Road Rally Falls Short at East Carolina

Tuesday, April 7

Greenville, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

21-14

East Carolina

21-12-1

Duke

East Carolina

Road Rally Falls Short at East Carolina

4/7/2026 9:48:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Duke rallied with six runs in the sixth inning or later, but fell just short at East Carolina, 8-6, on Tuesday evening at Clark–LeClair Stadium. The Blue Devils (21-14) were held without a hit for the first 5.2 innings before scoring five runs in the sixth, but the Pirates (21-12-1) held on to claim the midweek contest.

Matthew Strand led the Blue Devils on offense with three RBI while Michael DiMartini also logged a multi-RBI night with a pair of runs driven in.

HOW IT HAPPENED

East Carolina struck first, posting a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. The Pirates added two more in the bottom of the third with an RBI double and run-scoring groundout.
The hosts tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, building a 7-0 lead entering the top of the sixth.
Duke loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth and got on the board with a two-run single from Matthew Strand, breaking up the Pirates' no-hit bid. A double from Collin Anderson scored another run, bringing the Blue Devils within four at 7-3.
Michael DiMartini continued the sixth-inning rally by smoking a single past the shortstop to narrow the deficit to two runs, 7-5.
Bennett LaPalm worked a clean frame in the bottom of the sixth inning and Roman DiGiacomo wriggled out of a bases-loaded situation with two outs in the seventh, highlighted by Strand making a diving catch on a popped up bunt attempt.
In the eighth, Strand pulled Duke within a run with a looping single to the outfield, bringing RJ Hamilton home from third. Ben Dean entered with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the eighth, allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly.
Duke threatened in the top of the ninth but was unable to force the contest to the home half of the ninth, as East Carolina claimed the 8-6 victory.

UP NEXT

Duke (21-14, 7-8 ACC) travels across the Triangle, taking on NC State (22-11, 6-6 ACC). The Blue Devils and Wolfpack will play a three-game series April 10-12 at Doak Field at Dail Park. Friday's series opener is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch, followed by 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. start times on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
All three games will stream live on ACC Network Extra.

For more information on Duke baseball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeBASE".

#GoDuke