Tag: Amiah Burgess

Duke’s Amiah Burgess named ACC Softball Co-Player of the Week

Duke freshman Amiah Burgess was named the ACC Softball Co-Player of the Week for the final week of the college softball regular season.

Duke outfielder Amiah Burgess was named one of the ACC Softball Co-Players of the Week for the final week of the college softball regular season.

Burgess ended her season with momentum after she racked up nine hits in 13 at-bats. She crushed two home runs and drove home seven runs across four games.

The freshman’s performance helped Duke notch non-conference wins against Longwood and Gardner-Webb before the Blue Devils swept NC State over the weekend.

Burgess finished her freshman regular season with a .372 batting average and a .476 on-base percentage. She hit four home runs and racked up 27 RBIs in 45 appearances, and her five doubles were tied for the fourth-most on the team.

The team finished the season 44-6, a new program record for wins in the season.

Burgess shared the honor with Virginia’s Shelby Barbee, while Syracuse pitcher Lindsey Hendrix was honored in the circle.

Blue Devils only need five innings to beat Villanova in Duke Invitational opener

The Blue Devils needed just five innings for a weekend-opening victory over Villanova powered by a shutout performance from Jala Wright in the circle.

Duke softball had a long break this past week, getting five full days off after Sunday’s game against FIU was called due to weather.

The extended rest didn’t slow down the surging Blue Devils, however, as Duke dismantled Villanova for an 8-0 victory in just five innings on Friday night to open the Duke Invitational

The Blue Devils welcomed a handful of teams to Durham for the weekend, taking on the Wildcats on Friday night to kick their games off.

Star pitcher Jala Wright, who was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week after opening weekend, continued her remarkable start to the season. She went all five innings in the circle, allowing just four hits and striking out five batters.

Wright sent 11 of Villanova’s first 13 batters straight back to the dugout, a spell only briefly interrupted by a one-out single in the first and a two-out single in the third. She produced a 1-2-3 inning on just 10 pitches in the second.

The only spot somewhat close to trouble the entire night came in the top of the fourth when the Wildcats laced back-to-back singles with two outs. Wright struck the next batter out on three pitches to halt the charge.

Villanova never produced another baserunner.

Through 22.2 innings pitched so far this season, Wright has allowed two runs. She’s given up 10 hits and a single walk, and she has retired 24 batters via strikeout. Friday was her third complete game of the young season, and her ERA is an eye-popping 0.62 through five appearances.

On the offensive end, it took Duke a second to get warmed up. The Blue Devils’ first four batters all struck out, and they didn’t get anyone on base until the third inning. Leadoff hitter D’Auna Jennings singled home Amiah Burgess, who led off with a walk, to finally open the scoring.

The game broke open during Duke’s seven-run fourth inning. Kelly Torres smacked a double, her 100th career hit as a Blue Devil, to put two runners on base. A walk loaded the bases before Burgess brought them all home with a double to the outfield.

Kelsey Zampa brought Burgess home with a bunt, and after a walk and a fielder’s choice, Duke slugger Ana Gold stepped into the batter’s box with runners on first and second.

She did exactly what she’s done her entire career in Durham, blasting one over the left-center wall for a three-run shot to cement the 8-0 advantage.

The home run was Gold’s fourth of the season, the most on the team, and she also leads the Blue Devils with 17 RBIs thus far.

The Blue Devils return with a doubleheader on Saturday, first taking on Boston University at 5 p.m. before a 7:30 p.m. game against Michigan State.

Seventh-inning rally helps Duke softball win first game of Friday doubleheader

Duke needed all seven innings against Rutgers in the first game of a Friday double-header, but three late runs and some hometown heroics from senior Kelly Torres handed the team its fifth straight win.

Duke softball needed every inning on Friday against Rutgers, but the Blue Devils managed to power past the Scarlet Knights for a 4-1 victory after a seventh-inning surge.

Star pitcher Jala Wright, who started the season by winning ACC Pitcher of the Week for her opening weekend, shined again in the circle. She went the distance, pitching all seven innings and allowing three hits and a single run.

After a 1-2-3 opening inning, Rutgers catcher Katie Wingert took Wright deep to open the second inning for the game’s first run. Instead of letting the blast rattle her, the Blue Devils pitcher responded by taking down the Scarlet Knights’ next three batters to limit the damage to a single run.

In fact, Wingert’s home run was the only time a Rutgers batter reached first base in the first three innings. Wright allowed a walk with two outs in the bottom of the fourth before striking out outfielder Jillian Anderson to end the inning. The Scarlet Knights never gained any momentum, and Rutgers didn’t record multiple base runners in any of the seven innings.

Wright struck out six batters on Friday afternoon, bringing her season total to 19 through just 17.2 innings pitched. The run she surrendered in the second inning was just her second of the young season, and her ERA still sits at just 0.79 after the outing.

As impressive as Wright was on the mound, however, it took Duke some time to gain momentum in the batter’s box. Less than 48 hours after a record-setting 18-run performance against North Dakota State powered by three grand slams, the Blue Devils didn’t put a run on the board for the first four innings.

Finally, Duke broke through in the fifth inning. Senior catcher Kelly Torres, playing in front of her home Fort Lauderdale crowd in Florida, smashed a home run to lead off the inning and tie the game.

The Blue Devils couldn’t capitalize farther in the fifth or sixth innings, however, and the game remained tied as the final inning began. At the buzzer, however, Torres came through again. With two runners on, the hometown hero brought home the go-ahead run with a sacrifice bunt.

One batter later, for a little extra insurance, freshman Amiah Burgess doubled into left-center field to bring home Torres and Sarah Goddard, stretching the Duke lead to three runs.

The three runs were more than enough of a buffer for Wright, who only needed three batters to force the game’s final three outs and cement Duke’s fifth straight victory.

The victory moves the Blue Devils, a consensus top-10 team in the country, to 5-1 on the young season as Duke hasn’t lost since the season opener against No. 1 Oklahoma.

Duke will take on host Florida International University later on Friday for its second game of the day.