BRADENTON, Fla. – Strong pitching, early runs and a big seventh inning led No. 21 Duke past Penn State, 14-0, Friday at the IMG Academy Baseball Stadium.
LHP Graeme Stinson (2-0), LHP Matt Dockman and RHP Jack Carey (1) combined to throw a no-hitter for Duke (8-1). Stinson, who entered the season projected as a top-10 overall MLB pick, struck out five and walked two in the first five innings, while Dockman struck out one in a perfect sixth and Carey struck out five over the last three innings, with the lone base runners reaching errors
Center fielder Kennie Taylor drove in Duke's first three runs, hitting the first pitch of the game for a home run and then driving in two with a triple in the third inning. Duke's top of the third turned into a four-run inning, as Taylor later scored on a passed ball and a sacrifice fly added another run for a 5-0 lead.
The next three innings were scoreless, but Penn State (6-1) struggled to find the strike zone and committed two errors in the seventh inning, allowing nine runs.
"Credit to Duke first, but everything you need to do to play winning baseball, we did the opposite," said Penn State head coach Rob Cooper. "However, whether we had lost on a walk-off or got beat as poorly as we did today, it counts the same, so we just have to have a short-term memory and be ready to go tomorrow. We still have a chance to take a game tomorrow and then we can look at winning the series."
LHP Dante Biasi (Hazle Township, Pa.) (0-1) struck out 7 in 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on five hits and three walks. Freshman RHP Brendan Mullins (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) worked Penn State out of the seventh inning, only allowing an unearned run, while RHP Steven Miller (Pittsburgh, Pa,) made his debut with a scoreless eighth inning, striking out one, while senior LHP Blake Hodgens (Tampa, Fla.) struck out three in a scoreless ninth.
The Nittany Lions were limited to five base runners with left fielder Kris Kremer (Hershey, Pa.) and designated hitter Jacob Padilla (Wylie, Texas) both drawing walks and three reaching on errors.
Penn State and Duke will meet again Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at noon.
Penn State opens its home slate Mar. 15 and tickets are on sale online by clicking here or by calling the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park ticket office at 814-272-1711.
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NOTES: The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Penn State this season and a four-game winning streak against Duke … In addition to Mullins and Miller, freshmen Justin Williams, Ryan Ford and Isaiah Payton made their collegiate debuts for Penn State.
