Tag: Cassidy Curd

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.

The best photos from Duke softball’s first days at the Women’s College World Series

Check out the best photos from Duke softball’s practices, media sessions, and first game at the Women’s College World Series.

The Duke softball team didn’t get the result it wanted against Oklahoma on Thursday afternoon, but the Blue Devils can now say they played a game at the Women’s College World Series.

The first few days in Oklahoma City surely passed in a whirlwind for Duke’s stars. The eight teams left in the national championship hunt balance increased coverage, media attention, and the distractions of the national championship hunt.

Duke scored the first run of Thursday’s game against the Oklahoma Sooners, but the three-time national champions roared back with three home runs. A walk-off two-run single in the bottom of the sixth created a run-rule win for the Sooners.

The Blue Devils will play Alabama on Friday night in an elimination game.

Ahead of the deciding game, take a look at some of the best photos from Duke’s first few days in Oklahoma City, from practice sessions to Thursday’s game.

Duke softball pitcher Cassidy Curd had a program-changing weekend in Columbia

Duke sophomore Cassidy Curd didn’t allow a run over her first 17 innings in the circle this weekend, a performance that may have changed Duke’s trajectory.

Duke softball pitcher Cassidy Curd had the type of weekend that changes a program in Columbia over the last three days.

For the first time in school history, the Blue Devils punched their ticket to the Women’s College World Series after a 4-3 extra-inning over Missouri on the road.

Curd, a sophomore, recorded all but two of Duke’s outs for the day. She tossed eight scoreless innings to start the game, allowing only three hits and striking out seven batters in one of the year’s most intense pitching duels. Mizzou starter Laurin Krings left Curd with zero margin for error, blanking Duke for eight innings.

With Duke on the road, Curd twice faced a do-or-die inning. If Missouri scored in either the seventh or the eighth innings, that’s it. Game over. Season over.

Instead, Curd didn’t blink. She retired six out of seven batters in that stretch, striking out the final Tigers batter of the seventh inning to force extras.

It wasn’t until the offense gave Curd room to breathe that she finally slowed down. Starting the ninth inning with a 4-0 lead and a pitch count nearing triple-digits, she coughed up two singles before surrendering the mound to reliever Lillie Walker. When the Tigers mashed a three-run homer, however, Curd retired to record the final out.

Curd didn’t just save the Sunday game. During the opening game on Friday, she took over for ACC Pitcher of the Year Jala Wright in the bottom of the second inning with the game tied at three runs apiece and two runners on board.

The second-year slinger forced a simple pop-out to end the frame and didn’t allow a hit over the rest of the game. She walked one batter, hit another with a pitch, and a third reached on an error. That was it. Across five innings. She struck out eight of the 17 batters who approached the plate.

The Duke offense finally gained some insurance in the fifth and seventh innings, winning 6-3, but the Blue Devils were on their back foot early. Curd didn’t give Missouri another inch.

Across three appearances for the weekend, Curd finished with two earned runs, seven hits allowed, and 16 strikeouts in 17.1 innings.

The Columbia Super Regional itself was only 23 innings long, and Missouri scored five of its seven runs in the 5.2 that Curd didn’t pitch.

Don’t be mistaken, Duke advanced to the Women’s College World Series for many reasons and because of many other players. Sophomore centerfielder D’Auna Jennings hit her second career home run to give the Blue Devils the lead on Sunday. Wright and ACC Player of the Year Claire Davidson took turns wearing the cape during the season, and Duke won by a walk-off twice in the conference tournament. There are flowers to go around.

This weekend in Columbia represented something new for the program, however. The Blue Devils had bumped their heads on the Super Regional ceiling twice in a row, and while a trip to Oklahoma City seemed like a matter of time, a third straight heartbreak would be brutal. After fans already felt the NCAA selection committee underrated head coach Marissa Young’s team as the 10th seed this year, there’s a hypothetical future when the Tigers won and the pressure only mounted to prove Duke belonged in the upper echelon of the sport.

Instead, Duke advanced by the narrowest of margins, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a player more responsible for that breakthrough than Curd.

Duke softball outlasts Missouri and books WCWS ticket in ninth-inning surge

Duke softball booked its first ticket to OKC in school history behind a ninth-inning home run from D’Auna Jennings.

For the first time in program history, Duke softball is headed to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series.

