Blue Devils Make Short Trip to NC State for Weekend Series
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke travels across the Triangle for its next ACC series, battling NC State at Doak Field on April 10-12. The Blue Devils (21-14, 7-8 ACC) and Wolfpack (22-11, 6-6 ACC) meet in Raleigh for just the second time since 2016, with NC State claiming the most recent matchup at Doak Field, winning two of three during the 2024 campaign. The two teams met last season at Jack Coombs Field, with Duke claiming the series with wins in the first and third games of the weekend, while NC State took the middle game.
All three games will stream live on ACC Network Extra, with Daron Vaught and Scott Davis on the call for Friday’s game, while Evan Budrovich and Davis will call Saturday and Sunday’s contests.
FRIDAY (4/10)
Duke at NC State
6 p.m. (ET) – Doak Field at Dail Park
VIDEO – ACCNX
Duke – RHP – Aidan Weaver
NC State – LHP Ryan Marohn
SATURDAY (4/11)
Duke at NC State
3 p.m. (ET) – Doak Field at Dail Park
VIDEO – ACCNX
Duke – RHP – Peter Lemke
NC State – RHP – Heath Andrews
SUNDAY (4/12)
Duke at NC State
1 p.m. (ET) – Doak Field at Dail Park
VIDEO – ACCNX
Duke – RHP – Andy Leon
NC State – TBA
QUICK HITS
- In last weekend’s ACC matchup, the Blue Devils took the first two over Louisville in a three-game set, claiming its second ACC series win of the season. Duke won 6-3 in the Thursday opener and took a back-and-forth affair, 10-8, in the second game. The Cardinals prevented the Duke sweep with a 9-4 win in the series finale.
- DH/INF Kaden Smith led the offensive charge in the second contest, going 4-for-5 at the plate, including three go-ahead hits, highlighted by a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to put Duke ahead for good.
- RHP Peter Lemke made the start in Thursday’s series opener, earning the win with 5.2 IP and just one run allowed. The former Division III starter at Denison, Lemke made his first Division I start and struck out five while scattering just four hits in 23 batters faced.
- RHP Ben Dean moved to 5-0 in Friday’s contest, pitching the final 2.0 innings of the 10-8 win, striking out three, walking one and holding the Cardinals’ dangerous offense without a hit to close out the win.
- On the basepaths against Davidson (March 31), Duke set a new program record for stolen bases in a season, with a double steal in the first inning moving the Blue Devils’ season total to 108, surpassing the previous record of 106. Duke finished the contest with nine total stole bases, moving its current season total of 115
- Infielder Collin Anderson has stepped into a consistent starting role for Duke’s infield and led Duke at the plate in the three-game series against Louisville. The freshman went 7-of-13 (.538) at the plate, including a double and a home run. On defense, Anderson made several highlight plays at both second base and shortstop, while playing clean baseball with zero errors
- Catcher Matthew Strand finished the month of March as the Blue Devils’ leading hitter, slashing .365/.423/.794 across 16 games. All seven of his home runs, along with 22 RBI, came during March and two of his homers were grand slams against ACC competition. The transfer from Samford was also a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen-base attempts and logged a .985 fielding percentage, with just two errors
- Outfielder Michael DiMartini made an impact at the plate against the Seminoles, with three doubles and a home run helping the junior to a 1.100 slugging percentage. His home run, on Saturday, helped Duke keep pace with a dynamic Florida State offense and his 11 total bases across the three games led the Blue Devils. DiMartini continued his power surge, blasting home runs in back-to-back plate appearances against Davidson, with his first one clocking in at just under 450 feet.
- Through 33 games played, Duke outfielder Tyler Albright has already worked 38 walks this season, which is tied for the national lead. The senior is nearly 85% of the way to his previous season-high of 45, set last year in 62 games. The outfielder moved to leadoff to open the Miami series, with Albright’s patience at the plate and base-running ability cited by Duke head coach Corey Muscara for the shift in lineup. Albright has also absorbed seven hit-by-pitches, and currently holds the best on-base percentage of his career (.464).
