Baseball Returns to Action at No. 2 North Carolina

Sunday, May 3

Chapel Hill, NC

2 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Baseball Returns to Action at No. 2 North Carolina

5/2/2026 5:49:00 PM | Baseball

Watch (ACC Network)Live Stats Duke Notes (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. - Following its bye week, Duke baseball returns to the diamond for a non-conference clash at No. 2 North Carolina. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels are scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch at Boshamer Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.

The Blue Devils are in the midst of a stretch of seven combined games against a top-three opponent across eight total games. Duke will next host Queens on Tuesday, May 5 before traveling to No. 3 Georgia Tech for the Blue Devils' final road conference series of the season.

Duke took the middle game of its three-game set against the Tar Heels at Jack Coombs Field, on April 23-25. The Blue Devils played to a close 3-1 defeat in the series opener before taking the second contest, 3-1, behind a career outing by Peter Lemke. North Carolina claimed the series with a run-rule win in the rubber match.

Against the Tar Heels, Lemke worked 7.2 innings on the mound, while getting tagged for a single run that scored after he exited in the eighth inning. The transfer from Division III Denison set new personal bests for innings pitched and total pitches (101) at the D-I level and earned his second win of the season.

QUICK HITS

Duke scored all three of its runs in the second game in the first frame, with a fielding error and throwing error allowing both base runners, Kaden Smith and Matthew Strand, along with the batter, Michael DiMartini, to round the bases and touch home plate.
RJ Hamilton and Strand were two of Duke's home-run hitters against North Carolina, with Hamilton leading off game three with a solo shot in the bottom of the first and Strand following up with his team-leading 11th blast of the season in the third inning.
Strand has started at catcher in all but two games since February 28, after both Cider Canon and Nolan Johnson suffered early injuries this season. Catcher was a position of strength entering the season, but Strand has taken on the bulk role in stride.
Overall, the third-string catcher has evolved into one of Duke's most dangerous bats, with a .323 average at the plate, a 1.046 OPS and a team-high 36 RBI. The Samford transfer led the team at the plate in March and hit seven home runs, with 22 RBI. Strand slashed .365/.423/.794 across 16 games in March and two of his homers were grand slams against ACC competition.
INF Coltin Quagliano ranks as the top infielder in the country for defensive runs saved (DRS), at 14.66. Quagliano is the only non-catcher in top five nationally for DRS and has made several highlight plays on defense, including a jump throw from the third-base foul territory to get the batter at first base at NC State. The graduate has played and started at the hot corner in all but one game this season.
INF/OF RJ Hamilton has been a steady starter, consistently batting second in Duke's lineup. The transfer from Vanderbilt is slashing .329/.432/.520 and blasted the fifth home run of his season in the first inning against North Carolina on Saturday, April 25. The speedster is the only Blue Devil with at least 20 stolen bases and is 23-for-27 on the basepaths.
Hamilton had a hitting streak reach 15 games with a base knock in the first game of the doubleheader at Boston College, but after having his streak snapped in the nightcap against the Eagles, he has logged at least one hit in every game since, good for a stretch of at least one hit in 19 of his last 20 games.
Duke currently sits at 128 stolen bases this season, tied for fourth in the country.
The Blue Devils set a new program record for stolen bases in a season on March 31, with a double steal in the first inning against Davidson moving the Blue Devils' season total to 108, surpassing the previous record of 106.
INF Collin Anderson has stepped into a consistent starting role for Duke's infield and led Duke at the plate in its three-game series against Louisville April 2-4. The freshman went 7-of-13 (.538), including a double and a home run. On defense, Anderson made several highlight plays at both second base and shortstop, while playing clean baseball with zero errors. At NC State, Anderson flashed the leather in the Sunday finale, with a diving stop at second to end a Wolfpack threat in the late innings.