The Blue Devils needed nine innings on Sunday, but they defeated Missouri 4-3 in a winner-take-all Game 3 at the Columbia Super Regional.

From the first inning, Sunday’s game settled in as a classic pitcher’s duel.

On Missouri’s side of the circle, the Tigers’ Laurin Krings completely silenced the Blue Devils’ offense. After two singles from senior Claire Davidson and sophomore Aminah Vega in the first three at-bats of the game, Krings immediately forced two put-outs to end the top of the first quickly and quietly.

The Blue Devils only managed one hit, another single from Davidson in the third inning, over the next five frames. Krings complimented those three hits with three strikeouts, but she mostly just forced Duke into simple put-outs. The Blue Devils made contact on 18 of their first 21 at-bats, but 15 of those ended harmlessly as they couldn’t find holes.

The situation may have been dire if not for the heroics of sophomore Cassidy Curd on Duke’s side of the line. Curd, who recorded her 300th career strikeout earlier in the series, perplexed the Tigers over the entire weekend. She tossed nine scoreless innings between the first two games, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out nine Missouri batters.

The pace seemed impossible to keep up, and yet Curd did exactly that on Sunday. Krings gave up three hits in the first six innings, but Curd gave up only two. The sophomore struck out three of the first four batters of the game, and only one Tigers baserunner made it to second base thanks to a sacrifice bunt.

The second, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings all only needed three batters, and Curd had five strikeouts to her name through six innings.

The final inning began with both offenses completely quiet. The Duke offense couldn’t break the spell after three more put-outs, again making contact but unable to find gaps.

Missouri fared only slightly better, a single from catcher Julia Crenshaw the only work for them as Curd struck out two more.

Lightning finally struck in the top of the ninth from the most unlikely of places. Duke centerfielder D’Auna Jennings led the inning off and sent one back over the right-field corner of the wall, the second home run of the sophomore’s career.

After some brief confusion about whether or not Jennings touched home plate (she very nearly missed it in her excitement), the Blue Devils finally had a run on the board.

Krings finally exited the game after the hit, but Missouri reliever Taylor Pannell couldn’t limit the damage to just one. She smacked a pitch off of Duke senior Francesca Frelick’s elbow before a triple from freshman Amiah Burgess scored the game’s second run.

The game got out of hand quickly from there. An Ana Gold double off the wall scored Burgess, and the Tigers dropped a short pop fly from Kelly Torres that could have ended the inning to let Gold come around.

After a brief relief spell by Blue Devils reliever Lillie Walker resulted in a three-run home run to Mizzou first baseman Abby Hay, Curd came back into the game for the final outs. The final Tigers out came on a fly ball to (who else?) Jennings in centerfield.

After back-to-back Super Regional heartbreaks, the Blue Devils will be one of the last eight teams competing for the national title once the Women’s College World Series begins on May 30.

Missouri evens Super Regional series, sets stage for winner-take-all Sunday game

The Blue Devils held Missouri’s offense to three runs on Saturday, but two hits as a team meant they couldn’t clinch the series.

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.

Duke softball star Cassidy Curd records 300th career strikeout as a sophomore

Curd pitched 5.1 dazzling innings on Friday during Duke’s Super Regional win, and her first of eight strikeouts gave her a career milestone.

Duke softball pitcher Cassidy Curd’s Friday heroics gave the Blue Devils the opening win in a best-of-three Super Regional series against Missouri, and the sophomore reached a career milestone in the process.

Curd dealt 5.1 innings against the Tigers, giving up no hits and one walk while striking out eight Missouri batters in the process. The afternoon brought her to 307 career strikeouts, the third Blue Devil to ever reach 300.

The sophomore entered Friday’s appearance with 140 strikeouts in 102 innings, and her 9.6 strikeouts per seven innings was the eighth-best mark in the country.

Curd’s 307 strikeouts are the third-most in school history behind teammate and ACC Pitcher of the Year Jala Wright, who has 427, and longtime star Peyton St. George, who tacked on 641 from 2018-22.

With Wright’s senior year coming to a close, however, Curd seems poised to break that program record in the future. At her current pace, she’d need about 256 more innings in the circle to reach St. George’s record. She’s already put together 234.2 in her first two seasons and figures to only become a larger focus of Duke’s defense.

Curd and the Blue Devils have a chance to clinch the first Women’s College World Series appearance in school history this weekend, needing to win on Saturday or Sunday to defeat Missouri for one of the eight spots.

