Blue Devils Dominate Wake Forest 11-2

DURHAM, NC – The Duke Blue Devils (15-16, 7-13 ACC) came up victorious over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (12-16, 6-13 ACC) 11-2 Saturday afternoon at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Led by Joey Loperfido, Michael Rothenberg, and Jack Carey, the Blue Devils were firing on all cylinders to get their win total up to 14.

Pitcher Jack Carey put together his ninth start of the season for the Blue Devils. Going into the contest, the Junior right-hander supported a record of 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA. He turned in one of his strongest starts of 2021, tossing five 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits, one earned run, two walks, and striking out nine. The superb performance earned him his second victory.

Carey got off to a quick start, sitting down six out of the first seven Demon Deacons he faced, striking out four. It would not be until the third inning that he would allow his only earned run.

The 6 foot 6 Junior William Fleming logged in a team-high eighth start of the season for Wake Forest. For the most part, he had a difficult afternoon, finishing with four innings pitched, 13 hits, eight earned runs, and five strikeouts.

Duke has proved if their bats can get hot early on, they can be a tough team to beat. Leadoff man Joey Loperfido ripped a single up the middle to begin the bottom half of the first inning.

Three batters later, catcher Michael Rothenberg notched the first run of the afternoon for his club. Driving in Loperfido with a two-out single for his first of four RBI in the game.

The Blue Devils would continue their two-out rally. Chase Cheek, who collected four total hits, wasted no time. He finished off the damage by belting an RBI double that nearly left the ballpark to give Duke a 2-0 advantage through one inning of play.

It did not get any easier for Fleming, allowing back-to-back singles to Erikson Nichols and Chris Crabtree to kick off the second. Both would score two batters later thanks to the red hot Loperfido, who doubled to left-center to give the Blue Devils a 4-0 lead. 

Jack Carey experienced his first and only troubles of the game in the third. He allowed a double to Brendan Tinsman, following a James Broderick single to put runners on the corners with no outs. He bounced back impressively, striking out the next two Demon Deacons, but Brock Wilken eventually got them on the board with a single.

The runs continued to come in bunches for the Blue Devils, putting up a four-spot in the bottom of the fourth. Most of the damage was done by Rothenberg, who launched a three-run home run to put Duke in front 8-1.

Duke’s big righty Jimmy Loper took over in the fifth with two runners on, but no damage was done. Marcus Johnson was the second man up out of the bullpen, and the relievers were able to follow Carey productively. Going three 1/3 innings of work along with two hits allowed, one earned run, and four strikeouts. 

Loperfido added on to his career day in the seventh with a bases-clearing triple bringing the score to 11-2 Duke, which would end up being the final score. He was a homer shy of the cycle, and the 5 RBI brought the centerfielder’s season total to 18.

The Blue Devils are expected to host Wake Forest Sunday, April 18th at 1:00 pm at Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the series finale. They attempt to grab their second consecutive win versus their ACC rival.