Duke sophomore Andrew Istler was a two-way player during his freshman season in Durham this past spring. He was primarily a reliever. However, he is expected to take ace Marcus Stroman’s rotation spot in 2013 (who was drafted in the first round of this past June’s MLB draft).

Istler was named the top prospect in the Coastal Plain League, as he made a smooth transition to the starting rotation this summer. He went 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA in six starts (including two complete games). He allowed just 19 hits in 46 innings and walked just 12 compared to 39 strikeouts.

Istler throws two types of fastballs (a two-seam and a four-seam) that ranges from the high 80s to the low 90s, a slider with some depth, and a changeup. The changeup is a work in progress.

His coach with Wilson, Bryan Hill, had this to say about Istler (from Baseball America):

“He came to us as a two-way player who was going to relieve, and we had a doubleheader early so we needed him to start,” Hill said. “He dominated for eight innings in his first start, and we said, ‘Andrew, you’re a starter.’ And he was lights out.”

Istler hit .292 in 36 starts (137 at-bats). He had 15 walks to just 16 strikeouts in the spring. In summer ball in the Coastal Plain League, he was just 10-for-40 without an extra-base hit.

On the pitching side this spring, he was 4-4 in 23 games (three starts) for the Blue Devils. He also had three saves (second most on the team). Over 52 innings, Istler allowed 23 runs (21 earned) on 54 hits. He walked just nine while striking out 35. Opponents hit just one homerun off him.

Trent Swart via Marc Kirsch

Duke freshman starter Trent Swart pitched his first complete game of his career, as he beat Boston College, 4-1. The one run he allowed came via Matt Pare‘s solo homerun in the 3rd inning (Pare went 2-for-4).

Swart allowed six hits and a walk while striking out ten. He retired 21 of the final 26 batters he faced. The downside was that he threw 139 pitches (96 for strikes). Thankfully, it is his last outing of the season.

Duke got on the board in the 2nd inning on an RBI single from Mark Lumpa. In the 3rd inning, they scored three runs off BC starter Eric Stevens. The inning was capped by Will Piwnca-Worms‘ two-run double.

The Blue Devils were then shut down by BC reliever Geoffrey Murphy, who did not allow a run over the final 5.1 innings.

On offense for Duke, Jeff Kremer and Andrew Istler each had two hits. Istler also had an RBI, while Kremer scored a run.

The loss for BC knocked them out of the ACC Tournament, as both them and Duke have identical records (9-20 in the ACC, 21-33 overall).

The two teams finish their season on Saturday afternoon. With a sweep, Duke will no longer be the worst team in the ACC.

*Check out a nice article on Duke catcher Mike Rosenfeld via GoDuke.com.

Mike Rosenfeld via Marc Kirsch

With one out in the 6th inning, Presbyterian pulled off a squeeze play that broke the 2-2 tie and scored the eventual game winner. The Duke offense couldn’t muster anything against Presbyterian reliever Michael Ricchi over the final 2.2 innings, as they lost their final home game of the season, 3-2.

The Blue Devils received another solid pitching performance from both Andrew Istler and reliever David Putman. Istler allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out four, but picked up his fourth loss of the season. Putman pitched three shutout innings and allowed just two hits while striking out four.

However the offense was once again shut down. Buck Mosteller started for the Blue Hose and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks over 6.1 innings. Ricchi allowed just one hit the rest of the way to pick up his second save of the season.

On offense for the Blue Devils, Mike Rosenfeld and Mark Lumpa each collected two hits. Rosenfeld drove in the tying run in the 5th inning with a double. Will Piwnica-Worms drove in Duke’s first run (which gave them a 1-0 lead in the first inning). Jeff Kremer led off and walked three times, while scoring both of Duke’s runs.

The Blue Devils finish off the season with a three-game series at Boston College beginning Thursday night.

The Duke baseball team swept their doubleheader against Coppin State on Tuesday. The first game was a blowout (14-0), but the second game was exciting (4-3).

In Game 1, Andrew Istler picked up his fourth win of the season, as he pitched four shutout innings. He allowed four hits while striking out six. The bullpen was just as good. Dalton Brown threw four 1-hit innings while striking out four. Josh Ruffin finished off Coppin State with one hitless inning.