Duke softball wins first Super Regional game in school history to sit one win from WCWS

With Friday’s 6-3 win over the Tigers, the Blue Devils are one win away from their first-ever trip to the Women’s College World Series.

For the first time in Duke softball history, the Blue Devils have won a Super Regional game.

After back-to-back Super Regional sweeps at the hands of UCLA and Stanford, Duke defeated Missouri 6-3 on Friday to take a lead in the best-of-three series.

Missouri struck first with one run in the opening inning, but the Blue Devils surged ahead in the second inning. With two outs and one runner aboard in the top of the second, down to her final strike, senior Francesca Frelick launched a go-ahead home run over the wall to give Duke the lead.

The home run sent a message to the Columbia crowd that, despite being the lower seed in the series, Duke wouldn’t go away quietly. The next two batters kept the run going, too. Freshman Amiah Burgess singled and then raced all the way home when sophomore centerfielder D’Auna Jennings tripled into the right-center gap.

Two runs for the Tigers knotted the game again after two innings, but the Missouri offense halted from there. Sophomore star Cassidy Curd waltzed into the circle with two outs in the bottom of the second, forced an out, and then forced a ton more.

She allowed two Missouri base runners in the third, one thanks to an error and another who was hit by a pitch, before three consecutive one-two-three innings in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.

Curd ended the afternoon with one walk, no hits, and eight strikeouts in her 5.1 innings on the mound, completely silencing the home team and crowd.

The Blue Devils pushed ahead in the fifth inning when sophomore second baseman Aminah Vega one-hopped a double off the wall for a go-ahead run. Gisele Tapia roped in another run later in that same inning, and Duke earned its last insurance run with a steal from D’Auna Jennings after Ana Gold bought her some time in a pickle.

Duke now needs to win one of the next two games in Columbia to book its first-ever appearance in the Women’s College World Series, the final eight-team bracket for the national title. The Blue Devils are 4-0 so far in the NCAA postseason after they swept through the Durham Regional.

Duke softball comes in No. 3 in USA TODAY Sports/NFCA Coaches Poll

The Blue Devils swept North Carolina to extend its winning streak to eight games over the weekend, and Duke now trails just two Big 12 powerhouses in the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA Coaches Poll.

The Duke softball team has a 33-3 record through nine weeks this season, and their eight straight wins have them No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/NFCA Coaches Poll.

The Blue Devils swept Virginia Tech, who previously hadn’t lost a conference game, and North Carolina over the past two weekends. Duke outscored UNC 20-5 over the three-game series, and sophomore pitcher Cassidy Curd was named ACC Pitcher of the Week after she struck out 12 Tar Heels in five shutout innings on Saturday.

The Blue Devils now trail just Oklahoma and Texas in the Coaches Poll. The Sooners, who have won the past three national championships and beat Duke in the season opener, are 35-3, but the 31-6 Longhorns handed them two straight losses over the weekend to take the rivalry series.

Texas’ two wins over Oklahoma actually boosted Duke up to first in the Softball America rankings released on Monday, the first time in school history that the Blue Devils have ever summited a national ranking.

Duke’s Cassidy Curd named ACC Pitcher of the Week after North Carolina sweep

Duke sophomore Cassidy Curd struck out 19 batters across 9.1 innings, including a five-inning shutout of UNC, en route to her second ACC Pitcher of the Week honor of the season.

Duke sophomore Cassidy Curd was named ACC Pitcher of the Week for the second time after 9.1 stellar innings against Charlotte and North Carolina.

Curd started her week with 4.1 scoreless innings against the 49ers on Wednesday, striking out seven batters and only allowing two hits and a walk. She earned the win for her efforts in the 6-1 triumph.

Three days later, in the second game of a weekend sweep of the Tar Heels, Curd struck out 12 UNC batters in just five innings. She surrendered two hits and a walk again, and the Tar Heels got shut out in the 8-0 win.

Curd leads the nation with 11.4 strikeouts per seven innings, and her average of 3.73 hits per seven innings is the seventh-fewest of any pitcher in the country. She has an ERA of 1.39 and a 7-2 record.

Curd was previously named ACC Pitcher of the Week in early March after 12 combined shutout innings against Elon and South Dakota State when she struck out 18 batters and gave up a single hit. Teammate Jala Wright has also been named ACC Pitcher of the Week twice.