Duke tops Longwood 5-2 in baseball

Cris Perez hit a 2-run home run in the first inning, and Jack Labosky pitched five innings in relief to get the win as Duke topped Longwood 5-2 Tuesday at Coombs Field.

Max Miller also had two hits for the Blue Devils, who start their final series of the regular season Thursday at home against Wake Forest.

Labosky gave up one earned run on four hits with three striekouts after taking over for starter Kenny Koplove to start the second inning.

Longwood outhit Duke 8-7 but was just 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels men’s team will host one of six NCAA Regional Championships this weekend at the Finley Golf Course, which boasts a par-72, 7,242-yard layout. The Tar Heels are the third seed in the tournament.

The field includes top-seeded Florida State, Clemson, Wake Forest and Charlotte.

Stanford will also compete. The Cardinal are led by the country’s No. 1 ranked individual, Maverick McNealy.

N.C. State will compete in the regional hosted by Yale in New Haven, Conn.

Duke will play at the Rawls Course in Lubbbok Texas in the regional hosted by Texas Tech.

The other sites are the Sagamore Club in Noblesville, Indiana, hosted by Ball State; The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., hosted by the San Diego; and Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington, hosted by the Washington.

Duke: Men’s standout Raphael Hemmeler was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Senior Player of the Year for the Carolina Region. Jason Tahir was voted Senior Most Improved Player and freshman Nicolas Alvarez received the Player to Watch Award.

ITA also honored women’s freshman Samantha Harris as the Rookie of the Year.

North Carolina: Caroline Price was named ITA Carolina Region women’s Senior Player of the Year, and coach Brian Kalbas took home the women’s Coach of the Year honor.

N.C. State: Alexis Perry was recognized as the ACC Women’s Track Performer of the Week.

Perry excelled in both track and field events at the Duke Twilight in Durham. on her way to three first-place finishes. She hit her second highest mark of the season in 100-meter hurdles at 13.23 seconds. Competing in her hometown, the junior dominated both the preliminary and the final heats of competition. She finished three-tenths of a second ahead of her closest competitor in the finals.

Perry also had a strong showing in the long jump, finishing with a distance of 6.36 meters, her highest mark of the season. It ranks 10th in the NCAA and second in the ACC.

This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 9:49 PM with the headline "Duke tops Longwood 5-2 in baseball."