No. 7 Duke Takes Series Opener from No. 23 Virginia Tech in Extra-Inning Thriller

Friday, April 19

Blacksburg, Va.

7 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia Tech

No. 7 Duke Takes Series Opener from No. 23 Virginia Tech in Extra-Inning Thriller

4/20/2024 12:54:00 AM | Baseball

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BLACKSBURG, Va. – Graduate Ben Miller hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to tie the ballgame, before driving in Tyler Albright from second in the top of the 11th inning, as No. 7 Duke (28-10, 12-7 ACC) defeated No. 23 Virginia Tech (24-11, 11-8 ACC), 9-8, on Friday evening at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.

The Hokies opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, scratching across two runs before Macon Winlsow singled to center field to score Logan Bravo from third to cut the lead in half. The Blue Devils took the lead of the first time Friday evening in the top of the third, as a pair of base hits put Duke up 3-2. Later in the frame, Bravo hit a two-run home run down the right field line to push Duke's advantage to 5-2.

Zac Morris' 11th home run of the season, a solo shot to center field off the batter's eye, extended the Blue Devils cushion to four runs, before the Hokies were able to scratch four runs across in the bottom of the fifth to tie the ballgame. In the sixth, Virginia Tech added a pair to regain the lead heading into the final four frames.

Bravo hit his second home run of the day to lead off the top of the eighth, cutting the VT lead to one, before Miller crushed a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left to lead off the top of the ninth inning to tie the ballgame. Miller didn't stop there, singling through the left side at 104 mph to score Tyler Albright from second and give Duke the lead.

Graduate Charlie Beilenson worked the final four innings for the Blue Devils, allowing one hit and punching out five Hokies to improve to 5-2 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Virginia Tech opened the scoring in bottom of the first, 2-0.
Macon Winslow singled to center field to score Logan Bravo from third in the top of the second, 2-1.
In the top of the third, Alex Stone singled through the right side to score Zac Morris from third. AJ Gracia doubled down the line in left to score Stone from first. Bravo hit a two-run home run down the line in right, 5-2.
Morris hit a solo home run to center field in the top of the fifth inning, 6-2.
The Hokies tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, 6-6.
Virginia Tech took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, 8-6.
Bravo hit a solo home run to left field in the top of the eighth inning, 8-7.
Ben Miller hit a solo home run to left field in the top of the ninth inning, 8-8.
In the top of the 11th inning, Miller singled through the left side to score Tyler Albright from second, 9-8.

NOTES

Graduate Ben Miller returned to the lineup after missing four games due to an upper body injury. He finished the evening 3-for-5 with one run scored, two RBI, a walk and hit his 10th home run of the season to tie the ballgame in the ninth. Miller also extended his hitting streak to 15 games.
Graduate Logan Bravo was one of four Blue Devils to record multi-hit contests against Virginia Tech. Bravo hit a two-run home run and a solo home run.
With a four-run inning in the top of the third, the Blue Devils improved to 206-43 (.827) when scoring three-plus runs in an inning since 2016.
Graduate Zac Morris finished the day 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a home run. His solo home run to center field, marked the 11th of the season and set a new single-season career high for the VMI transfer.
Junior Wallace Clark was hit by his 17th pitch on Friday night, moving him into a tie for fifth all-time in a single season. He joins Max Miller (2018) and Luke Storm (2022) who also were hit by 17 pitches in their respected seasons.
Duke is now 2-1 in extra-inning games during ACC play this season. The 11 innings are tied for the longest game this season.
Graduate Charlie Beilenson improved to 5-2 on the season, working four innings of one-hit baseball and punching out five Hokies. Beilenson has now won four consecutive outings that he has factored into the decision.

QUOTES

"I thought we were kind of sloppy at times during the first half of the game. Obviously, we gave them a lot of free offense and they scored four runs in the fifth on only two singles the entire inning. We were able to settle in and continue competing. I thought our two-strike at bats were terrific and we never gave in. It was a hostile road atmosphere, and it would have been easy after losing the lead to roll over and we didn't do that, and I am proud of our team." – Head coach Chris Pollard on his overall thoughts on tonight's extra inning thriller.

UP NEXT

Duke and Virginia Tech continue the three-game set on Saturday evening from English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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