FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke baseball head coach Chris Pollard announced the Blue Devils’ 2014 schedule Tuesday as the team is set for 56 regular season games in its second season under Pollard’s guidance.
The Blue Devils face 14 opponents who totaled 30 or more wins this past season, while nearly half of Duke’s schedule consists of games against 2013 NCAA Tournament teams.
Duke faces 10 squads that qualified for the NCAA Regionals, four that advanced to an NCAA Super Regional and two that moved on to the 2013 College Baseball World Series.
“On behalf of our players and coaches, I am extremely excited for all that the 2014 schedule holds,” said Pollard. “We open with a three-game series against a 2013 NCAA Tournament team and close against a 2013 Super Regional club. Along the way, we play twenty-seven games against teams that competed in last year’s NCAA Tournament field. Our guys look forward to the challenge and are anxious to compete week in and week out against the best.”
The Blue Devils have 35 home games lined up this coming season. Duke’s home series include bouts against ACC foes Virginia (March 7-9), Notre Dame (March 14-16), North Carolina (March 28-30), NC State (11-13) and Miami (May 9-11). Duke also plays host to Binghamton (Feb. 14-16), Akron (Feb. 21-23) and Longwood (May 4-5) in non-conference home series, along with single-game home contests against Norfolk State (Feb. 26), Quinnipiac (March 11), Furman (March 12), University of Maryland Eastern Shore (March 18), Princeton (March 19), Liberty (April 1), N.C. Central (April 8), Davidson (April 15), UNC Greensboro (April 22) and Richmond (May 13).
A tough road slate also awaits the Blue Devils as Duke travels to Pittsburgh (March 21-23), Georgia Tech (April 4-6), Wake Forest (April 25-27) and Florida State (May 15-17). Duke heads to the Baseball at the Beach Tournament Feb. 28 – March 2, where the Blue Devils square off against West Virginia, Marshall and Coastal Carolina in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Duke also makes non-conference treks to UNC Greensboro (Feb. 18), Davidson (March 25), N.C. Central (April 16) this upcoming season.
The ACC Tournament is set for May 21-25 in Greensboro, N.C.
After taking the reins of the Duke program in June of 2012, Pollard guided the Blue Devils to 26 wins this past season, the most by a Duke head coach in his inaugural season in program history. Duke (26-29, 9-21 ACC) returns 24-of-28 letterwinners from 2013, including seven position starters and 14 pitchers. The Blue Devils also bolstered their 2014 roster with the addition of 10 newcomers.
