Duke coach Chris Pollard expressed confidence that Mitch Stallings would give a quality pitching performance in the ACC tournament on Friday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The senior left-hander, though, proved not up to the task and the Blue Devils’ quest for a league title ended.
Louisville strafed Stallings for eight runs on seven hits over the first four innings to roll past Duke 9-2 and win Pool D.
Fifth-seeded Louisville (42-16) advances to play 12th-seeded Pitt in Saturday’s 1 p.m. tournament semifinal. The upset-minded Panthers beat No. 8 seed Georgia Tech and top-seed North Carolina in pool play to advance.