DUKE (19-6, 4-5 ACC) at BOSTON COLLEGE (8-13, 1-7 ACC)
Newark, Del. | Bob Hannah Stadium
Game 26
Friday, March 27 | 1 p.m.
Duke RHP Michael Matuella vs. Boston College RHP Jeff Burke
Audio | Gametracker
Game 27
Saturday, March 28, | 1 p.m.
Duke RHP Andrew Istler vs. Boston College RHP Mike King
Audio | Gametracker
Game 28
Sunday, March 29 | 12 p.m.
TBA vs. Boston College RHP John Gorman
Audio | Gametracker
This Weekend's Series
• Duke hits the road for a three-game ACC series against Boston College Friday-Sunday, Mar. 27-29 ... Due to record-breaking snowfall in the Boston area this past winter, the series was moved from Chestnut Hill, Mass., to the University of Delaware in Newark, Del. ... The first two games of the series are set for 1 p.m., starts Friday and Saturday, while Sunday's series finale is slated for a 12 p.m. first pitch ... Winners of five of their past six games, Duke brings a 19-6 (4-5 ACC) record into the weekend ... Following a pair of midweek wins over Northeastern and Holy Cross, Boston College is 8-13 (1-7 ACC) on the year.
Follow the Action
• The Blue Devil Network will provide an audio broadcast of all three games via GoDuke.com with Chris Edwards calling the action ... Gametracker coverage is also available via BCEagles.com.
Blue Devil Quick Hits
• Freshman Justin Bellinger has reached base in a team-best 12 games entering the weekend ... Bellinger is batting .341 (14-for-41) with 11 RBI during that span while also boasting a team-high .440 on-base percentage.
• Senior Andy Perez leads the team and ranks 22nd in the league with a .333 batting average ... Perez also has a team-best 13 multiple hit games and has totaled two or more hits in seven of the past nine games.
• Freshman Jack Labosky brings a team-best four-game hit streak into the weekend ... Labosky is batting .357 (5-for-14) with three RBI and four runs scored over his past four games played.
•Duke's three upperclassmen returning starters -- Andy Perez, Mike Rosenfeld and Kenny Koplove -- have anchored the Duke lineup ... That trio is batting a combined .309 (78-for-252) on the year with 39 RBI.
• Five Blue Devils -- Justin Bellinger, Kenny Koplove, Cris Perez, Mike Rosenfeld and Michael Smiciklas -- are hitting over .320 with runners in scoring position.
• Of the 121 ACC pitchers to throw 10.0 or more innings, senior Sarkis Ohanian (18.0 IP) and North Carolina's Jason Morgan (11.1 IP) are the only two who have not walked a batter.
• Duke ranks third in the ACC in fielding percentage (.971) ... Over the past eight seasons, Duke has posted a fielding percentage under .970 just once (.967 in 2012).
Blue Devils vs. the ACC
• Following a series victory over Pitt this past weekend at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Duke enters the Boston College series with a 4-5 ACC record ... Duke currently sits in fifth in the ACC Coastal Division and tied for seventh in the overall league standings ... The Blue Devils went 1-2 in each of their first two league series this year, first at No. 11 North Carolina then at home versus Georgia Tech ... Duke was picked to finished fifth in the ACC Coastal Division in the 2015 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll ... The Blue Devils are 371-765-4 all-time in ACC games ... Duke holds a 602-956-9 record against teams currently in the ACC: Boston College (11-15), Clemson (66-127-2), Florida State (19-76), Georgia Tech (35-89), Louisville (0-0), Miami (9-28), NC State (126-152-1), North Carolina (97-184-3), Notre Dame (8-4), Pitt (6-5), Virginia (55-100-1), Virginia Tech (32-24) and Wake Forest (138-152-2).
Duke vs. Boston College
• Duke and Boston College have met 26 times in program history ... The Eagles hold a 15-11 advantage in the series ... The two schools first met in the College World Series as Boston College handed Duke a 7-6 defeat June 13, 1953 in Omaha, Neb. ... The Blue Devils and the Eagles met for a second time in the CWS June 12, 1961, a 4-3 BC win ... The schools did not face one another again until Boston College joined the ACC for the 2006 campaign ... Duke and Boston College did not play in 2014 ... The Blue Devils swept the Eagles at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 2013 ... Duke shut out Boston College twice that series and outscored the Eagles, 26-4 ... Duke and Boston College have split the past 10 decisions, winning five games each.
Pitching Prowess
• The Duke pitching staff leads the league in team ERA (2.58) despite the fact that the Blue Devils do not have an individual pitcher ranked in the top 10 in the ACC in ERA, opposing batting average or strikeouts ... Duke is also the only ACC team to post a team ERA under 2.70 and one of two conference squads with an ERA under 3.00 ... Ten Blue Devil pitchers have tossed 10.0 or more innings this season: Bailey Clark, Andrew Istler, Michael Matuella, Sarkis Ohanian, Kenny Koplove, Mitch Stallings, Chris McGrath, Luke Whitten, Nick Hendrix and Conner Stevens ... Those 10 Duke pitchers have combined for a 2.21 ERA (48 ER, 194.2 IP) and 3.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio (199 SO, 53 BB) ... The Blue Devils also rank fourth in the league in opponent batting average (.241), third in innings pitched (227.0) and second in strikeouts (230) ... Duke is on pace to break the program's single-season strikeout record (501) set in 2014 ... Over the past two seasons, the Blue Devil pitching staff has compiled a combined 2.97 ERA (249 ER, 753.2 IP) ... Prior to lasts season's 3.14 ERA, the Blue Devils had not posted an ERA under 4.00 since 1993.
