Duke walks off East Carolina on Kaden Smith’s blast
Kaden Smith hit a walk-off, three-run home run to deliver a 9-8 win against East Carolina on Tuesday in a non-conference baseball game at Jack Coombs Field.
Smith’s blast came with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Brooks Perez walked to start the inning and Tyler Albright singled to put runners on the corners. After RJ Hamilton was retired, Smith launched the first pitch he saw over the fence in left field.
It’s the fifth homer of the season for Smith, in 55 at-bats. He’s a fifth-year player who spent seasons at Charleston Southern, Wake Tech Community College, Spartanburg Methodist and UNC Asheville. Smith is from Yanceyville and graduated from Western Alamance High School.
The Blue Devils (17-10) scored the last five runs of the game. Matthew Strand’s two-run triple in the seventh cut ECU’s lead to 8-6.
The Pirates’ (15-10-1) four-run lead before Strand’s triple was the largest of the game for either team. Duke scored in the first inning and led 3-1 after three; ECU surged to a 5-3 lead through five; and the Pirates put up three runs in the top of the seventh, their last runs of the game.
Smith (three) and Strand (two) had multi-hit games for Duke. Smith scored four times. Albright scored three times and Hamilton had a two-run homer in the third.
Caleb Anderson (1-0) picked up the decision by pitching the final 2 1/3 innings. He didn’t allow a run or a walk, giving up one hit and striking out four. Jordan Regulski gave up three runs out of the bullpen, though each of them was unearned.