The offense was clicking in Game 1. Grant McCabe, Will Piwnica-Worms, and David Perkins each collected three hits. Piwnica-Worms and Perkins each drove in three. Jordan Betts and Mark Lumpa each collected two hits, as Betts scored three runs.

Perkins provided the heroics in Game 2, as he hit a walk-off solo homerun in the bottom of the 7th inning with one out to give Duke the win. It was his first homer of the season.

Dillon Haviland started and pitched four shutout innings. He allowed just two hits (though he walked five) while striking out six.

Mike Rosenfeld also hit a homerun, while walking twice. As a team, the Blue Devils’ hitters did not strike out.

*Duke has won three in a row. When was the last time we could say that? However, if they had lost even one game to Coppin State, fans may have lost it. I mean, they came into the doubleheader just 1-45.

With the game tied at 7-7 in the bottom of the 8th inning, Logan Ratledge drove in the game-winning run, as NC State swept the three-game series at home against Duke.

That made a loser of Blue Devils reliever Drew Van Orden, who dropped to 0-4 on the season. He allowed that one run on three hits over two innings.

Andrew Istler went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Will Piwnica-Worms hit a homerun. Mike Rosenfeld went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. He also had two errors and two passed balls behind the plate.

Robert Huber got the start for Duke and allowed seven runs (five earned) on seven hits and three walks over 5.2 innings.

For the Wolfpack, Danny Canela went 2-for-3 with a homerun, two runs scored, and three RBIs. Ryan Mathews went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Ratledge went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Duke dropped to 7-17 in the ACC and 16-29 overall. NC State improved to 16-8 in the ACC and 30-12 overall.

*With classes over, Duke will have the week off for final exams before getting back on the field next Sunday at 2pm ET at Longwood.

Duke received a much needed midweek win on Tuesday, as they beat host Charlotte, 12-5. Mike Rosenfeld went 4-for-6 with two runs scored and three RBIs. He hit his first two homeruns of his career. Rosenfeld also extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

The offensive outburst made a winner of Andrew Istler, who pitched five innings of shutout baseball in his first career start. He allowed just two hits while striking out five.

Every Duke player had at least one hit, except David Perkins. Jordan Betts extended his hitting streak to ten games, as he went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Angelo LaBruna and Reed Anthes each collected two hits. Sarkis Ohanian registered his first at-bat of the season in the 9th inning and he collected a single.

For Charlotte, Justin Roland extended his hitting streak to 15 games (2-for-5 with a run scored) and Corbin Shive reached base for the 23rd straight game (1-for-4 with a run scored).

*I had a chance to cover the A-10 Baseball Championship last season for Aerys Sports and I was expecting big things from the defending champions (Charlotte). With some many of their key players back, how could you not be excited? Instead, they are just 5-9 in the A-10 and 17-22 overall. Add to it, a loss to Duke.

The losses are really piling up for the Duke baseball team. They lost yet another midweek game, this time at home to Davidson, 8-4. It was the Wildcats first home-and-home series sweep since 2000 (they won at Davidson back on March 27th).

Duke took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 4th inning. They put together a nice long inning, with three hits and a sac fly.

However Davidson came right back to put up a six-spot in the top of the 5th inning. That chased starter Nick Piscotty, as the Wildcats batted around. 

Piscotty gave way to Andrew Istler with the bases loaded. He struck out the first batter he faced to give Duke two outs, before giving up a two-run single to tie the game at 3-3. He then allowed back-to-back doubles to Andrew Barna (went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and a walk) and James Cerbie (went 2-for-4 with three RBIs) to give Davidson a 6-3 lead.

That big inning for Davidson made a winner of reliever Bryan DaCanal, who allowed just one run on three hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out four.

David Putman pitched the final two innings and allowed just one hit while striking out three.

Duke’s three-run inning came courtesy of Mark Lumpa (1-for-3, run scored, and an RBI), David Perkins (1-for-4, a run scored, and an RBI), Grant McCabe (1-for-4 with a run scored), Anthony D’Alessandro (1-for-4 with an RBI), and Angelo LaBruna (2-for-3 with an RBI).

