No. 2 Duke softball hosts rival North Carolina for a three-game series in Durham beginning on Friday.
The Blue Devils, 30-3 on the season, enter the series against the Tar Heels on a five-game winning streak after they swept Virginia Tech last weekend. The Hokies had previously not lost a conference game.
Aminah Vega was named ACC Player of the Week and NCAA Player of the Week after she hit three home runs and three doubles to drive in nine runs against the Hokies. She and Claire Davidson lead a Duke offense batting .340 as a team so far this season.
In the circle, senior pitcher Jala Wright stole the headlines early in the season for justifiable reason. The two-time ACC Pitcher of the Week allowed three earned runs in her first 59.1 innings of the season, and she has an 11-0 record and an ERA of 0.98 and 83 strikeouts through her first 16 appearances. However, teammate Lillie Walker is hot on her tail with an ERA of 0.99 and a 7-1 record in 15 relief appearances.
UNC, for its part, is 24-10 on the season. The Tar Heels lost a midweek game to UNC Wilmington on Wednesday but took the series against both Notre Dame and Georgia Tech over the last two weekends.
The three-game series is also Duke’s Strike Out Cancer Weekend with funds raised for the Duke Cancer Institute and Duke Children’s Hospital throughout the weekend.
The first two games of the series will be broadcast on ACCNX while Sunday’s series finale, which begins at 7 p.m., will broadcast on ACC Network.
Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.