DURHAM, NC UNC Greensboro was handed their 12th loss of the season as they were shutout by the Duke Blue Devils, 10-0, Wednesday evening in Durham, NC. The victory snapped Duke's five-game losing streak.
The Blue Devils led the Spartans, 4-0, heading into the sixth inning before going on a six-run rally in the sixth to take a commanding 10-0 lead. Duke out hit UNCG 12-2 and tallied the only two hits higher than a single; both were doubles.
UNCG will hold a 19-12 overall record heading into this weekend's Southern Conference action and is 5-4 in the league. Duke is now 22-10 on the season with a 4-10 record in the ACC.
With two outs and two on the bags, Duke took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Alex Hassan knocked a two-run double into left center to bring around both Jake Lemmerman and Kyle Kreick.
The Blue Devils increased their lead to 4-0 in the fourth starting with a sacrifice fly to right field by Matt Williams to plate Michael Ghizzoni. In the next play, Gabriel Saade slid in home as an attempt was being made to pickoff Hassan who was looking to steal second. During the relay from home to second, Hassan made his way down the third baseline. The ball was immediately sent back to down to the plate, but it was just a bit too late as Hassan scored safely.
In inning six, Duke took a commanding lead with a six-run rally started by another sacrifice fly by Williams. His fly out to centerfield allowed Ghizzoni to safely cross home. Then with two outs, a single to centerfield by Ryan McCurdy brought in both Jeremy Gould and Jonathan Nicolla. Duke's final two runs were brought in off of a defensive error and a balk, respectively.
UNCG's two hits were tallied by Greg Feltes and Ricky Orton. Duke was led by Ryan McCurdy who was 2-for-3 with a run, a walk, and a pair of RBI.
Blue Devil starter Christopher Manno (3-0) was credited with the win after striking out nine and allowing just one hit in five innings on the mound. UNCG's Alex Shelton (3-2) took the loss after three innings on the rubber. In the seventh inning, reliever Warren Slack struck out two of his three batters faced.
The Spartans return to UNCG Baseball Stadium on April 11 as they begin a three day, three game series with Southern Conference opponent, the Wofford Terriers. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7pm with start times of 2pm on Saturday and 1pm on Sunday. The weekend has been dedicated as Katie Ball Memorial Baseball Weekend in honor of the late Katherine (Katie) Ball, former baseball administrative assistant. Fans are invited to join UNCG baseball and the rest of Spartan athletics in their effort to STRIKEOUT cancer.
For news about UNCG baseball, complete season schedule, and any other information regarding Spartan athletics log onto www.UNCGSpartans.com.
# # UNCG # #
Duke 10, UNC Greensboro 0 (Apr 09, 2008 at Durham, N.C.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
UNC Greensboro...... 000 000 000 - 0 2 2 (19-12)
Duke........................... 020 206 00X - 10 12 1 (22-10)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: UNC Greensboro - Alex Shelton; Greg Smith(4); Blake Hassebrock(6); Matt Bjorkstrom(6); Warren Slack(7); Rob Gilliam(8).
Duke - Manno, C.; Bunder, J.(6); Knott, R.(8); Causey, R.(9).
Win-Manno, C.(3-0)
Loss-Alex Shelton(3-2)
