Tag: acc softball

Duke softball wins second-ever ACC Tournament title with 6-3 win over Florida State

The Blue Devils trailed FSU 3-0 in the middle of the fourth inning of Saturday’s ACC title match, but after back-to-back walk-offs, these heroics were easy.

For the second time in school history, the Duke Blue Devils are ACC Softball Tournament champions after they took down Florida State 6-3 on Saturday.

Duke, the conference’s regular-season champions, needed some heroics just to get to the title game. Sophomore Aminah Vega hit a two-run home run for a walk-off victory over Boston College in the quarterfinals, and freshman Amiah Burgess raced all the way home from second on an infield single to beat Clemson in extra innings during the semifinals.

In the top of the fourth inning of Saturday’s title game, it looked like the Blue Devils’ luck finally ran out. Florida State scored the first two runs of the game on a two-run homer from Kalei Harding, and Michaela Edenfield followed with an RBI double two batters later.

However, Duke immediately answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame. ACC Player of the Year Claire Davidson and Vega singled to get a pair of base runners aboard before junior Ana Gold brought home the former with a sacrifice fly. Catcher Kelly Torres drove home a second run with a single of her own right afterward.

The Blue Devils turned to First Team All-ACC pitcher Cassidy Curd for the final four innings of the game, and she did her job masterfully. After the three runs to start the fourth, she entered the game with a runner on second with no outs. She retired three straight Seminoles, the last two by strikeout, to escape the inning without further damage.

Across her four innings in the circle, Florida State only managed a single baserunner: a two-out walk in the seventh inning. Curd retired 12 of the 13 batters she faced with three strikeouts.

The offense couldn’t pull even in the fifth inning, but the Blue Devils broke the game apart in the sixth. After two walks in the first three at-bats of the inning, Gold struck again with an RBI single to tie the game. FSU decided to walk Torres, which loaded the bases for shortstop Jada Baker.

Baker grounded toward second base, and Florida State’s Devyn Flaherty tried to force the out at home plate but couldn’t place the throw correctly. Burgess, for the second time in two days, broke a 3-3 tie at home plate.

Duke added two more runs later in the inning, a two-run single from Gisele Tapia, to add some insurance. The Seminoles couldn’t add anything in the top of the seventh, yet another perfect inning from Curd cementing the win for the Blue Devils.

The postseason now awaits with Duke trying to clinch its first-ever appearance in the Women’s College World Series.

Duke softball gets second walk-off win in two days to advance to ACC Championship

The Blue Devils walked off an ACC opponent for the second time in 24 hours on Friday afternoon when a game-saving out from Clemson got overturned.

The Blue Devils are playing for the ACC Softball Championship.

After Thursday’s walk-off home run from sophomore Aminah Vega to defeat Boston College, Duke needed more 10th-inning heroics to get by Clemson in the semifinals.

With the game knotted at three runs apiece and runners on first and second, senior Francesca Frelick lobbed a lazy blooper toward second base. Tigers second baseman Alex Brown dove for the ball and couldn’t come up with it, sending Duke freshman Amiah Burgess around for the winning run.

Clemson shortstop Maddie Moore had sprinted over to help, however, and she quickly grabbed the ball and fired toward home plate to try and keep Duke off the board.

The timing looked like a photo finish, but the umpire pumped his fist to rule Burgess out, ending the 10th inning. The Blue Devils protested the call, however, and upon video replay, the officials determined that Burgess safely got her hand on home plate.

The win advances top-seeded Duke to the conference championship game, where they will play the winner of Florida State and Georgia Tech.

Jala Wright sets Duke softball program record with 17 strikeouts in a single game

Wright, the ACC Pitcher of the Year, set a single-game school record when she fanned 17 Boston College batters in a single game on Thursday.

Sophomore infielder Aminah Vega got the hero moment on Thursday with her two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th against Boston College, but senior pitcher Jala Wright set her up.

The Eagles and the Blue Devils remained locked in a 0-0 tie for the first nine innings largely due to Wright’s prowess in the circle. Across 10 innings of work and 38 batters faced on Thursday, the senior ace struck out 17 batters.

