AJ Gracia, Duke Quietly Catching Fire

Photo courtesy of Duke Athletics.

In a series opening loss to archrival North Carolina on April 3rd, Duke sophomore AJ Gracia grounded into a double play to end the game with the tying run on third base. The former Freshman All American left Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill that night hitting .188 on the year with just two doubles and two home runs. He’d been relegated to the nine spot in the order and perhaps only remained in the lineup because of his ability to draw walks.

The next day, however, Gracia went 2-for-4 with a double and never looked back. Since that grounding into that game ending double play on April 3rd, the Monroe, New Jersey native is hitting .440 with six doubles, a triple, and nine home runs. In just 19 games, Gracia has boosted his average over .100 points to .298 on the year. 

“I've said it a lot recently,” Gracia said regarding the key to his turnaround, “but just sticking with what I know I do well and sticking with my process. I think early on in the season, I got away from it. So it's going back to what I know I do well that’s really just helped me steady the ship here the past few weeks.”  

On Saturday against Clemson, he homered in the first inning for the third straight game. He homered again in the second to bring his total to four homers over his last three games and eight in his last nine. Despite entering this Clemson series on a heater, Gracia remains keen to continue improving and making adjustments in plan against opposing pitchers.

“I knew going into the series that they were going to attack me middle in,” Gracia said. “That had been the one spot I'd struggled with, even when I hadn't been swinging it well. So I just sold out to that approach.”

Gracia has been a spark for Duke lately hitting out of the two-hole in the lineup and putting the Blue Devils on the board early. His early home runs have boosted the team’s confidence and allowed the squad to get locked in and riled up right off the bat. While the sophomore slugger did acknowledge that it’s not a good feeling to struggle, he was adamant that the team performance mattered more. 

“At the end of the day, whether I'm swinging it well or not, I just want to come out here and win,” Gracia said. “Whether I hit two homers like I did today or just have good situational offense and then go 0 for 4, it is what it is. I don't really care.”

It’s a credit to Duke’s coaching staff that they’ve stuck with AJ throughout the season, even with his struggles. His 48 walks on the year is good for 3rd in the ACC behind UNC’s Luke Stevenson and Clemson’s Dominic Listi. The confidence they’ve had in their outfield talisman hasn’t wavered, and they’ve been rewarded with a .298/.461/.550 slash line on the season as Gracia’s OPS has ballooned to 1.010. 

Duke head coach Chris Pollard has credited the turnaround to AJ’s mental toughness rather than a physical or mechanical change. 

“He's really not any different than he was early in the year,” Pollard said following their 15-10 win over Clemson on Saturday. “Just the resilience to keep fighting to get himself back to this spot. And now he's feeling good again. And you're seeing the AJ that  we've seen over his career here. He's really seen the ball well.”

Duke is 14-5 during AJ’s hot stretch and have quietly solidified their position in the conference ahead of the NCAA Tournament. With the pitching staff settled into their roles and the likes of Jake Hyde, Sam Harris, and Ben Rounds finding their form, the Blue Devils have transformed themselves into a dangerous team without much of the National Media noticing. If Duke wins again today at Clemson, however, expect the narrative to change and Duke to get back in the conversation for a Top 25 ranking and potential Regional Hosting bid.