Duke softball drops opening Women’s College World Series game to Oklahoma

The Blue Devils struck first on Thursday, but the powerhouse Sooners followed with nine unanswered runs for a six-inning victory.

The Duke softball team dropped the first Women’s College World Series game in program history on Thursday afternoon, a 9-1 run-rule defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners.

Duke entered Thursday’s game as heavy underdogs. The Sooners have won each of the last three national championships, and they beat the Blue Devils by three runs in Duke’s first game of the season. FanDuel Sportsbook gave Duke about a 25% implied chance of beating the powerhouse program.

The Blue Devils did hang the first run on the board in the second inning when senior Francesca Frelick whacked a low line drive into the left-field corner and over the wall. The veteran Blue Devil pumped her fists and cheered as she rounded the bases, embracing her surrounded teammates after she stomped on home plate for the 1-0 lead.

The advantage held early as Duke starter Cassidy Curd held Oklahoma scoreless for the first two innings.

The lead evaporated and the game unraveled in the third inning, however. ACC Pitcher of the Year Jala Wright took over for Curd in the circle with one runner on board, and the Sooners peppered her for a pair of two-run homers before she escaped the inning.

Duke, now trailing by three, loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth with two outs and looked to climb back into the game and continue the upset effort. A soft line drive from Gisele Tapia looked destined to find the left-center gap and score at least one run, but Oklahoma centerfielder Jayda Coleman made a diving catch to halt the rally before it began.

The Sooners mashed their third two-run homer off Wright in the bottom of the fourth, bringing the run rule into play. The Blue Devils remained unable to add any more runs, and the Sooners only needed two runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game early.

They got those exact two runs on a single from Alyssa Brito, who one-hopped a line drive into left field with two runners in scoring position to bring around the winning runs.

The Women’s College World Series is a double-elimination bracket, so the Blue Devils aren’t eliminated yet. Duke will play Alabama in an elimination game on Friday night at 7 p.m. Eastern time.