This weekend, No. 18 Stanford baseball will welcome Duke to Sunken Diamond for a three-game series. Game one will be on Friday at 6:05 PM PT on ACCNX. Game two will be on Saturday at 2:05 PM PT on ACCNX. Game three will be on Sunday at 1:05 PM PT on ACCNX. Stanford comes in at 12-3 overall and 2-1 in the ACC while Duke comes in at 12-6 overall and 2-1 in the ACC.
I should note, there is a possibility things shift due to rain. At the moment, it looks like the game on Friday will be played as there is no rain forecasted for the late afternoon/evening, but we’ll just have to see. And then, with rain expected Sunday, there’s always a possibility they make Saturday a doubleheader. Something to keep in mind in case you are looking to follow along in real time or go to one of the games. But as of now, the schedule is as posted above.
Probable pitchers: On Friday, Stanford is expected to start junior righty Matt Scott (3-0, 3.43 ERA) while Duke is expected to start sophomore lefty Kyle Johnson (1-3, 9.98 ERA).
Note: Duke is making a change for Friday night as righty Aidan Weaver gets his first start of the season. He comes in with a 2-0 record and 3.86 ERA with 9.1 innings pitched.
On Saturday, Stanford is expected to start sophomore lefty Christian Lim (1-2, 7.13 ERA) while Duke is expected to start senior righty Ryan Higgins (1-0, 5.40 ERA).
On Sunday, Stanford is expected to start sophomore righty Joey Volchko (2-0, 4.91 ERA) while Duke is expected to start junior lefty Andrew Healy (1-1, 7.27 ERA).
Last time out: Stanford took two out of three games last week at No. 4 North Carolina. Stanford is now ranked No. 18 in the nation by D1Baseball.com as a result.
RECAP: Stanford BSB takes series against No. 4 UNC in Chapel Hill
On Duke: The Blue Devils were ranked at the beginning of the season, but they have fallen outside the top-25 since due to losses to Liberty, Campbell, Cincinnati, and Cornell. They took two out of three against Cornell, but ideally they should have swept them.
In their most recent outing, they took two out of three games against Cal at home after dropping the first game. So, they’re coming to town on a two-game winning streak and a bit of momentum.
The top contact hitter for the Blue Devils is senior infielder Wallace Clark, who is batting .393 for three home runs and nine RBIs to go along with a .590 slugging percentage and a .575 on base percentage. Their top power hitter is graduate student infielder Ben Miller, who is batting .296 for 10 home runs and 26 RBIs to go along with a .732 slugging percentage and a .358 on base percentage.
As a team, Duke is batting .273 for 34 home runs and 136 RBIs to go along with a .517 slugging percentage and a .427 on base percentage. Their opponents bat .256 for 22 home runs, 100 RBIs to go along with a .428 slugging percentage and a .353 on base percentage. On the pitching side, Duke has a 4.72 ERA while their opponents have an 8.33 ERA.
Despite their struggles, the Blue Devils were still a top-25 team at the beginning of the season for a reason. They’re a talented team that has some guys who can hit. It’s just a matter of their pitching settling down.
Keys to the series: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Ben Miller. He’s by far and away the best power hitter for the Blue Devils and is a major source of their offensive production. If Stanford can slow him down and prevent him from going yard, that would be huge as they look to win this series.
Secondly, Stanford needs to get a strong outing from Christian Lim. He’s had a rocky start to the season so far and really needs to dial in. If he has a strong performance this weekend, that would go a long ways towards winning the series and possibly getting a sweep.
Finally, Stanford needs to pounce on Kyle Johnson. He’s struggled out of the chute as a starting pitcher even though he’s actually hit okay with three home runs for 11 RBIs. Stanford has a chance to put up a lot of runs with him starting like Cal did last week (14). If Stanford can shell him in game one, it’ll be tough for Duke to win this series. As an update, with Duke making a change in their Friday night pitchers, I still think the same principle applies. Aidan Weaver is making his first start of the season. Stanford should look to pounce on him.
Prediction: Until Christian Lim can be proven to be more reliable, it’s hard to pick Stanford to get a sweep. However, I do think they win the series. So, I’ll say Stanford wins 2-1 even though there is a real chance for the Cardinal to get a sweep.
Connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), & Blue Sky: @StanfordRivals
Connect with Ben Parker on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), & Blue Sky: @slamdunk406
Email: slamdunk406@yahoo.com