The newly crowned ACC Pitcher of the Year struck out the side in the second inning, and she nabbed two Eagles in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. Wright really turned it on when the game extended into extras, retiring five out of six batters by strikeout in the eighth and ninth innings.

The performance, a single-game school record, is the third time Wright struck out at least 14 batters in a game this season. She retired 14 batters via strikeout against Michigan State in February and against Virginia in April.

WATCH: Duke softball walks off Boston College with 10th-inning home run in ACC Quarterfinals

Duke remained locked in a scoreless battle with 9-seed Boston College in the ACC Softball Quarterfinals on Thursday until sophomore Aminah Vega strode to the plate.

Duke softball survived an upset alert during the ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinals on Thursday.

Boston College, the ninth seed in the conference, held the top-seeded Blue Devils scoreless in Durham through the entire seven innings of regulation and two additional frames during the conference tournament.

With the game still deadlocked at 0-0 hours after the first pitch, Duke got the winning run to second base with no outs in the bottom of the 10th. Sophomore second baseman Aminah Vega stepped to the plate.

Down to her last strike in a 1-2 count, Vega slashed at a pitch and connected, the sound ricocheting through Duke Softball Stadium. The ball catapulted into the Durham sky before disappearing over the centerfield wall, a game-winning two-run home run.

Vega’s big week continues after she won ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors on Wednesday.

Duke softball coach Marissa Young earns first ACC Coach of the Year award in school history

Duke softball coach Marissa Young, in her eighth year, coached the Blue Devils to a 44-6 record with 20 conference wins and three ACC award-winning players.

For the first time in school history, Duke took home ACC Softball Coach of the Year honors on Wednesday.

Blue Devils coach Marissa Young, in her eighth season in charge of the program, guided Duke to a 44-6 record. Duke won 20 of its 24 conference games, losing only a single series the entire season, and ended the year on a five-game win streak.

Young’s team only lost three times at Duke Softball Stadium, and Duke won 15 of its 17 road games.

The Blue Devils also won their first regular-season conference title and, earlier in the season, reached the No. 1 spot in Softball America’s rankings for the first time in school history.

“Look at God! Won’t He do it under the most difficult circumstances!” Young wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, after the announcement. “My amazing staff, my parents & my team made this possible!

Young also coached three players to conference awards during the 2024 season. Claire Davidson and Jala Wright unanimously won the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Pitcher of the Year honors, respectively, while sophomore second baseman Aminah Vega took home the ACC Defensive Player of the Year trophy.

Duke sophomore Aminah Vega named ACC Defensive Player of the Year

Duke sophomore Aminah Vega led the team with 17 doubles, but she was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday for her work at second base.

Duke second baseman Aminah Vega earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors on Wednesday.

Vega, a sophomore, ended the year with a .982 fielding percentage. She turned nine double plays and, across her 170 chances, only put up three errors for the entire season.

She elevated against ACC opponents, too. The conference’s release announcing the awards credited her with a .990 fielding percentage in ACC play.

Vega also put in work in the batter’s box this season. The sophomore batted .405 with 10 home runs and 48 RBIs this season, all the second-best marks on the team. She led the Blue Devils with 17 doubles, and her 60 hits were tied for the most on the roster.

Vega was one of three Duke players honored during the conference awards. Senior Claire Davidson was named the ACC Player of the Year and senior Jala Wright took home the ACC Pitcher of the Year honors, both winning unanimously.

Duke senior Jala Wright named ACC Pitcher of the Year

Duke senior Jala Wright was named the ACC Pitcher of the Year on Wednesday after she finished with a 16-1 record and an ERA of 1.15.

The ACC revealed its awards for the 2024 softball season on Wednesday, and Duke senior Jala Wright earned Pitcher of the Year honors by a unanimous vote.

“What an honor to have this incredible blessing attached to MY NAME!” Wright wrote about the award on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “I can’t thank GOD enough for my journey…here comes the tears.”

Wright finished the year with a 16-1 record in the circle and an ERA of 1.15. She struck out 147 batters in 121.2 innings, and she only allowed 114 combined walks and hits for a WHIP of 0.94.

The Blue Devils senior went the distance for a complete game six different times, and she didn’t earn a run in 14 of her 26 appearances.

For some fun quick math, Wright’s 121.2 innings pitched meant she was in the circle for more than a third of Duke’s season.

