DURHAM -- The Duke Blue Devils banged out 22 hits - including four home runs - and slugged their way to a 17-3 victory at N.C. Central on Wednesday.
Senior center fielder Will Piwnica-Worms went 4-for-4 and had four RBIs with a single, two doubles, a home run and two walks. Freshman right fielder Grant McCabe added two singles, two doubles, and a triple, worth three RBIs for Duke (2-3), which has beaten NCCU (0-4) in all 10 meetings since the Eagles brought back baseball in 2007.
Sophomore second baseman Angelo LaBruna had two hits, including a two-run homer, and junior designated hitter Jeff Kremer and junior catcher Ryan Munger also hit solo homers for Duke.
Kremer finished with three hits, and sophomore second baseman Matt Berezo had two hits and two RBIs.
Freshman Andrew Istler was the surprise beneficiary of all the offense. The right-hander relieved sophomore David Putman, who was on a pitch count and logged 78 pitches in four innings, to earn his first victory as a Blue Devil.
Istler allowed three hits and a run in two innings, striking out three with one walk. Putman gave up two runs and eight hits, striking out four and walking three in his first start of the season.
Remy Janco, Garrett Hayward and Nick Piscotty each pitched an inning of relief for Duke.
Piwnica-Worms said it felt good to break loose with the bats.
"We got into a little bit of a funk (Tuesday in a 10-4 loss to Campbell), but remained confident and didn't let that affect us," he said. "We've had some close games with N.C. Central. They're a good team. They swung the bats well, too (11 hits). We just swung them better."
Duke coach Sean McNally praised the contributions of Piwnica-Worms and McCabe.
"Will has been a really solid player for us for four years, and at the other end of the spectrum Grant is a freshman who is taking advantage of an injury situation to get in the lineup," McNally said.
Duke led 2-1 after two innings before roughing up NCCU reliever Jasper Jones, who replaced lefty starter Michael Romano, for nine runs in the third. Singles by Berezo and Piwnica-Worms, sandwiched around a triple by McCabe, produced two runs.
Piwnica-Worms moved up on a steal and wild pitch, and Andy Perez was hit by a pitch and stole second. They scored on LaBruna's pop fly single, which dropped in when NCCU center fielder Nate Smith got a late jump on the ball.
Smith suffered a leg injury on the play and had to leave the game.