*Duke hosts Virginia this weekend for an ACC series.

Clemson seems to be getting back into form, as they won a series against Miami last weekend and they swept Duke this weekend (they are now 8-7 in the ACC). The Tigers took Game 1 on Friday night in extra innings despite the fact that Duke starter Marcus Stroman dominated for nine innings.

On Saturday, Clemson scored five runs in the top of the 9th inning to win 11-5.  It was a back-and-forth affair early, as each team quickly were putting runs on the board to counter-act the other team’s scoring. Duke tacked on three runs in the bottom of the 7th to cut the deficit to 6-5.

Trent Swart got the start for Duke, but took the loss. He allowed four runs on ten hits over 4.1 innings. He walked one while striking out six.

Offensively for Duke, Mike Rosenfeld and Mark Lumpa each collected three hits. For Clemson, Thomas Brittle went 4-for-6 with five RBIs and Richie Shaffer went 3-for-4.

» Continue reading “Duke Swept by Clemson”

The Duke baseball team salvaged the finale at Georgia Tech today, with a 4-3 victory. The offense came to life a little and the Blue Devils received solid relief pitching.

It was a back-and-forth affair and it seemed like every time one team scored, the other had a rebuttal. GT scored a run in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI ground out. They had the bases loaded with two outs, but couldn’t blow the game open. Duke came right back in the top of the 2nd inning with an unearned run scoring on David Perkins‘ sacrifice fly.

Both teams scored single runs in the 4th inning. Duke scored a run on a bases loaded walk with two outs, but couldn’t push any more runs across. The Blue Devils took the lead in the 5th inning on a Mike Rosenfeld sac fly.

GT tied the game in the bottom of the 6th inning on a Brandon Thomas RBI single. Duke came right back to retake the lead in the top of the 7th inning on a Mark Lumpa RBI single.

GT had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th inning, as Thomas doubled to lead off the inning. He went to third base on a ground out. After a Duke pitching change (with David Putnam coming on for the third time in two days), Jake Davis lifted a fly ball to left field that was caught by the new left fielder Anthony D’Alessandro. He then threw to the plate to nab Thomas trying to tag and tie the game. That play ended the game.

Robert Huber started for Duke and pitched good, but not great. He allowed two runs on five hits and three walks over four innings. Andrew Istler came on in relief and allowed just one run on six hits (and no walks) over 4.1 innings. He picked up the win (despite blowing a save).

For Duke, Lumpa went 3-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI, and a walk.

The same guys in the Yellow Jackets offense had good games today just like they did yesterday. Kyle Wren went 2-for-5 with an RBI and Brandon Thomas followed him in the order and went 3-for-5. Thomas Smith went 2-for-3.

Duke improved to 5-7 in the ACC, while GT dropped to 6-6.

I wouldn’t consider this weekend’s series at Virginia Tech a must win for the Duke baseball team, but getting their first ACC series win would be a great thing. Well, they won the series but also swept the Hokies.

It started with Friday night’s game as ace Marcus Stroman struck out eight over eight innings of work. He did allow three runs on ten hits. Scouts won’t like to hear that Stroman threw 129 pitches (86 for strikes). Andrew Istler pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to preserve the 5-3 victory.

Istler also led off and played left field for the Blue Devils. He went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Andy Perez followed in the order and went 3-for-5 with a run scored. The RBI man was catcher Mike Rosenfeld, who drove in three in the first inning.

For VT, Tyler Horan, Chad Pinder, and Andrew Rash each went 2-for-4. Horan also scored two runs and drove in two.

Saturday’s game was suspended until Sunday due to lightning, with Duke leading 11-0. Duke’s Trent Swart was dominant in his start, as he allowed just four hits over 7.2 innings. He walked one, while striking out seven.

When play resumed on Sunday, Will Piwnica-Worms upped Duke’s lead to 13-0 with a two-run homerun in the top of the 9th inning. Matt Lumpa pitched 1.2 scoreless innings of relief for Duke on Sunday.

Piwnica-Worms went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and five RBIs. Andy Perez and Mike Rosenfeld each collected three hits.

» Continue reading “Duke Sweeps Virginia Tech”