Duke Clinches Series with 4-3 Win over No. 11 Florida State

Saturday, March 7

Durham Bulls Athletic Park

1 p.m.

Duke University

12-2, 2-0

Florida State

9-5, 0-2

Florida State

Duke

Duke Clinches Series with 4-3 Win over No. 11 Florida State

3/7/2020 5:37:00 PM | Baseball

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DURHAM, N.C. – The 12^th-ranked Duke baseball team held on to claim a 4-3 victory over No. 11 Florida State on Saturday afternoon at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. With the win, the Blue Devils secure the series and improve to 12-2 (2-0 ACC) on the campaign, while the Seminoles fall to 9-5 (0-2 ACC).

"Credit Florida State for manufacturing a lot of guys on base," said head coach Chris Pollard. "They made us pitch through a lot of traffic. What a job by Thomas Girard to come in and get us off the field right there in the eighth with the bases loaded. I thought we really tough. I don't know if that's the best we've played this year, but we were tough. Our ability to get a couple of two-out hits have been the difference."

The Blue Devils received a solid start from sophomore Cooper Stinson (3-0), who picked up his third win of the season and first career ACC win. The right-hander tossed 5.0 innings of one-run baseball, surrendering five hits and three walks while striking out seven. The trio of redshirt freshman Jimmy Loper, senior Eli Herrick and junior Matt Dockman covered the middle innings before eventually turning the ball over to the Duke closer Thomas Girard.

Girard entered with one out in the eighth, escaping out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout and a flyout to end the inning. The junior right-hander worked a total of 1.2 innings, racking up a trio of strikeouts to notch his fourth of the season. With the performance, Girard is now tied for second all-time in Duke history for the most career saves with 13.

Duke kicked off the scoring on Saturday, plating three runs in the third to gain the advantage. Redshirt sophomore Wil Hoyle led off the inning with a double to left field before sophomore Rudy Maxwell followed with a hit-by-pitch. After senior Chase Cheek reached on a bunt single to load the bases, senior Matt Mervis brought across the game's first run on a RBI groundout to place the Blue Devils in the scoring column. One batter later, junior Michael Rothenberg lined a single to left field to score a pair, giving Duke a 3-0 lead after three full.

Florida State responded in the very next half, plating a run of its own in the fourth to trim the Blue Devil lead. Elijah Cabell led off the frame with a home run, sending the third pitch of the at-bat to right center to make it a 3-1 contest.

The Blue Devils tacked on one run in the sixth to cushion their lead. With one down, Rothenberg and junior Joey Loperfido drew back-to-back walks to place runners on first and second. After FSU made a call to the bullpen, freshman Chad Knight greeted the new arm with a RBI single to left to score one and push Duke's lead to 4-1.

The Seminoles added a pair of runs in the seventh to continue to chip away. Florida State used a one-out walk followed by a hit-by-pitch to put a pair of runners on. One batter later, a double to right field scored two to set the score at 4-3 the eventual final.

Florida State stranded the bases loaded in the eighth, before stranding the tying run on second to end the game. The Seminoles left 15 runners on base, while out-hitting Duke, 8-7, in the contest.

The two teams return to the diamond on Sunday afternoon, as Duke looks to secure its second series sweep of the season. The Blue Devils will look to sophomore right-hander Jack Carey for the start, while the Seminoles will counter with junior righty Conor Grady. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, with action airing live on ACC Network Extra.

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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