A year ago Duke made the NCAA baseball tournament for the first time in more than 50 years.
To return for second year in a row, they’ll need to make an historic run through the ACC tournament this week in Louisville, Kentucky.
After dropping two of three games at Coastal Division champion North Carolina last weekend, the Blue Devils (28-27, 12-18 ACC) enter the ACC tournament as the No. 9 seed.
Duke will play Clemson and Virginia in pool play. With wins over those two teams, the Blue Devils would advance to the tournament semifinals. The Blue Devils record is such that winning the ACC championship is their only sure route back to the NCAA tournament field, which included Duke last season for the first time since 1961.