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NCAA Super Regional: Duke No-Hit in Game 2

By Joseph Ochoa

OMAHA, NE - JUNE 26: A general view of a baseball on the field during batting practice before game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Oregon State Beavers on June 26, 2018 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - JUNE 26: A general view of a baseball on the field during batting practice before game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Oregon State Beavers on June 26, 2018 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
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First no-hitter in NCAA Super Regional History

The Duke Blue Devils came into game 2 of the NCAA Nashville Super Regional on a confidence streak, the team swept its regional series and put 18 runs and 15 hits on the Vanderbilt Commodores, the no.2 team in the country, Friday night. Saturday night, however, their fortunes were drastically shifted.

The Blue Devils were defeated during 3-0 in game two by the Commodores, forcing a game three on Sunday with a birth to the College World Series on the line. The Blue Devils failed to get a hit off Commodores pitcher Kumar Rocker, who threw the first no-hit performance by a pitcher in NCAA Super Regional History.

In addition to not allowing a single hit in the game, Rocker threw 89 strikes out of 131 pitches, resulting in 19 strikeouts through nine innings. Rocker’s two walks prevented the pitcher from getting a perfect game on his record as well.

Pitchers Duel

While Rocker stole the headlines with his performance, Blue Devils pitcher Bryce Jarvis threw an impressive game.

The sophomore from Franklin, Tenn. pitched seven innings, allowing five hits, four walks, and nine strikeouts. Despite the solid stat-line, his one earned run was the difference and gave him the loss for the game.

While the starter allowed the Blue Devils plenty of opportunities to come back in the game, relievers Thomas Girard and Jack Carey allowed two earned runs through two innings of combined work and prevented, while Rocker’s strong outing prevented the Blue Devils from getting any scoring opportunities.

Duke Should be Confident in Game Three of Super Regional

Despite losing in game two, the Blue Devils have no reason to have a lack of confidence going into game three.

The Blue Devils have won every single game they have played so far in the NCAA Tournament, and have outscored their opponents 34-14 in their five games of the tournament.

In addition to completely dominating teams, the Blue Devils haven’t allowed more than five runs during this stretch and it essentially took a pitching performance for the record books to stop the Blue Devils from scoring in this game.

One More Game Sunday

The Blue Devils will play one more game on Sunday at 3 p.m., the winner of that game will win the Nashville Super Regional and earn a spot in the College World Series. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

As of Sunday morning, the starters haven’t been announced for the game. With the team’s confidence at an all-time high, the Blue Devils should be prepared to take the field and send the team to its first College World Series since 1961.

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