Duke Blue Devils Powers Past Virginia 4-2

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Duke  Blue Devils (31-20, 18-17 ACC) clinched the ACC Baseball Championship semifinals win over Virginia (29-23, 18-18) with a 4-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at Truist Field.

Duke was led by senior center fielder Joey Loperfido at the plate, who went 4-for-5, with three of the four hits to the opposite field and two solo home runs. It marked the first multi-home run game of his career. The Haddonfield, N.J. native continues to lead the team with the highest batting average at .365.

Freshman left-handed pitcher Luke Fox started on the bump for the Blue Devils. Fox allowed only two runs on eight hits, rendering no walks, while striking out 10. He lasted a career-high seven innings pitched, securing the win for Duke.

After crushing a lead-off home run in the 1st inning, Loperfido came back with another one in the third (2-0). Junior shortstop Ethan Murray then followed it up with a solo shot over the 400-foot center field fence to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead.

Duke found a way to push another run across the board in the fifth inning. Senior catcher Michael Rothenberg started it off with a double to left-center. Senior first baseman Chris Crabtree then doubled down the left-field line, advancing Rothenberg to third. Graduate student Erickson Nichols put the ball in play and reached on an error by Virginia’s shortstop, scoring Rothenberg for the final score of 4-2.

Duke, who is playing their best baseball of the season, looks to win it all on Sunday at Truist Field at noon. Duke now has 11 straight wins and will play for an ACC Baseball Championship title for the first time in program history.