The Duke Blue Devils softball team lost its first game of the postseason on Saturday afternoon, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Missouri to even the Super Regional series.
The Duke pitching staff did its job during the game, giving up just four hits for the day. ACC Pitcher of the Year Jala Wright started in the circle and roared out of the gates with 10 consecutive outs, working her way through the order without a single base runner.
Wright finally caught a snag in the fourth, however. She surrendered her first baserunner with a one-out single, then she coughed up another base hit to the next batter.
With two runners on in a still-scoreless game, Missouri first baseman Abby Hay poked through a third consecutive single to open the game’s scoring. Duke right fielder Claire Davidson couldn’t pin her throw from the outfield on catcher Kelly Torres, but a miscommunication in the infield allowed a second. The ball bounced off Torres as she tried to corral it, and both nearby Blue Devils rushed back to the plate instead of either one going after the ball.
Hay made it all the way to third in the commotion, and an infield ground ball let her score the third run of the inning.
Sophomore pitcher Cassidy Curd replaced Wright in the circle after the two-run debacle, and she did exactly what she did on Friday: shut Mizzou down. With the Blue Devils desperately in need of a comeback, she did all she could. Curd got the last two outs of the fourth and allowed just one hit over the final three innings, holding the Tigers scoreless for a second straight outing.
Through nine innings against Missouri this weekend, Curd has allowed one hit and one walk while striking out nine batters.
Unlike in Game 1, however, the Duke offense couldn’t take advantage of Curd’s form. The Blue Devils got on the board with a solo home run from senior Francesca Frelick in the fifth inning, but they couldn’t manage any other runs in a day with just two team hits.
The Blue Devils had the chance in the sixth inning when two walks and an error loaded the bases with just two outs, but a strikeout and an infield fly meant no damage got done.
With the series now even at one win apiece, the Blue Devils and Tigers will play one final game on Sunday, a winner-take-all game with a spot in Oklahoma City on the line. It will undoubtedly be the biggest game in program history, as Duke has never reached the Women’s College World Series.