Tag: Ana Gold

The best photos from Duke softball’s Women’s College World Series games

The Blue Devils only got to play two games in Oklahoma City, but they made plenty of memories. Check out some of the team’s best WCWS photos here.

Duke softball’s first trip to the Women’s College World Series only lasted two games, but the Blue Devils still broke down program barriers all year in 2024.

The Blue Devils won 52 games this season, including their first two Super Regional victories in school history, to reach the final bracket. However, a brutal draw against an Oklahoma Sooners team with seven losses over the past two seasons led to a rough opening outing.

The Blue Devils took the field again one day later, this time needing to fend off the Alabama Crimson Tide in order to avoid elimination. Star sophomore Cassidy Curd held them to one run through the first five innings and Ana Gold mashed Duke’s second home run of the tournament, but a solo shot from Alabama catcher Marlie Giles in the sixth inning proved to be too much to overcome.

Check out the best photos from Duke’s first trip to the sport’s biggest stage below.

Duke softball eliminated from Women’s College World Series in close Alabama loss

The Blue Devils held Alabama to two runs in a Women’s College World Series elimination game, but Duke could only muster one run in the loss.

After the best season in program history, the 2024 Duke softball season came to an end in Oklahoma City on Friday night.

After an opening loss to Oklahoma, the three-time defending national champions, the Blue Devils needed to beat Alabama in an elimination game in order to advance in the double-elimination bracket.

Duke couldn’t have turned to a more reliable pitcher in the circle. Cassidy Curd got the start, her fifth appearance in Duke’s last five games. After a stellar weekend at the Columbia Super Regional to help the Blue Devils advance, she held the Sooners scoreless for the first two innings of Thursday’s opening game before a hit chased her from the circle to start the third.

Curd kept her exceptional form going on Friday. The Crimson Tide got on her early for a run, a double from catcher Marlie Giles to bring a teammate around, but the Blue Devils sophomore held Alabama in each of the next four innings to give her offense every chance.

Ana Gold, the program’s all-time home run leader, took advantage of one of those chances in the second inning with a game-tying solo shot. Her piercing line drive rattled off the scaffolding over center field, loudly announcing Duke’s rally.

Or so the offense thought.

The Duke couldn’t get off the ground for the rest of the game. The Blue Devils picked up just two baserunners for the rest of the game, one walk in the third inning and a single in the fourth. Otherwise, Alabama’s pitching duo of Jocelyn Briski and Kayla Beaver kept the Blue Devils guessing.

Even an exciting home-run robbery from freshman outfielder Amiah Burgess couldn’t give Duke a jumpstart.

Curd kept dealing and dealing, willing Duke to remain tied, but she could only play with fire for so long. Giles struck again in the top of the sixth, a solo home run of her own to push the Crimson Tide ahead.

Duke entered the bottom of the seventh down one run after managing just five hits in the first six frames. Beaver never gave the Blue Devils a chance, never throwing a single ball.

Gold made great contact on a line drive up the first-base line, but a leaping catch from Lauren Esman halted the rally before it could start with the first out. A groundout and a strikeout later, and the season ended.

Duke finished the season with a 52-9 record, the most wins in a single season in school history.

Duke softball’s Ana Gold hits 36th career home run, breaks program record

Ana Gold made Duke softball history on Tuesday night with her 36th career home run, the most by any Blue Devil.

Duke softball star Ana Gold made some program history on Tuesday night.

During a road game against East Carolina, with two runners on in the top of the fourth, the junior launched a ball over the left field wall to give Duke a 7-0 lead.

The three-run shot was Gold’s 36th career home run, the most by any player to wear a Blue Devils uniform. She hit 19 home runs as a sophomore last season, the most in a single year by any Duke player.

Tuesday’s home run, Gold’s seventh of the season, also broke a mini-slump for the Duke star. After six home runs in the first 13 games of the season, she hadn’t sent one over the wall since February 25 against Villanova.

The Blue Devils are a consensus top-three team in the country through 36 games this year. Duke came in No. 3 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports/NFCA Coaches Poll and reached a top spot for the first time in program history when Softball America moved the team to No. 1 on Monday.

Duke softball within top five in three major polls

After a series victory over Louisville and a 26-3 start to the season, few teams are higher than the Blue Devils in national rankings.

Few programs are in a better state right now than Duke softball.

Duke is within the top five in three national polls this week, with Softball America ranking the Blue Devils as the fourth-best team in the country.

The team is fifth in the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA Coaches Poll and the USA Softball rankings, and D1Softball slotted the Blue Devils in at sixth.

The Blue Devils dispatched Louisville in a three-game road series over the weekend, losing Saturday’s game in eight innings but taking the Friday and Sunday contests.

The wins moved Duke to 26-3 on the season with a 7-2 record in conference play, and national polls are confident the Blue Devils will make national noise come the postseason.

The Blue Devils, the consensus best team in the ACC, resume their season with a three-game series against Virginia Tech, the last team without a loss in conference play. The series starts on Thursday.

