Tag: D’Auna Jennings

Watch Duke softball celebrate its first trip to the Women’s College World Series in school history

Watch Duke softball celebrate its first-ever trip to the Women’s College World Series after Sunday’s win over Missouri.

It took nine innings on Sunday, but Duke softball is headed to the Women’s College World Series for the first time in school history after defeating Missouri in the Columbia Super Regional.

After reaching the Super Regionals in each of the last two years and failing to win a game both teams, the Blue Devils finally won a game when they took the series opener over the Tigers. However, a Saturday loss forced a winner-take-all finale on Sunday that remained scoreless through eight innings before a solo home run from Duke centerfielder D’Auna Jennings finally broke the lid off the game.

Duke scored four runs in that inning, and despite a three-run homer from Mizzou for an additional scare, fans could watch the weight get lifted in real time when Jennings caught the game’s final out and the team rushed to celebrate with each other.

Watch Duke celebrate the monumental achievement below.

The Blue Devils will be one of the eight teams remaining when the final segment of the college bracket kicks off.

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.

Duke softball beats South Carolina by mercy rule to advance to Durham Regional Final

The Blue Devils, led by the first career home run from leadoff star D’Auna Jennings, needed only six innings to dispatch the Gamecocks on Saturday.

For the fourth straight year, the Duke softball team advanced to the Regional Final after an 8-0 Saturday win over South Carolina.

After two-and-a-half scoreless innings to start the game, sophomore centerfielder D’Auna Jennings hit her first collegiate home run in the bottom of the third to put the Blue Devils on the board. She threw her arms into the air as she rounded the bases, embracing teammate Claire Davidson once she returned to the plate.

One inning later, first baseman Gisele Tapia smacked a single up the middle to drive home two more runs. However, it was the sixth (and final) inning that really drove home the final margin.

With the Blue Devils only leading by three, Jada Baker started the run with a one-out double. With the bases loaded and two outs a few at-bats later, Davidson did her thing. She pushed a single through to left-center for a two-run single, pushing the lead out to five.

After a walk from Aminah Vega loaded the bases once again, the Gamecocks walked two more Blue Devils in a row for back-to-back free runs. One Kelly Torres single later, and Duke met the run-rule requirement with an eight-run advantage.

Jala Wright, the ACC Pitcher of the Year, did her usual work in the circle. In her 19th win of the season, she dealt six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out nine batters. Through two games of regional action thus far, Wright has struck out 12 batters and allowed five baserunners in 11 innings.

The win gives Duke 49 triumphs this season, the single-season program record, and moves the Blue Devils within one win of a third straight Super Regional appearance. Since regionals are double-elimination tournaments, they’ll need to lose twice in a row to whoever advances from the loser’s bracket to not advance.

Duke softball rejoices after sophomore D’Auna Jennings’ first career home run at regionals

Sophomore outfielder D’Auna Jennings, Duke softball’s leadoff specialist, hit her first career home run on Saturday.

Duke softball started its postseason on Friday, but the Blue Devils seem to be having fun.

In the third inning of Saturday’s regional game against South Carolina, sophomore star D’Auna Jennings did something she’s never done before. She launched one over the wall.

Jennings’ solo home run carried over the fence in right-center, and the outfielder threw both hands into the air in celebration. She rounded the bases and wrapped teammate Claire Davidson in a hug when she reached home plate. She raced over to her teammates with her arms out as well, the entire roster celebrating the moment alongside her.

Jennings, known for her speed and reliability at the plate, set a program record with a batting average of .462 as a freshman in 2023, and her 147 hits over the last two seasons are 16 more than any other player on the team. However, for a brief lash at Duke Softball Stadium on Saturday, she was a slugger.

The solo shot gave Duke a 1-0 lead after three innings in the champion’s side of the Durham Regional bracket.

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.

Duke softball ends opening tournament with third straight win

The Blue Devils overcame a season-opening loss to Oklahoma comfortably, as a low-scoring 2-0 win over Long Beach State on Saturday meant they left the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge with a 3-1 record.

Duke softball won its third game in two days on Saturday night with a 2-0 victory over Long Beach State in a game that featured just six combined hits.

The Blue Devils swept Iowa State and Nebraska in a doubleheader on Friday behind the power of their bats, but it was the Duke pitching that won them the game against LBSU.

Duke jumped out to an early lead in the opening inning when senior Claire Davidson singled in D’Auna Jennings, a likely result for both offensive stars this weekend. The run was the seventh batted in by Davidson already in the young season, the most on the team over the weekend, and the senior ended the week with a .417 batting average.

Jennings batted .267 for the weekend but absolutely took advantage when she reached base. She ended the weekend with five runs scored, tied for the most on the team.

The lone run ended up being all of the early offense for both teams. Dani Drogemuller got the start in the circle for the Blue Devils and allowed just three baserunners in three innings. (two walks and one hit).

Sophomore Cassidy Curd took over for Drogemuller in the fourth and continued to hold Long Beach State scoreless. Curd needed to work hard to keep that team shutout intact, however, as she delivered a clutch strikeout to end the fourth inning with three runners on base.

Duke found a second run in the top of the fifth courtesy of a sacrifice bunt by Ana Gold, and the Blue Devils defense again came up huge in the fifth inning. With Jala Wright now in the circle and a runner on first base, the Duke infield turned a weak ground ball to second into a double play to end the inning.

The four stranded runners between those two frames turned out to be LBSU’s best chance at pulling even for the evening, and the two quiet innings that followed helped Duke coast to a 2-0 victory.

Drogemuller, Curd, and Wright combined to allow just one hit and six walks against seven strikeouts for the evening. Wright in particular shined during the entire opening tournament, pitching for 10.2 innings and allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out 13 batters.

The Blue Devils take the field again at Duke Softball Stadium on Wednesday for a home game against North Dakota State with sights set on a fourth straight win.