Perez on the Base Paths
• Senior Andy Perez has been one of the most prolific base stealers in school history ... He enters the weekend with 66 career stolen bases, good for fourth in program history ... Perez leads the nation with 22 stolen bases this season ... The next closest ACC player -- Pitt's Jacob Wright -- have swiped 11 bases ... Perez stole a career-high four bases in Duke's win over Rider Mar. 1 ... He has stolen at least one base in 15 games this season, including five games with multiple stolen bases.
Istler Among Duke Career Leaders
• Senior right-hander Andrew Istler has flourished in a variety of roles during his Duke career and is currently ranked among the top 10 in Blue Devil history in several categories ... At Duke, he ranks eighth in career ERA (3.32) and fourth in ERA since the aluminum bat era began in 1974 ... Istler has 12 career saves to his credit, also good for fourth in the school record books ... With 17 career victories, he is one win shy of cracking the top 10 in career wins ... In six starts this season, Istler has compiled a 3.08 ERA over a team-high 38.0 innings ... In 2014, he compiled career bests in ERA (2.84), wins (8), strikeouts (59), opposing batting average (.254) and innings pitched (76.0) ... Prior to the start of the 2015 season, Istler was rated the No. 29 college senior by Perfect Game.
Koplove Closing
• In addition to starting 23 games at shortstop, junior Kenny Koplove also serves as the team's closer ... Koplove ranks second in the ACC with five saves and needs just one more save to rank among the Duke top 10 single season records ... Over 13.2 innings of work, he's yielded just two runs on 10 hits ... Koplove has also struck out 25 batters, which translates to an average of 16.46 strikeouts per nine innings ... Prior to the 2015 campaign, Koplove had taken the mound just three times during his freshman season and did not pitch at all in 2014.
Youth Movement
A veteran team in 2014, Duke relies heavily on its bevy of talented underclassmen this season ... The Blue Devil roster features 14 freshmen ... Duke regularly starts four freshmen in the field in Justin Bellinger, Evan Dougherty, Jack Labosky and Peter Zyla ... In addition, rookies Max Miller and Michael Smiciklas have seen action in 19 and 16 games, respectively ... Duke played a season-high 12 freshmen in its 3-1 win over Liberty Mar. 24 ... Six Duke freshmen have pitched five or more innings: Ryan Day, Mitch Stallings, Chris McGrath, Luke Whitten, James Ziemba and Jack Labosky ... Those six Blue Devil rookies have a combined 7-2 record and 1.46 ERA (10 ER, 61.1 IP).
Rosenfeld Tabbed to Johnny Bench Award Watch List
• A three-time team captain, redshirt senior Mike Rosenfeld was named to the Johnny Bench Award watch list ... The prestigious award is given annually to the nation's best catcher ... Rosenfeld has appeared in 162 games over the course of his collegiate career, starting 151 ... During that time, he has compiled a .290 batting average with 27 doubles, seven triples, four home runs and 80 RBI ... He currently ranks second on the team with a .296 batting average and leads the club with a .419 on-base percentage ... Rosenfeld was one of 75 DI catchers tabbed to the list and six ACC catchers acknowledged.
Clark Named ACC Pitcher of the Week
• Sophomore Bailey Clark earned his first career ACC Pitcher of the week citation Feb. 23 after leading Duke to a 1-0 victory over Iona ... Clark was dominant from start to finish in his second career start ... The right-hander needed just 85 pitches to toss eight scoreless innings, strike out a career-high 11 batters and earn his first career win ... His 11 strikeouts were the most by a Duke pitcher since Michael Matuella fanned 12 on May 4, 2014.
Matuella Named to Golden Spikes List
• Right-hander Michael Matuella earned several preseason honors, including a nod to the Golden Spikes Award watch list ... In addition, Matuella garnered preseason All-America recognition from Baseball America (first team), D1Baseball.com (third team) and Perfect Game (third team) ... He was also rated the No. 1 junior by Perfect Game and the No. 2 prospect for the 2015 MLB Draft by MLB.com ... Opponents are hitting just .224 off the right-hander ... Matuella tossed six scoreless innings in the season opener Feb. 13 at California, scattering four hits and striking out eight batters ... In 2014, Matuella turned in a 2.78 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work ... He finished this past season ranked 18th in the ACC in ERA, second in opposing average (.190), 17th in strikeouts and third in strikeouts per game (10.65).
Blue Devil Freshmen Ranked Nationally
• Perfect Game ranked Duke's 2014 recruiting class No. 16 in the nation this past fall ... The Blue Devils' roster includes freshmen pitchers Chris Koppenhaver, Chris McGrath, Mitch Stallings and Luke Whitten, infielders Justin Bellinger, Daniel Calabretta, Ryan Day, Jack Labosky and Max Miller, outfielders Evan Dougherty, James McGhee and Michael Smiciklas, and catcher Peter Zyla ... Two players -- Bellinger and McGrath -- were selected in the 2014 MLB Draft ... Bellinger was taken in the 11th round by the St. Louis Cardinals, while McGrath was picked in the 35th round by the Seattle Mariners.
#GoDuke