Wright and teammate Cassidy Curd (1.38 ERA, 9-3 record) were also both named First Team All-ACC pitchers, the second such nomination for them both.

The Blue Devils, the regular-season conference champions, took home four of the conference’s five major awards on Wednesday. Senior Claire Davidson was named the ACC Player of the Year, sophomore Aminah Vega was named Defensive Player of the Year, and coach Marissa Young earned the Coach of the Year award.

Duke’s Claire Davidson named ACC Softball Player of the Year

Duke senior Claire Davidson batted .423 and became the first Blue Devil to ever bat in 60 runs in a single season, earning her ACC Player of the Year honors.

The ACC unanimously named Duke senior Claire Davidson its Player of the Year on Wednesday.

Davidson helped lead the Blue Devils to a program-record 44 wins during the regular season. She batted .423, the best mark on the team, and she racked up extra-base hits. Davidson finished with 16 doubles, 17 home runs, and a school-record 61 RBIs to end up with a slugging percentage of 0.923. the highest mark in the Power 5.

Davidson hit another gear down the stretch of the regular season. Over an 11-game stretch from March 28 to April 13, she hit eight home runs and batted in 21 runs.

She tallied at least three hits in five different games, she hit two home runs in the same game against North Carolina on April 7, and she recorded multiple RBIs in 17 of Duke’s 50 games.

The Blue Devils, who won the regular-season conference crown, swept the ACC awards. Senior Jala Wright was named Pitcher of the Year, sophomore second baseman Aminah Vega was named Defensive Player of the Year, and coach Marissa Young earned Coach of the Year honors.

 

Duke softball wins regular-season ACC title

After a 44-6 record and 20 conference wins, the Duke Blue Devils softball team claimed the ACC regular-season title.

The Blue Devils are your 2024 regular-season ACC softball champions.

After a 44-6 regular season that included 20 wins over conference opponents, the Duke softball team officially clinched the ACC crown on Friday night.

Outside of a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Virginia on April 20, the Blue Devils only lost two ACC games all season. They swept Syracuse, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Clemson, and NC State.

Duke won its final five games of the season, culminating in that three-game sweep of the Wolfpack.

Florida State, whom Duke defeated in a series back in March, could have won the conference title with a sweep of Syracuse this weekend. However, the Orange walked off the Seminoles on Friday afternoon to drop them to 18-4 in ACC play, clinching Duke’s triumph.

The Blue Devils now set their sights on a second conference tournament trophy after Duke took the ACC Tournament title in 2021.

Clemson softball ranked in new USA TODAY/NFCA Division I Top 25 coaches poll

Clemson Softball: Here’s where the Clemson Tigers rank in the new USA TODAY Sports/NFCA Division I Top 25 coaches poll, released Tuesday, April 30.

The Clemson softball team fell one spot in the new USA TODAY/NFCA Division I Top 25 coaches poll, released Tuesday, April 30.

The Tigers took two of three from Louisville over the weekend to close out their regular season with a series victory in ACC play.

Coach John Rittman’s team ended the regular season 33-16 overall and 15-9 in conference action. That was enough to place the Tigers at No. 23 in the coaches poll, compiled by the 32 head coaches who make up the rankings.

In other rankings, the Tigers checked in at No. 22 in the ESPN.com/Softball USA Top 25 rankings. They remained unranked in both the Softball America Top 25 poll and D1Softball poll. Clemson is No. 24 in the NCAA’s RPI rankings.

The top five teams remained the same in the coaches poll from last week with Texas (42-6 overall) staying at No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week. Oklahoma (45-4) stayed at No. 2 with Tennessee (37-8) at No. 3, Oklahoma State (42-8) at No. 4, and Duke (39-6) at No. 5.

The Blue Devils were once again the highest ranked ACC team in the coaches poll and one of four league members in this week’s rankings. ACC leader Florida State rose four spots to land at No. 12 after another 4-0 week. Virginia Tech fell three spots to No. 16.

The SEC led the way with 10 teams ranked in the coaches poll.

Next up for Clemson is the ACC Tournament, scheduled to begin May 9 in Durham. Official seeding for the tournament will be finalized after the weekend.