Boston College Athletics
Weekend Preview: Baseball Hosts Duke in Delaware
March 26, 2015 | Baseball
Game Notes | ACC Release
THE FACTS
MATCHUP: Duke (19-6, 4-5 ACC) at Boston College (8-13, 1-7 ACC)
WHERE: Bob Hannah Stadium in Newark, Del.
WHEN: Friday, March 27 at 1 p.m. | Saturday March 28 at 1 p.m. | Sunday, March 29 at noon
RECORD vs. OPPONENT: Boston College leads the series, 13-11
HOW TO FOLLOW
Twitter: @BCBirdball
Live Stats: Friday| Saturday | Sunday
THE MATCHUP
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Jeff Burke (1-3, 5.46 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Matuella (1-0, 0.44 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Mike King vs. RHP Andrew Istler (2-1, 3.08 ERA)
Sunday: RHP John Gorman (2-2, 5.57 ERA) vs. TBA
Scouting the Blue Devils
·Duke leads the ACC with a 2.58 team ERA. Friday night starter Michael Matuella's 0.68 ERA in ACC games is third in the league. Saturday starter Andrew Istler's 3.08 ERA is 18th in the league. BC hitters faced Istler when he closed for the Blue Devils in 2013. He got a two-inning save in a 7-4 win for Duke, allowing one hit, one run and striking out three. Meanwhile closer Kenny Koplove is tied for second with five saves. He has a 1.32 ERA in nine appearances.
·The Blue Devils' .272 batting average is seventh in the ACC. Andy Perez leads the way for the team with a .333 average. He is the only Duke player with an average above .300. He leads the ACC with 22 stolen bases.
THE SERIES
·The Eagles hold a 13-11 series advantage over the Blue Devils. The two teams played every year from 2006, when BC joined the ACC, until 2013. They did not play in 2014.
·BC swept Duke in 2007 and 2008 but the Blue Devils got the best of the Eagles in the last meeting in Durham, winning all three games.
·The Eagles own a 7-5 home record, only not winning the series twice: the first meeting in 2006 and in 2012.
·The two teams have played to extras twice with BC winning both contests - in 2009 with a 7-6, 11-inning victory and in 2011 with a 6-4, 11-inning win.
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE EAGLES
·Junior RHP John Nicklas has not allowed a run in his last seven appearances, 11.0 innings. He's given up six hits, four walks and struck out nine in that span. He only faltered in his first outing of the season, giving up four hits and four runs while striking out three over two innings at Wofford on Feb. 13. He has two saves on the season and six in his career, which is tied for sixth in BC record books.
·Senior Blake Butera reached the 100 mark for career walks, which broke BC all-time record. He surpassed Jeff Waldron (1996-99), who racked up 99 in his career.
·Junior Chris Shaw leads the Eagles with 27 RBIs and six home runs. He is tied for fourth in the ACC for his RBI total and tied for sixth for home runs.
·Sophomore Michael Strem continues to be a doubles machine as 10 of his 26 hits are doubles, which is tied for second in the ACC. His 0.48 doubles/game is tied for 10th in the nation and leads the conference. Strem is building on his production from his freshman season in which 13 of his 22 hits were doubles.
·Redshirt junior RHP Geoffrey Murphy has made three appearances, striking out four without allowing a hit or walk in 5.2 innings of relief work. He has allowed just three hits, all singles. Murphy is making a comeback to the mound after having Tommy John surgery in 2013.
·Senior RHP John Gorman has racked up 158 career strikeouts, which is two away from breaking into BC's career top-10.
·Freshman Donovan Casey leads the Eagles with a .377 batting average and is tied for third on the team with 20 hits. Coming into the week, he was one of two ACC players to register five hits in a game this season, going 5-for-5 in the 12-2 win against North Dakota State.
