Home Baseball: #11 Duke blasts #8 Virginia in weekend series opener, 9-4
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Baseball: #11 Duke blasts #8 Virginia in weekend series opener, 9-4

Chris Graham
valley league baseball
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#11 Duke jumped on Virginia starter Cullen McKay, got out to an 8-1 lead in the middle innings, and coasted to a 9-4 win over the eighth-ranked ‘Hoos in the teams’ series opener in front of a whopping 761 fans at tiny Jack Coombs Field on Thursday in Durham.

McKay (2-1, 6.46 ERA) gave up six runs, all earned, on five hits, five walks and two hit batters, striking out seven.

It took him 94 pitches to get 10 outs.

Not a good ratio there.

The UVA lineup, meanwhile, was unusually quiet – just five hits, with Jonathan Santucci (5-0, 2.92 ERA) giving up a run on two hits and four walks, striking out six on 101 pitches.

Game 2 of the weekend series is set for a 6 p.m. Friday first pitch. It will pit Duke righty Ryan Higgins (0-0, 3.24 ERA), probably the first guy on a staff day for the Blue Devils, against UVA lefty Evan Blanco (2-1, 3.77 ERA).

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].