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).

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, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].