Hurricanes Come Up Short at No. 9 Duke

DURHAM, N.C. — The Miami Hurricanes erased a four-run deficit.

But the ninth-ranked Duke Blue Devils had the decisive answer.

The Blue Devils pushed across a run in the seventh and fended off the late Hurricane rally to hold on to win 5-4 Saturday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

Duke veteran right-hander Charlie Beilenson slammed the door for the Blue Devils (23-8, 8-6 ACC), silencing the Hurricanes (15-15, 6-8 ACC) over the last 2.1 innings.

“Offensively, we weren’t making many two-strike adjustments early,” head coach J.D. Arteaga said. “We seemed to make an adjustment in the sixth and seventh, but we got away from it when they brought their closer in. We started getting a little bigger with our swings and trying to do too much. It’s about consistency like I’ve been saying since day one. When we put nine innings together, we’re a tough team to beat.”

The Blue Devils raced out to an early lead, scoring four runs in as many innings against left-hander Rafe Schlesinger.

With the visitors trailing 4-0 after five frames, Miami mounted a comeback.

Junior Edgardo Villegas singled to right field to get the Hurricanes on the board.

Three batters later, sophomore Jason Torres drove home Villegas to pull Miami within two.

In the seventh, Villegas plated his second run of the day with an RBI groundout, setting the stage for freshman phenom Daniel Cuvet.

Cuvet came through with a game-tying two-out double to cap off the comeback.

As clutch as Cuvet’s swing proved to be, Duke catcher Alex Stone delivered the knockout punch.

Stone singled up the middle to put the Blue Devils ahead, 5-4, which was all the cushion Beilenson needed.

Miami righty Ben Chestnutt (0-2) was charged with the loss in relief.

The Hurricanes will look to salvage the series Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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