Duke Drops Heartbreaking Extra-Inning Battle at No. 19 North Carolina

Saturday, April 5

Chapel Hill, NC

2 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Duke Drops Heartbreaking Extra-Inning Battle at No. 19 North Carolina

4/5/2025 8:25:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Duke baseball (21-12, 8-7 ACC) fell to No. 19 North Carolina (24-8, 8-7 ACC) 8-7 at Boshamer Stadium in the bottom of the 14th inning, as an error allowed the winning run to cross.

North Carolina opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, before the Blue Devils tied the ballgame in the top of the second inning. AJ Gracia hit a two-run home run of his own to right field, his third of the season.

The Tar Heels didn't go away quietly as they immediately responded in the bottom of the second inning, 3-2. In the fourth, Andrew Yu reached on an error scoring Tyler Albright, before Wallace Clark grounded out to second base to score Ben Rounds from third, 4-3.

North Carolina responded again in the bottom of the sixth and added insurance in the bottom of the eighth, 7-4. In the top of the ninth, the Blue Devils put together a rally, as Jake Hyde singled to right field to score Clark from third. Rounds grounded into a fielder's choice to score Ben Miller from third, 7-7.

In the ninth, Duke went walk, walk, single, single, single, fielder's choice, double play to tie the ballgame. The two sides escaped jams throughout the next three innings before an error scored the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning.

HOW IT HAPPENED

North Carolina opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, 2-0.
Duke tied the ballgame in the top of the second inning, as AJ Gracia hit a two-run home run to right field, 2-2.
The Tar Heels regained the lead in the bottom of the second inning, 3-2.
In the top of the fourth inning, Andrew Yu reached on an error scoring Tyler Albright. Wallace Clark grounded out to second base to score Ben Rounds from third, 4-3.
North Carolina took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, 5-4.
An error added a run for the Tar Heels in the bottom of the eighth inning, 7-4.
In the top of the ninth inning, Jake Hyde singled to right field to score Clark from third. Rounds grounded into a fielder's choice to score Ben Miller from third, 7-7.
North Carolina scored in the bottom of the 14th inning on an error, 8-7.

NOTES

Saturday's series finale was the longest game by innings for Duke baseball since April 6, 2022, when the Blue Devils went 13 innings against Longwood at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Junior AJ Gracia finished the day 3-for-5, crushing his third home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field. Gracia collected his sixth multi-hit contest of the season. The Monroe, N.J., native added two walks and stole a base.
Freshman Henry Zatkowski did not factor into the decision on Saturday, working five innings on the mound allowing five runs, four earned, and striking out three batters. The southpaw has now posted back-to-back starts of five-plus innings on the mound as he transitioned to the weekend rotation.
Duke's bullpen arms of Reid Easterly, James Tallon, Gabe Nard, Ryan Calvert, Ryan Higgins, Max Stammel, and Edward Hart, combined to allow five hits throughout the final nine innings work.
Playing 5:15 minutes at No. 19 North Carolina, the game is now the longest based on time since 2005, passing the 5:08 contest against North Carolina on March 29, 2014.

QUOTES

"I am exhausted, and I can only imagine how our guys feel. They laid their guts out there on the field. There were some things that we could have done in the execution, but I am very proud of our fight and the competitive spirit they had today to battle these guys for 14 innings." – Head coach Chris Pollard on the 14-inning battle with North Carolina.
"It is huge and he is really starting to look like himself. It is big for us over the second half and we are excited about the way he looks." – On AJ Gracia starting to turn a corner heading into the second half of the season.
"Huge. Gabe Nard did a great job all weekend. He had a great outing yesterday as well. James Tallon looked terrific today. We knew it was going to be a short burst with both of those guys, but Gabe came in and got us off the field. I thought it was a terrific outing by Ryan Calvert. He had been down for a week with a little bit of fatigue, so it was great to get him back in there and pitch like that. We had lots of chances but couldn't get the job done." – On the job the bullpen did down the stretch covering the final nine innings of the contest.