FIRST PITCH
Score: Duke 12 | Queens 2
Records: Duke (33-15 overall, 14-10 ACC) | Queens (8-39 overall, 6-18 ASUN)
Location: Jack Coombs Field (Durham, N.C.)
 
The Short Story:
Despite trailing 5-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Queens University of Charlotte baseball team fell 12-2 at Duke after the Blue Devils used a seven-run frame to take command of the Tuesday night tilt. Freshman Jay Polite turned in his second multi-hit game of the season going 2-for-3 on the night.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-Duke jumped on the board in the bottom of the first inning when AJ Gracia sent an 0-1 pitch over the center field fence for his eighth home run of the season.
-In the bottom of the second inning, the Blue Devils added on two more runs on three hits. Ben Rounds got the rally started with a solo home run to right field. With the bases clear and two outs, Duke went to work as Macon Winslow laced a double to left center before Jake Berger scratched across the second run of the frame with an RBI single through the right side.
-Queens saw their first scoring opportunity in the top of the fifth inning. Senior Tyler Peters beat the Blue Devils shift with a single through the right side before Jay Polite beat out an infield single. Blue Devils reliever Gavin Brown settled in and got an infield popup and a strikeout to escape the jam and keep Duke ahead 3-0.
-Duke came into the dugout in the bottom half of the fifth inning and scratched across a run on three hits. With the bases loaded and no outs, Tyler Albright delivered an RBI single up the middle to extend the Blue Devils lead to 4-0. However, Queens reliever Matthew Eagen dialed in and struck out a pair and picked up an infield pop up to leave the bases loaded and escape the jam.
-Queens answered in the top of the sixth inning with two runs. Anibal Rivera led off the inning with a single down the left field line before Justin Hudson and Nick Alderfer loaded the bases with free passes. A wild pitch brought across the Royals first run and Will Budnick scratched across the second with a ground out to split the deficit in half.
-Duke responded in the bottom of the sixth with a run. Wallace Clark beat out a one-out single to the pitcher and back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Jake Hyde stepped in and delivered a sacrifice fly to center field to push the Blue Devils lead back to three.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-Shortstop Anibal Rivera extended his hitting streak to seven straight games, and his on-base streak to 12 straight games with a 1-for-4 night.
-Tyler Peters and Lenox Lively rounded out the Royals offense with a hit on the night.
-Johnny Joseph and Derek Westfall combined to throw a pair of scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the Royals.
-Duke scattered 15 hits on the night as Ben Rounds led the charge with a 4-for-5 night, including two home runs.
-The Blue Devils did damage with runners on base, hitting .353 on the night, and .455 in two-out situations.

NEXT UP
Queens will continue their road stretch this weekend when the Royals head to Jacksonville, Florida for a three-game ASUN series against North Florida. The series will get underway on Friday, May 9^th at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN Plus.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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