DURHAM, N.C. (Interstat) — Juju Stevens homered and drove in two runs, and Albert De La Rosa added a solo shot as the Maine Black Bears capitalized on a fast start and held off a late rally to edge the Duke Blue Devils 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader on Friday.

The Black Bears (1-1) scored all their runs in the first four innings, while their bullpen combined for 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to secure the win. The victory came despite Duke being a heavy favorite, with Interstat’s ELO system projecting an 89% probability of a Blue Devils win.

Maine struck immediately in the top of the first inning. Stevens led off with a double to center field, advanced to third on a groundout by De La Rosa, and scored on an RBI infield bunt single by Christopher Mondesir. The early run gave the Black Bears a lead they would not relinquish.

Duke (1-1) answered quickly in the bottom half, cutting the deficit on back-to-back solo home runs by Canon and Zorn. The two-out power surge made it a one-run game.

The Black Bears extended their lead in the fourth. Stevens led off the inning by launching a solo home run to deep left field. On the very next pitch, De La Rosa followed with a homer of his own to left, pushing Maine’s advantage to three runs.

The Blue Devils chipped away in the bottom of the fourth. A single by Strand, a walk and a sacrifice bunt set the table. After a pitching change that brought in Wheeler for Maine starter Rumpf, a wild pitch allowed Strand to score, making it 4-3. The Blue Devils loaded the bases with two outs, but Wheeler struck out DiMartini to end the threat and preserve the lead.

From there, the game evolved into a tense battle of bullpens and defensive plays. The most critical sequence came in the bottom of the sixth inning with Maine still leading 4-3. Duke’s Perez was hit by a pitch, stole second and advanced to third on an infield bunt single by Quagliano. With runners at the corners and no outs, Lambdin lined out sharply to Maine third baseman Troy Carpenter, who doubled off Quagliano at first. Perez, attempting to score on the play, was then thrown out at the plate to complete a rare 5-3-2 triple play, snuffing out Duke’s best chance to tie the game.

Duke threatened again in the seventh, putting two runners on with one out, but reliever Holt induced a strikeout and a popout. The Blue Devils’ frustration boiled over in that inning, resulting in the ejection of their head coach.

Maine’s pitching closed the door from there. Holt and Donlin combined to allow just one hit over the final 2 1/3 innings. Donlin entered with one on in the ninth and struck out two, including Zorn swinging to end the game with the potential tying run on third base.

Stevens finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored to lead Maine’s nine-hit attack. De La Rosa was 1-for-4 with his solo homer. Duke managed seven hits, with the two first-inning homers accounting for their only extra-base hits.

The teams were scheduled to complete the doubleheader later Friday.