There will be a new champion.
No. 7-seed and reigning ACC champion Duke was overpowered by No. 2-seed Florida State Friday afternoon as the Seminoles rode an eight-run third inning to a 14-7 victory in Durham. Ace left-hander Jamie Arnold was not at his best in the quarterfinal matchup, but Florida State’s offense was able to back him up, scoring in all but two innings to cruise to victory and leave the Blue Devils waiting to learn where they will head for an NCAA regional.
“This baseball game was a combination of two things,” head coach Chris Pollard said. “Florida State playing well, and us playing really poorly.”
In a best-on-best matchup of starting pitching, Duke (37-19, 17-13 in the ACC) trotted out junior Owen Proksch in his familiar Friday role. The southpaw never got his arsenal working, surrendering two runs on 33 pitches in the opening frame. The crooked number came in the third, when three straight station-to-station singles loaded the bases, and a fourth — this one off the bat of Chase Williams — brought in two runs to end Proksch’s day.
Gabe Nard entered in relief, but the right-hander was not able to clean up his fellow junior’s mess. Designated hitter Brody DeLamielleur, the first batter he faced, doubled to right-center field to add another run. After a walk and a strikeout, ACC Player of the Year Alex Lodise shot a 1-1 pitch down the right-field line for a two-RBI triple, and suddenly the Seminoles held a commanding 8-2 lead. A single to score Lodise and a back-breaking moonshot from Myles Bailey later, the Blue Devils were staring down the barrel of an 11-2 deficit. They threatened throughout the remainder of the game, but the lead was ultimately insurmountable.
“We are the best team in the ACC in batting average on balls in play defensively,” Pollard said. “We're one of the top five in the country. We have been for two years in a row. We spend an inordinate amount of time making sure that our defenders are in the right position, but they beat our shifts a bunch today, and sometimes that means it's just not your day.”
Facing one of the deepest lineups in the country, Proksch struggled from the onset. The first three Florida State batters of the game reached to bring up Bailey, and the clean-up hitter did just that, singling to drive in the game’s first run. A run-scoring fielder’s choice and two strikeouts allowed Duke to escape with just two tallies on the board, but the long inning set the table for a difficult day for the pitching staff.
“In the first, Owen came out a little bit amped up,” Pollard said. “We missed some spots, we gave them some free offense, and they had a soft contact single fall in, and they created momentum with it.”
The Blue Devil bats took no time to respond. In the second inning, a two-out single and a walk brought designated hitter Noah Murray to the plate with the sun beating down on the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The sophomore skied a ball to center field, where Max Williams unsuccessfully used his glove to shield his eyes from the glare. The ball landed just feet in front of the All-ACC center fielder, allowing both runners to score and tying the game at two apiece.
In a spot where a quick inning may have completely shifted the momentum in Duke’s favor, the Seminoles punched back. Catcher Jaxson West snuck a ball just over the wall in left-center field for a solo shot to regain the lead and set the stage for the big third inning to come.
“It was a product of, at times we didn't execute pitches very well, and at times they took some good swings on some executed pitches, so it was a little bit of both,” Pollard said.
Following the eight-run onslaught that blew the game open, the Blue Devils could have easily mailed it in and turned their focus toward their NCAA Tournament run. Instead, they started building. Ben Rounds was hit by a pitch to start the fourth, and three batters later it was Murray again. This time he didn’t need the sun’s assistance, blasting a ball into the outdoor seating at Tobacco Road Sports Cafe in left field to move his RBI total on the day to four.
“We had some loud contact, so the game plan was there,” Pollard asserted. “I thought we took good swings, but you can't spot a guy that is that good that type of run support, and obviously we did.”
The resilience continued in the sixth as back-to-back singles forced head coach Link Jarrett to pull Arnold from the game and turn to reliever John Abraham. While a double play initially rendered the change a success, three walks, a single and a passed ball allowed two runs to score and forced another call to the bullpen.
Joe Charles entered in relief with the Seminoles leading 12-6, the bases loaded and ACC home run leader Ben Miller stepping to the plate. The right-hander executed a perfect slider down and away, drawing a helpless swing out Miller for strike three to leave the bases loaded. The threat was Duke’s last real chance at getting back into the ball game, as Florida State cruised the remainder of the way.
The Blue Devil bullpen settled in a bit in the later innings, but the Seminoles tacked on two additional runs to keep the game out of reach.
“We're going to not just practice tomorrow, [but] we're going to scrimmage tomorrow,” Pollard said to end his press conference. “And it will be spirited, and it will be with energy, and it will be with defensive execution, and guys moving to back up the offside base, and guys running a tandem the right way, and guys moving to cover the bag in a force situation. Some things that we didn't do today that I'm pretty hot about.”
The NCAA Tournament field will be announced Monday following the conclusion of conference tournament competitions.
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