Duke softball sweeps Sunday doubleheader to finish off unbeaten weekend at home

The Blue Devils extended their win streak to 13 games after beating Villanova and Elon by 20 combined runs to finish the Duke Invitational unbeaten.

The Blue Devils finished the Duke Invitational with back-to-back wins on Sunday, first defeating Villanova 11-5 earlier in the afternoon before shutting out Elon for a 14-0 run.

The Wildcats, whom Duke beat on Friday to begin the weekend in Durham, actually got off to a decent start offensively. Each of Villanova’s first three batters reached base safely, including an RBI double from catcher Ally Jones to open the scoring.

With two outs in the second, Villanova chased Duke starter Sophie Garner-Mackinnon from the mound with a two-out homer from leadoff hitter Tess Cities.

Despite the three runs in the first two innings, though, the Wildcats still weren’t leading. The Blue Devils put up four runs in the bottom of the first, including a two-run shot of their own from junior Ana Gold.

The bomb was Gold’s sixth of the year and her third of the weekend, and she has a team-leading 22 RBIs through the Blue Devils’ first 14 games.

Senior Claire Davidson scored the third run almost single-handedly, singling and stealing second before racing all the way home after a fielding error.

The third inning and the top of the fourth passed without any runs, with Duke reliever Lillie Walker holding the line to keep the Blue Devils’ lead intact. No team has been able to hold the Duke offense down very long, however, and it scored multiple runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to cement the final margins. Davidson and Aminah Vega added the final two runs with solo home runs at the buzzer, the final two hits of the game.

If you track the trend of “Duke scored seven runs in the final three innings of its first game,” the Blue Devils’ offensive performance against Elon won’t shock you in the slightest. Duke scored 14 runs in the first three innings against the Phoenix powered by a seven-run explosion in the first.

Three of the first four Blue Devils at the plate reached base after a single and two walks before Kelly Torres drew another walk for the game’s first run. Gisele Tapia and Francesca Frelick immediately followed that with back-to-back base hits, each bringing home two runs.

Frelick’s two-RBI single capped off one of the best weekends you’ll ever see on the diamond. Frelick entered the home tournament with one hit, a solo home run against Army, in her first 12 at-bats of the season. Over her four games in Durham this weekend, she went 6/9 at the plate with another home run and nine RBIs.

The real star of the Elon blowout win was shortstop Jada Baker, who ended every at-bat with a run on the board. First, she batted Frelick home in the first with a single into left field. In the next inning, she had runners on first and second and again laced a base hit into the outfield to bring home another run.

With two runners in scoring position in the third inning, Baker roped one up the middle to bring both Blue Devils around to score and end her three-hit, four-RBI day.

Those two runs were Duke’s last of a productive afternoon, and pitcher Dani Drogemuller never let the Phoenix off the mat offensively. The graduate student surrendered just four hits in her five-inning performance, striking out six batters in the shutout.

After a five-game weekend, Duke gets a full workweek off. They’ll take the diamond again on Friday against Syracuse, the start of a three-game weekend series.

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.

Blue Devils softball remains a top-five team in the eyes of Softball America

After eight straight wins including multiple mercy-rule margins, the Blue Devils held on to the No. 5 spot in the Softball America rankings.

Duke softball remained a top-five team in the latest Softball America rankings released on Monday.

The Blue Devils have won eight straight games to reinforce the site’s preseason faith in them, now sitting at 8-1 on the year with four games decided by mercy rule in less than seven innings.

Oklahoma, who has won the past three national titles, remained No. 1 as the Sooners sit on every national ranking. Texas, Georgia, and Washington also came in above Duke in the rankings.

The rest of the Softball America top 10 includes LSU, Tennessee, Missouri, Clemson, and Stanford.

Duke played four games in the FIU Invitational over the weekend and swept them by a combined score of 26-1. The Blue Devils surrendered one run to Rutgers in the first game of the weekend before tossing three straight shutouts against FIU and Army.

Jala Wright, who was named ACC Pitcher of the Week after opening weekend, currently sports a 0.79 ERA through four appearances this season. She finished off a complete game one-hitter against Nebraska, and she has given up six hits against 19 strikeouts so far this season.

On the offensive side, junior Ana Gold leads the team with three home runs and 14 RBIs, the latter total matched by senior Claire Davidson and sophomore Aminah Vega.

Duke takes the field again in a home tournament this weekend, the Duke Invitational, beginning with a Friday game against Villanova.

Duke softball remains seventh in D1Softball rankings amid eight-game win streak

Despite eight straight wins in dominant fashion, the Blue Devils remained seventh in the D1Softball rankings released on Monday.

D1 Softball released its updated top 25 on Monday and Duke stayed put at seventh despite some scorching recent form.

The Blue Devils lost a defensive battle with consensus No. 1 Oklahoma in the season opener, but they have ripped off eight straight wins since. They scored 16 runs in five innings against Iowa State, 18 runs in five innings against North Dakota State, and allowed one run across four games over this past weekend in Miami.

Senior Claire Davidson, junior Ana Gold, and sophomore Aminah Vega share the team lead with 14 RBIs, powered by Gold’s team-leading three home runs.

