Duke baseball stuns Oklahoma State to win NCAA Tournament Athens Regional
For all the power that propelled Duke to its first two NCAA tournament wins the previous two days, it was speed and hustle that made the Blue Devils champions on Sunday.
Ben Rounds scored from first base on Sam Harris’ two-RBI single in the eighth inning, completing a three-run rally that lifted the Blue Devils past Oklahoma State, 3-2, in the Athens Regional final at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia.
“I saw Rounds,” Harris said during a post-game ESPN interview. “I saw him going around third, and I was like, oh, he’s gonna score! And I think we’re gonna win!”
Duke (40-19) won a regional to advance to the Super Regional round for the fourth time in the past seven NCAA tournaments. Duke will play the winner of the Oxford Regional final between No. 10 national seed Mississippi and Murray State.
The Blue Devils won the regional title without their top power producer, Ben Miller, who was sidelined Sunday after being hit by a pitch on this right hand during Saturday night’s 6-3 win over Georgia. Miller leads Duke with 20 home runs this season.
Against Oklahoma State, Duke’s AJ Gracia started the eighth-inning rally by blasting an opposite-field home run off Cowboys relief pitcher Ryan Ure to cut the Cowboys lead to 2-1.
Jake Hyde singled to left field and Ure walked Ben Rounds putting the potential tying and lead runs on base with one out.
Mario Pesca replaced Ure and struck out Tyler Albright for the second out.
But Harris lined a hit to right-center field. Hyde scored the tying run and Rounds came into to score all the way from first on the single, giving Duke a 3-2 lead.
Oklahoma State took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on Kollin Ritchie’s two-run home run.
It held up through six innings as Cowboys starting pitcher Noah Wech held the Blue Devils scoreless while scattering five hits.
When Wech left the mound to start the seventh inning, Duke put its first two runners off relief pitcher Brennan Phillips. But Stormy Rhodes replaced him and escaped damage, inducing an inning-ending double-play grounder from Jake Burger.
Oklahoma State’s bullpen wasn’t as fortunate in the eighth inning.
This story was originally published June 1, 2025 at 8:58 PM.