Duke softball wins Durham Regional, punches Super Regional ticket with South Carolina win

The Blue Devils defeated South Carolina for the second time on Sunday, and the 10-1 victory earned them a spot in a Super Regional.

For the third straight year, the Duke Blue Devils are headed to a Super Regional after a 10-1 win over South Carolina on Sunday.

Duke’s offense kept trying to get runs on the board early, but the dam wouldn’t break. The Blue Devils loaded the bases in the first inning after a single and two walks, but a strikeout ended the inning harmlessly.

The Blue Devils left a runner on first in the second and third innings, too. However, the missed scoring opportunities hurt a little less thanks to the stellar work of sophomore Cassidy Curd in the circle.

Curd retired the first three batters of the game, a safe three-up, three-down inning that kept the pedal down. After an opening single in the second, she mowed down the next three opponents to ensure no one reached scoring position.

The Duke offense finally got over the line in the fourth inning. With two runners in scoring position, senior Francesca Frelick smashed a line straight back over pitcher Alana Vawter, just inches over her outstretched glove and into centerfield. Both runners made it all the way home, finally taking the lid off the plate.

Curd’s brilliance wavered for a moment in the fourth. After an opening double from Zoe Laneaux, a throwing error let her come all the way around to score. Suddenly, Duke’s lead was just one with a runner on second and nobody out.

Instead of any panic, however, Curd calmly knocked out the next three batters to escape without any further damage.

After a one-out walk in the fifth, Duke handed the game ball to ACC Pitcher of the Year Jala Wright, and she lived up to the label. The senior retired the first five batters she faced, including three crucial sixth-inning outs to keep the lead before the final frame.

The save, while crucial, seemed irrelevant by the middle of the seventh. Duke added eight runs in the last inning, picking apart multiple Gamecocks pitchers and batting around the order.

After two singles and a walk, a wild pitch from Vawter brought the first runner home before an Ana Gold single plated the second.

Sage Mardjetko took over from there and fared even worse. She struck out her second batter, but she hit her third with a pitch to load the bases before a clearing double down the first-base line from Amiah Burgess really made it start to hurt.

A follow-up single brought Burgess home, a reward for her game-breaking play.

Two runs later, the seventh inning mercifully ended for South Carolina, but the only reward awaiting them was Wright. She struck out three of the four batters she faced, ending the game with a dominant 10-1 final margin.

The win, Duke’s 50th of the season, gives them the Durham Regional title. Duke blew through the double-elimination bracket in just three games, beating Morgan State and South Carolina twice en route to the title.

The Blue Devils play the winner of the Columbia Regional final between Missouri and Omaha.