Pitchers Sophie Garner-MacKinnon and Lillie Walker haven’t allowed an earned run in 16 combined innings, and Jala Wright has surrendered two in her 17.2 innings in the circle.

The Sooners still lead the D1Softball rankings with rival Texas close behind in second. Georgia, Washington, and Tennessee also made the top five, with LSU, the Blue Devils, Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Clemson rounding out the top 10.

Duke gets a chance at nine straight wins on Friday against Villanova, the start of the weekend’s Duke Invitational.

Duke softball completes doubleheader sweep against Army

Sophomore Aminah Vega went three-for-four at the plate and batted in three runs during Duke’s second win of the day on Saturday.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Duke softball beat Army by a score of 8-0 on Saturday.

The second game of the doubleheader against the Black Knights ended the exact same way as the first one, with the Blue Devils cruising to an eight-run victory.

Junior Ana Gold got the game started with a solo home run in Duke’s second at-bat, her team-leading third of the season and the 32nd home run of her Blue Devils career.

Senior Kelly Torres doubled home another run in the first, but it was sophomore Aminah Vega who truly stole the show at the plate. After a groundout in the first inning, Vega notched her first RBI of the day with a single in the bottom of the third.

The second baseman kept the momentum rolling with another RBI in the following inning, this time a double that brought Claire Davidson around to score. Vega capped off the stellar game with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, a walk-off shot that gave the Blue Devils the eighth run they needed to invoke the mercy rule.

Vega’s three-RBI day tied her with Gold and Davidson for the team lead with 14 on the season, and the sophomore is also third on the team in batting average (.433) through the first nine games of the season.

Davidson got some impressive work in herself at the plate against the Black Knights, bringing two teammates home to score with a fourth-inning double that highlighted a two-for-two day at the plate (she was hit by a pitch in her second at-bat).

In the circle, Dani Drogemuller got all six innings of work for the Blue Devils, and with her form on Saturday, there was never any need to consider another option.

Drogemuller retired the first four batters she faced on Saturday, allowing a one-out double in the second inning, and then retired five of the next six batters she faced (one Black Knight reached on an error in the third).

A leadoff single for Army proved to be its last hit of the day as Drogemuller picked through the last three innings with ease. The Illinois native finished the six-inning game with two hits, a walk, and three strikeouts, and the Black Knights never came close to scoring a run.

After allowing three runs in 2.1 innings against Iowa State during the opening weekend, Drogemuller has been on an absolute heater. She’s pitched 11 innings across her last three outings, and she’s surrendered a combined four hits and three walks without a single run over that time frame.

With Vega’s solo shot in the sixth cementing victory, the Blue Devils improved to 8-1 on the young season. Duke plays its fifth and final game of the weekend on Sunday against FIU, whom the Blue Devils beat 6-0 on Friday.

Duke softball breezes past FIU for sixth straight win

In the second game of a Friday doubleheader, Duke scored six runs and held the Golden Panthers scoreless to extend their win streak.

The Duke softball team improved to 6-1 on its young season on Friday night with its second win of the day, a 6-0 win over Florida International.

After a ho-hum offensive display through the first six innings against Rutgers during the Blue Devils’ first game of the day, Duke’s bats took no time coming alive against the Golden Panthers.

Star leadoff hitter D’Auna Jennings singled in the opening at-bat. Ana Gold, who became the first Blue Devil to hit two grand slams in the same game on Wednesday against North Dakota State, tacked another RBI onto her season total with a double to plate Jennings before the first out.

Sophomore Aminah Vega doubled later in the inning to bring home Gold and give Duke its second run of the opening inning. Vega plated a second RBI in the fourth inning, a sacrifice fly, to increase her season total to 11, second on the team only to Gold’s 13.

The second inning went just as well, with shortstop Jada Baker lacing a double into left field to bring home Amiah Burgess. Jennings added to her excellent start with another single immediately after, and Baker scored after a wild throw on the ensuing defensive play.

After not tallying a hit in any of her four at-bats against Rutgers, Jennings finished the evening game with three hits in three plate appearances, scoring twice. It was her second perfect performance in Duke’s past three games as the sophomore went 2-2 during the NDSU victory.

The Blue Devils surged out to a 4-0 lead through two innings, and that proved to be more than enough run support for Cassidy Curd and Lillie Walker in the circle.

Curd delivered for the first three innings, allowing two hits but no runs while striking out five batters. Walker took over at the start of the fourth and made it the rest of the way home, also allowing two hits and striking out six batters herself in the tandem shutout.

The Golden Panthers never had more than four at-bats in any inning as the two Duke pitchers refused to let them gain any steam.

The Blue Devils tacked on two more insurance runs in the sixth inning, first an RBI single from senior Claire Davidson before Vega’s sacrifice fly.

Duke didn’t score in the final three innings, but with Curd and Walker’s efforts on the mound, it didn’t need to. The 6-0 margin held for the rest of the game to give the Blue Devils their sixth straight win.

The Duke softball team puts its lengthening win streak on the line again on Saturday morning against Army.