Duke Drops Series Finale to No. 11 Florida State, 10-2

Sunday, March 8

Durham Bulls Athletic Park

1 p.m.

Duke University

12-3, 2-1

Florida State

10-5, 1-2

Florida State

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Drops Series Finale to No. 11 Florida State, 10-2

3/8/2020 5:27:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Boxscore

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke baseball team suffered a 10-2 loss to No. 11 Florida State on Sunday afternoon in the series finale at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The loss snaps a 10-game winning streak at home for the Blue Devils as they fall to 12-3 (2-1 ACC) on the campaign, while the Seminoles move to 10-5 (1-2 ACC) overall.

"I thought we took really good swings in the middle innings," said head coach Chris Pollard. "We just didn't have anything to show for it. We swung the bat better, especially through the first six innings of the game, than the score indicated. We hit some balls hard right at people. That's baseball. There were two swings with two outs that accounted for six of their runs. If you get those two pitches back, all of a sudden you're in a 4-2 game late, and it may play out differently."

The two teams traded runs across the early frames before Florida State moved ahead with a two-run inning in the third to grab a one-run lead. The Seminoles went on to plate one in the fifth before exploding for six runs across the eighth and ninth innings to put the game out of reach and salvage the series.

Making his first career ACC start, sophomore Jack Carey (1-1) suffered the loss for Duke, marking his first of the season. The right-hander worked 5.0 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out six. The Blue Devils used a combination of five arms to cover the final four frames, as juniors Josh Nifong and Matt Dockman, freshman Marcus Johnson, and sophomores Aaron Beasley and Kyle Salley each made appearances.

Florida State struck first on getaway day, plating one run in the top of the first. After a hit-by-pitch began the inning, a single to left field placed runners on first and second with nobody out. The Blue Devils used a 6-3 double play ball to secure the first two outs of the frame, but a two-out single to right field crossed the game's first run to put FSU ahead 1-0 after half an inning.

Duke responded in the home half with a run of its own to tie things at one apiece. With one down, sophomore Ethan Murray lined a solo shot down the left field line for his first home run of the season, making it a 1-1 contest after one full.

The Blue Devils returned to the dish to add one more run in the second to take the lead. Freshman Chad Knight led off the inning with a triple to right center, marking his first career triple. One out later, Knight came across to score on a RBI single from redshirt junior Chris Dutra, moving Duke in front 2-1.

The Seminoles answered back with a two-run frame in the third to gain the advantage. FSU used a one-out walk followed by a two-run homer to left field to gain a 3-2 lead.

Florida State went on to plate seven runs across the final innings, as the Seminole pitchers held the Blue Devils scoreless for a 10-2 final score.

Duke returns to the diamond on Tuesday afternoon, as the team travels to Charlotte, N.C., for a matchup with Davidson. The two teams are set for a 6 p.m. first pitch at BB&T Ballpark, with action airing live on ESPN+.

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