Northwestern University Athletics
Sunday, February 24
Durham, NC
12 p.m.
Northwestern
5
at
3
Duke
Lavelle’s Quality Start Leads NU to 5-3 Win Over Duke
2/24/2019 3:36:00 PM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. — Northwestern baseball earned a 5-3 victory over Duke on Sunday afternoon at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
NU was led by their starting pitching performance by sophomore southpaw Quinn Lavelle who earned a quality start by tossing 6.0 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with only one walk. Northwestern also had a strong relief performance, as three 'Cats combined to fan five batters in three innings while allowing only three hits and walking none.
The Wildcats handed Duke their first loss of the season. First-year pitcher Parker Hanks earned his first-career win and junior pitcher Nick Paciorek collected his second-career save.
Redshirt first-year outfielder David Dunn has continued his torrid start to the season with a 3-for-4 game, increasing his batting average to .478. He scored a run and stole a base in the victory.
For the second time this series, NU scored first. First-year catcher Michael Trautwein got the scoring started with an RBI single in the second inning to give the 'Cats a 1-0 advantage.
In the fourth inning, the Wildcats doubled their lead as Trautwein scored on a passed ball.
Duke scored their first run of the game in the bottom half of the fourth, as Kyle Gallagher smacked a single through the right side. The Wildcats got out of a tricky situation in the frame with a 5-4-3 double play.
The Blue Devils evened up the score in the bottom of the sixth inning with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Gallagher. NU got out of trouble yet again, limiting the damage to only the one run.
After both teams went scoreless in the seventh, NU's offense exploded for three runs in the eighth inning, kickstarted by a pinch-hit, RBI triple by junior outfielder Leo Kaplan. Senior infielder Jack Dunn drove in Kaplan with an RBI single and Dunn eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Duke's Michael Rothenberg hit an inning-starting solo home run in the eighth to shrink the NU lead to only two runs. The Wildcats did not allow any more scoring to earn their third win of the season.
The Wildcats are back in action next weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, as they face Georgia Tech on March 1-3.
NU was led by their starting pitching performance by sophomore southpaw Quinn Lavelle who earned a quality start by tossing 6.0 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with only one walk. Northwestern also had a strong relief performance, as three 'Cats combined to fan five batters in three innings while allowing only three hits and walking none.
The Wildcats handed Duke their first loss of the season. First-year pitcher Parker Hanks earned his first-career win and junior pitcher Nick Paciorek collected his second-career save.
Redshirt first-year outfielder David Dunn has continued his torrid start to the season with a 3-for-4 game, increasing his batting average to .478. He scored a run and stole a base in the victory.
For the second time this series, NU scored first. First-year catcher Michael Trautwein got the scoring started with an RBI single in the second inning to give the 'Cats a 1-0 advantage.
In the fourth inning, the Wildcats doubled their lead as Trautwein scored on a passed ball.
Duke scored their first run of the game in the bottom half of the fourth, as Kyle Gallagher smacked a single through the right side. The Wildcats got out of a tricky situation in the frame with a 5-4-3 double play.
The Blue Devils evened up the score in the bottom of the sixth inning with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Gallagher. NU got out of trouble yet again, limiting the damage to only the one run.
After both teams went scoreless in the seventh, NU's offense exploded for three runs in the eighth inning, kickstarted by a pinch-hit, RBI triple by junior outfielder Leo Kaplan. Senior infielder Jack Dunn drove in Kaplan with an RBI single and Dunn eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Duke's Michael Rothenberg hit an inning-starting solo home run in the eighth to shrink the NU lead to only two runs. The Wildcats did not allow any more scoring to earn their third win of the season.
The Wildcats are back in action next weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, as they face Georgia Tech on March 1-3.
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