NORMAN, Okla. (WNCN) — Less than a week after claiming the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, the Duke baseball team is now in a win-or-go-home situation after dropping their Norman Regional opener 4-1 to UConn on Friday afternoon.
Now, the region’s No. 2 seed Blue Devils (39-19) will have to fight off No. 4 Oral Roberts (27-21-1) in an elimination game Saturday afternoon at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The Golden Eagles lost to host Oklahoma Friday night.
After exploding for 43 runs across four games in the ACC tournament in Charlotte last week — including plating 16 against Florida State, one of the top 10 teams in the country, in the final — Duke’s bats were cold yesterday. They scored just one run in the loss on an RBI single from AJ Gracia in the first inning, and a Logan Bravo double was the Blue Devils’ lone extra-base hit.
ORU didn’t fare any better in their game against Oklahoma, getting blanked 14-0 by the Sooners and managing only three hits on the night.
Both Duke and Oral Roberts will be looking for offense Saturday afternoon in what will be their first meeting ever on the baseball diamond.
The winner will move on to play the loser of tonight’s game between the Sooners and the Huskies. The losing team will see their 2024 season come to an end.