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Duke celebrates 5-4 victory in Game 1 of Super Regional after withstanding UVA comeback attempt

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•06/09/23
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(Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

As the baseball flew towards the left field fence on the final play in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Duke vs. Virginia game, the announcer screamed, “Fastball! Swung on! Driven to left field at the wall… and it’s caught!” As his voice deflated, so did the hearts of every Virginia fan on hand for the Cavaliers’ Super Regional opener against the Blue Devils. Had that ball sailed over the fence, Virginia would be the ones dousing each other in gatorade and celebrating a Game 1 victory on their home turf. Alas, things did not unfold that way.

Instead, Jake Gelof’s bomb traveled just short of 370 feet, allowing Duke’s outfielder to leap up and snag it for the final out of the game. Take a look at this game-sealing catch:

Tough, tough way to go down if you’re UVA. The Cavs used a sixth inning rally to take the lead back on Duke at 4-3 heading into the seventh, but then allowed the Blue Devils to pounce right back on top in the eighth when they loaded a bases and added a pair of runs to make it 5-4, which would wind up being the final score on the day.

Whew, take a breath, Duke fans, and recoup for round two tomorrow.

Duke’s Damon Lux discusses his home run

Duke nine-hole hitter Damon Lux delivered a big blast early for the Blue Devils in Friday’s Super Regional win over Virginia. The senior blasted a two-run home run in the third inning over the wall in left-center field for a 2-0 lead.

Lux homered off Virginia pitcher Nick Parker, doing so on an 0-2 pitch. He spoke with ESPN2 after Duke’s win about the at bat and what he was looking for.

“Honestly I was sitting cutter, because the scouting report said he threw a lot of cutters to righties. And that’s been his pitch all year,” Lux said. “So I was looking for it early. Didn’t get it early. And once I got to two strikes, I knew I had to battle off anything that was in the zone. And luckily 0-2, he left one knee high and I got a good swing on it.”

The home run was the 10th of the season for Lux and arguably his biggest. He finished the game 1-for-3 with a walk.

Despite the Lux home run, Duke still needed to rally late. Virginia led 4-3 entering the eighth inning, before the Blue Devils rallied to take a 5-4 lead. Virginia had two on with two out in the ninth inning, when Jake Gelof flied out to deep left field to end the game.