DURHAM, N.C. - Penn starter Pat Bet held the Duke baseball team to two hits in six shutout innings as the Quakers defeated the Blue Devils 6-0 Tuesday at Jack Coombs Field.
Bet (1-0) had two strikeouts on the day and retired 18 of the 21 batters he faced. Mitch Montaldo and Ronnie Glenn pitched the final three innings as the pair combined for five strikeouts while giving up two hits.
"[Penn] didn't do anything in my opinion that was any different than what was done to us the last week and a half," said head coach Chris Pollard. "I thought we did not do a good job of adjusting to it. It appears very clear to me that teams are essentially pitching us the same way. At some point we have to - as individual hitters - be willing to adjust to how people are pitching us and get up on the plate and take that pitch away from teams. We didn't do that today and [Penn] executed. We didn't have a very good offensive approach."
Penn (2-3) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. First baseman Spencer Branigan singled with one out, followed by back-to-back walks to Marshall Harden and Gary Tesch to load the bases. Duke starter James Marvel (0-2) got leadoff man Michael Vilardo to pop out to Andy Perez at second but left fielder Brandon Engelhardt delivered the two-out single to plate the first two runs of the ball game. Marvel then struck out Rick Brebner to end the inning without further damage.
With two outs in the fifth, Montaldo, who started the game at shortstop, and Branigan belted consecutive doubles to bring home Penn's third run of the game.
Duke (5-6) looked to push a run across in the bottom half of the fifth as left fielder Matt Berezo singled and first baseman Chris Marconcini walked to put two runners on with no outs. However, a double play ball and a groundout to third put an end to the Duke threat.
Penn extended its lead to 6-0 with a three-run seventh, ignited by a pair of singles from Montaldo and Branigan to begin the frame. An RBI double off the bat of Harden plated the Quakers' fourth run before Vilardo picked up two RBI with a double of his own.
Marvel (0-2) would take the loss for Duke, allowing three runs on six hits in six complete innings. Sophomore Sarkis Ohanian tossed three shutout innings in relief for the Blue Devils, totaling a career-high five strikeouts.
Junior Mike Rosenfeld, sophomore Perez, junior Berezo and sophomore Grant McCabe had Duke's four hits. The Quakers were led by Branigan's 3-for-4 performance, while Vilardo, Engelhardt and Montaldo recorded two hits each.
Duke and Penn will meet again Wednesday. The Blue Devils and the Quakers are scheduled for a 3 p.m., start at Jack Coombs Field.
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