Duke catcher a steadying influence for young arms in Blue Devils’ super regional run

Duke starting catcher Alex Stone watched teammate MJ Metz hit three home runs on a torn ACL, two from the dugout and one that brought him home. A rather incredible moment to see his teammate succeed, he said, but Stone didn’t talk much about the two home runs he’d hit against Coastal Carolina later that weekend — just that the two are battling it out for the title of most home runs this season.

“We’re both going for it,” Stone said, laughing. “Either way, hopefully we just have a lot and we tie.”

Stone has been a consistent bat on the team in the postseason. He’s lingered in the middle of the batting order for the entire season, usually either third or fourth, and coincidentally near Metz. Stone’s 30-game hit streak came to an end against Rider in the NCAA Conway Regional, but he still had three home runs and five RBIs over four games.

But Stone’s impact on the Blue Devils’ postseason run doesn’t stop inside the batter’s box. He’s working with the young, but deep, bullpen that has carried the pitching staff throughout this season. He’s been the one catching everything — literally.

Duke has been without ace pitchers Jonathan Santucci and Luke Fox all season due to injury, forcing head coach Chris Pollard to rely a bit more on his young talent than he might’ve expected this season.

Pollard has put the pressure on Stone’s maturity and stamina to work with so many different pitchers in high-stakes situations. The head coach has made adjustments to the bullpen, and worked through the mid-May slump that bolstered the Blue Devils into where they are now.

“I think we played a little bit tighter because of that,” Pollard said. “I don’t think we played bad baseball. But I don’t I don’t think we were the loosest version of ourselves.”

It also helped that those young arms excelled. Freshmen Andrew Healey and James Tallon earned Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American honors, and Tallon was named a finalist for the National College Baseball Writers Association’s Stopper of the Year.

Stone said his job of working with this wide range of pitchers has been much simpler thanks to how close and “loose” Duke is this year — and it’s not the first time he’s mentioned it. The full belly laughter that rings out from Jacob Coombs field during practice is an all too common sound this year, pairing nicely with the team’s playlist blasting through the stadium speakers.

They love road trips, Stone said. They love being together on the bus, during team meals, where there’s nothing but the road, baseball and your teammates.

“We have a thing called ‘road dogs,’” Stone said. “So I think we play better on the road. Just high energy and we love the crowds.”

The balance between the youthful pitchers with an experienced catcher working together helped keep the team’s ERA down, even though Pollard often is bringing in new pitchers pretty regularly in games.

“It’s a lot easier when you just run a guy in there and say, ‘Hey, we’ll see you in the sixth inning,’ or pat him on the butt after every inning,” Pollard said. “But it’s gotten more normal as we’ve gone, you know. And it’s been the right approach for us.”

Every time Pollard brings in a new arm, Stone is taking that brief warmup period to readjust to a new style, as well.

“I’ve caught them so many times before, so it’s just knowing what they do and knowing their misses,” Stone said. “And they’ve been awesome. So my job’s been easy.”

Pollard jumped in to give Stone credit when the catcher deflected the chance to talk about his skills.

“I listened to the interview that you guys just had with him,” Pollard said, “He’s being modest. It’s way harder than he makes it out to be.”

Pollard admitted that Stone’s position has rarely allowed for the catcher to rest. Stone has played nearly every game this season, and cemented himself as a staple in the Blue Devils’ lineup.

“He has rapport with these guys,” Pollard said. “The trust that they have in him, the respect that he has among this team. All of those things weigh into being able to do the job that he’s done so well.”

Pollard and Stone both talked about how taking on the Cavaliers this weekend isn’t about “keeping their season alive,” but rather “extending their season.” Using the sayings the team’s adopted over the course of the season, like “pack a lunch” and the blue collar mentality, that’s Stone’s focus.

Virginia is a familiar opponent: Duke won a three-game series against the Cavaliers just under two months ago. But this is the NCAA Tournament, a heightened atmosphere for everyone.

Stone said after the team’s one loss to Coastal Carolina in the Conway Regional, Pollard asked the team one question that put everything into perspective.

“It was, you know, back in August, if you told us we had one game to go to a super regional would you take it?,” Stone recalled. “And I woke up the next morning ready to go locked in, and it was fun.”