Pitching was key as the Duke baseball team got back on the field at Longwood on Sunday (Duke had final exams last week). The Blue Devils won 9-2.

Duke head coach Sean McNally decided to use all three of his weekend starters in Sunday afternoon’s game. It all started with ace Marcus Stroman, who pitched the first three innings. He allowed just one hit over his shutout innings. He did not walk a batter while striking out seven. Stroman struck out seven of the ten batters he faced.

Next up was Trent Swart, who also threw three shutout innings. He allowed two hits and a walk, but struck out three.

Robert Huber finished off Longwood, but allowed two runs on four hits over his three innings.

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils offense collected 16 hits. They scored four runs in the 5th inning against Longwood starter Kyler Morgan. The also scored three runs in the 8th inning.

Will Piwnica-Worms (1-for-3) and Jordan Betts (2-for-5) each hit homeruns. Grant McCabe led off for Duke and went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. Mike Rosenfeld went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Angelo LaBruna went 3-for-3.

*It will be a busy week for Duke. They play a doubleheader on Tuesday against Coppin State. They then travel to face UNC Greensboro on Wednesday. This weekend, the Blue Devils will then play their final home weekend series of the year against rival North Carolina.

**The seven strikeouts for Stroman increased his NCAA-leading total to 119 (in just 84 innings).