, allowing Schreck to score and push Duke's lead to 3-0.

Minnesota responded in the bottom half with a run of its own to trim the deficit. A one-out single followed by a two-out walk placed runners on first and second for the Gophers. One batter later, an RBI single to left center brought one run across to make it a 3-1 ballgame after six full.

The Gophers tied things in the eighth, using a pair of solo home runs to even the score at three apiece. After the two teams went scoreless in the ninth frame, the Blue Devils rallied for four runs in the 10^th to move ahead and secure the win.

Sophomore starter Cooper Stinson was impressive once again for Duke, but did not factor into the decision. The right-hander worked 5.0 shutout innings, yielding six hits, while allowing no walks and racking up five strikeouts. After blowing the first save situation of his career, junior right-hander Thomas Girard (1-0) bounced back to pick up his first win of the season. Girard allowed two earned runs on three hits, while striking out four across 2.0 innings of action.

Offensively, the Blue Devils were led by Nichols, who registered a career-high tying three hits and two runs scored. The trio of Loperfido, Cheek, and Knight also contributed multi-hit efforts with two hits apiece, while Loperfido added a team-high three RBI and two stolen bases.

Duke returns to the diamond on Sunday evening, as the Blue Devils are set to face Iowa in their final game of the CambriaCollegeClassic. The two teams are set for an 3 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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