[AATL]

Next up: battle of the unbeatens in Durham. Duke took home the crown from "Battle at the Beach" with some solid pitching and clean defense, defeating Indiana 6-3, drubbing a bad George Mason 23-5 (side note - GMU was outscored 58-8 this weekend. Ouch!), and taking down #18 Coastal 5-3. They currently sit at #12 in the polls.

I'd imagine Moran gets the nod if healthy. Last weekend was a breath of fresh air seeing contact up and down the lineup. I think Sweatt is going to be a nice addition and it seems like the catcher room will be bursting at the seams. This is a significant step up in competition from Quinnipiac - hope they keep it rolling.

[Chippy]

Next up: battle of the unbeatens in Durham. Duke took home the crown from "Battle at the Beach" with some solid pitching and clean defense, defeating Indiana 6-3, drubbing a bad George Mason 23-5 (side note - GMU was outscored 58-8 this weekend. Ouch!), and taking down #18 Coastal 5-3. They currently sit at #12 in the polls.

I'd imagine Moran gets the nod if healthy. Last weekend was a breath of fresh air seeing contact up and down the lineup. I think Sweatt is going to be a nice addition and it seems like the catcher room will be bursting at the seams. This is a significant step up in competition from Quinnipiac - hope they keep it rolling.

Duke hit 11 HRs against GMU, 3 against Indiana, and 2 against Coastal. 16 HRs in 3 games

[aredd33]

Good guys fall to Duke 4-2...good pitching, we kept them in the yard, and holding them to 4 runs is pretty good in my opinion. We managed only 3 hits. Interestingly all 3 were doubles. I didn't get to watch any of the game so I have no idea if we had bad luck hitting the ball hard right at people or what. Anyway, back at home this weekend.

[AATL]

Tip your cap to both pitching staffs. Liberty couldn't make much contact. When they did, there wasn't anyone on the basepaths; there was 1(!) total walk issued between the two staffs, a rare sight for a college game.

On the bright side, it was great to see Horton back in the starting lineup as a DH. It was another nice game for the bullpen as well; Trey Cooper is starting the year out strong.

[aredd33]

We lose today to lose the series to Hofstra.
With our next 8 games this could easily turn into a 9-game skid. Not saying I think it will happen or even that it's likely but certainly a realistic possibility. I (like several others on this board) was concerned coming into the season and I've seen absolutely nothing through 7 games to make me less concerned. Still obviously super early and we could still easily be a good team. I'm trying super hard not to sound like a downer but I'm not really sure what to say.
The next 8
at UNC Wilmington
at Coastal for 3
at College of Charleston
home ECU for 3

[Ill flame]

Our pitchers allowed 20 walks during this series! We are going to have another repeat of last season if we keep pitching like this. Offense is looking like it's going to keep us in games but we need to find the strike zone quick or it's gonna be a long season.

[therealbodoyle]

Hi Guys!!!!!

Been a long time haha. Any of you coming to the beach for the series? I heard your Friday night guy got a little banged up last weekend. Any updates on him?

[AATL]

Welcome back! Sadly, no beach trip in the cards for our house this year. You guys have been tearing the cover off the ball.. what did Cincy ever do to you!

Looking forward to the series. It sounds like Hertzler (Friday SP) was somewhat precautionary/cramp related. I'm not quite sure what to think of this team yet, but they probably can't afford to walk 20 again this weekend. Starting pitching has a high ceiling, but the Sunday starter (Dolby) is a true Freshman and the Saturday started (Horn) is coming off some injury concerns.

[AATL]

Our pitchers allowed 20 walks during this series! We are going to have another repeat of last season if we keep pitching like this. Offense is looking like it's going to keep us in games but we need to find the strike zone quick or it's gonna be a long season.

Agreed. After watching more than one starter struggle to stay afloat above the Mendoza line last year, the contact up and down the lineup has been encouraging. It's still a bit power-lite, though, and I worry strong starting pitching like we'll see in the next couple weeks will make it tough to get enough traffic (a la Duke).

[aredd33]

Good guys take the game against UNC Wilmington 2-1 in 11 innings. Another great midweek pitching performance. Now off to a very good Coastal Carolina team. Maybe we can find a way to some how win this series.

[AATL]

Heck of a bounce back for Mathiesen and a gritty win. Glad he gets credit for the win.

Did they address Moran's absence on the broadcast? If not injury, I'd assume that means we see him on Friday or Sunday.

[Chippy]

Heck of a bounce back for Mathiesen and a gritty win. Glad he gets credit for the win.

Did they address Moran's absence on the broadcast? If not injury, I'd assume that means we see him on Friday or Sunday.

Nick said he's the Friday guy but Hertzler should be back fairly soon.

[aredd33]

Tough loss today. Coastal scores 3 bottom 9 to walk it off.

[ECC29]

This is the problem I have with Coach Jackson over the years. He left the pitcher too long in this game. He did this multiple times over the years. One especially, I believe last year. They were beating then rank #5 VTech into the 9 inning. Jackson left the pitcher too long and ended up losing to VT. They should have won that game. He had done this too many times over the years. Poor decision making.

[AATL]

Hertzler is the ace, is stretched out, and was shoving. I would have kept the ball in his hands too.

Shame it didn't work out. It's tough to let that one slip, both because of the RPI opportunity and the rivalry. Back at it tomorrow.

Nice to see Foster knock a couple out. Hopefully that's a nice kickstart.

[Ill flame]

I don't blame him for that decision. Its still early in the season so we don't have many relievers that have proven themselves in those types of situations yet. We also still have two more games in the series so he needs to be careful not to wear out our best arms in game 1. This isn't MLB where he has a bullpen full of guys throwing 95+ mph at his disposal and can afford to get cute in these situations.

[ECC29]

I played D1 baseball. I get it. But the team just needed 1 more for that 9 innings against a ranked team. He has enough pitchers for the weekend. Trust me. It is a matter of who he trusts but he has plenty of pitchers. Unless there are injuries we do not know about. A firm believer of win the current game and worry about the game tomorrow.

[ECC29]

I am a firm believer of win the current game and worry about the next game tomorrow.

[JK37]

I am a firm believer of win the current game and worry about the next game tomorrow.

So you said.

Hertzler was pitching well.

[AATL]

Infield defense is struggling today. Only one error on the board through 2+, but several hard-hit ground balls that have touched gloves, passed balls, and infield hits.

[aredd33]

Another tough loss today. We led the majority of the game and had a late lead but Coastal scored 10 runs in the 7th and 8th to win 12-5.
One last chance to avoid the sweep this afternoon.

[Ill flame]

16 walks, 3 hit batters and 3 wild pitches over the last two games. This is gonna be another long season. Bats have continued to look good though so it's not all bad.

[aredd33]

16 walks, 3 hit batters and 3 wild pitches over the last two games. This is gonna be another long season. Bats have continued to look good though so it's not all bad.

We definitely have more pop than last year. Homers will help win a few games along the way we have no business of winning otherwise.

[aredd33]

We are unable to avoid the sweep. Coastal wins game three 7-0

[ECC29]

A couple of us already made mention of this in the beginning. If pitching becomes a struggle again this season, this will be a long season.