WRAL Sports Fan

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BASEBALL: Duke Completes Four-Game Sweep Over Iona

Feb 24, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — DURHAM, N.C. – Nate Freiman hit two home runs and collected nine RBI in the doubleheader to lead the Duke to a pair of wins over Iona Sunday afternoon. The two victories clinched a four-game sweep over the Gaels at Jack Coombs Field.

Freiman went 5-for-9 on the day and scored four runs to lead Duke to wins of 10-1 and 17-5 over Iona. Three of his five hits went for extra bases, including a 2-for-4 two-home run effort in game one on Sunday. Freiman drove in seven total runs in the day’s opener with two three-run homers and a sacrifice fly and followed with a pair of RBI in a 3-for-5 outing in game two. After four games, Freiman is batting .389 with a team-high nine RBI.

Sunday’s double header sweep over Iona (0-4) followed another two-game sweep over the Gaels on Saturday in which Duke won 10-2 and 10-0. Duke (4-0) outscored Iona 47-8 over the four-game spread while topping 10 runs in every game. The Blue Devils batted .369 for the series while holding Iona’s hitters to a .212 clip. Duke’s pitching staff now boasts a collective ERA of 2.00 while seven of 11 Blue Devil pitchers went at least one inning and have yet to give up a run.

Sophomore outfielder Alex Hassan notched an 8-for-15 series with a home run, seven RBI, nine runs scored and six stolen bases in seven attempts. Hassan had more than one hit in three of the four games, scoring at least one run in each contest. Designated hitter and catcher Kyle Kreick matched Hassan with an 8-for-15 performance, while driving in six runs and scoring eight. Four Blue Devils homered in the series, including Freiman (2), Hassan, and sophomores Jeremy Gould and Gabriel Saade. Both Saade and Freiman had four extra base hits, as Saade drove three doubles in addition to his leadoff long ball in the second game of the series. Saade and Hassan each contributed nine runs for the series, while Saade also came up safe in all four of his stolen base attempts.

Game one saw a dominant effort from a pair of Blue Devil pitchers, as freshman Grant Monroe (1-0) picked up his first collegiate victory and sophomore Jonathan Foreman went four innings for his first career save. In his first career start, Monroe struck out three batters and gave up no more than one hit in each inning. Foreman took over to start the sixth inning and cruised through four complete innings, giving up just one hit while striking out three.

Duke’s bullpen was equally as effective in game two, as sophomores Michael Seander (1-0), Michael Ness and Hassan combined for 5.2 innings of one-run baseball. Seander went 2.2 innings and picked up the win, while Ness contributed a pair of innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three. Hassan closed out the series with a single inning without allowing a hit.

Junior catcher Matt Williams threw out his first runner of the season from behind the plate, catching Iona outfielder Chris Leahy, who was trying to steal second base. Williams started two games behind the plate and went 5-for-8 with three runs and an RBI from the no. 2 spot in the lineup. He also laid down a sacrifice bunt and went errorless in 13 defensive opportunities.