Tag: Duke Blue Devils Softball

Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 9-1 WCWS win over Duke

Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 9-1 win over the Duke Blue Devils in the Women’s College World Series.

If you’re a fan of one of the seven teams not named the Oklahoma Sooners, there was a time you felt pretty good about your team’s chances to win it all in 2024. Well, that time may have passed after Oklahoma’s 9-1 run-rule win over the Duke Blue Devils to open the Women’s College World Series.

In Duke, the Sooners faced the team with the best ERA and opponents’ batting average of the eight team field. And Oklahoma had 11 hits, three walks, and nine runs in the win.

The Sooners earned four extra-base hits, led by a trio of two-run homers from [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag], and [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag]. Hansen’s homer was the sixth WCWS of her career, moving her into third all-time. As she’s done over and over again, Hansen continues to assert herself as one of the best postseason performers of all-time.

In the win, the Sooners move on to face the UCLA Bruins on Saturday in the winner’s bracket.

Oklahoma Sooners power past Duke 9-1 in Women’s College World Series opener

A trio of two-run homers from Kinzie Hansen, Alynah Torres, and Cydney Sanders paced the Sooners in their 9-1 run-rule win over the Duke Blue Devils to open the Women’s College World Series.

The Duke Blue Devils came into their opening game of the [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag] against the Oklahoma Sooners as the No. 3 team in RPI. And the Oklahoma Sooners made quick work of the ACC Champions, earning a 9-1 run-rule win.

Duke actually struck first with a lead-off home run in the second inning from Francesca Frelick to put the Blue Devils up 1-0. The Sooners threatened in the bottom of the second, but even with runners at the corners and just one out, couldn’t push a run across the plate against starter Cassidy Curd.

But in the third inning, the Sooners got a pair of two-run home runs from [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] to take a 4-1 lead. It was Hansen’s sixth WCWS home run of her career, moving her into third all-time. It was the first Women’s College World Series home run of Torres career.

 

In the bottom of the fourth, the Sooners really pulled away when Cydney Sanders hit a two-run home run to drive in Rylie Boone to go ahead 6-1. Hansen picked up her third RBI of the day when she drove in Maya Bland for a 7-1 lead. The home run was Sanders’ 14th of the season and her first since April 16 against Tulsa.

Oklahoma went down in order in the bottom of the fifth but earned the run-rule win in the sixth with an offensive barrage.

[autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] led off the inning with a double, and Tiare Jennings singled and advanced to second. With runners on second and third with nobody out, [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] and Riley Ludlam popped out, bringing up [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], who put her stamp on the game with a two-run walk-off single to end the game.

[autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] had a solid outing to allow just one run but ran into trouble in the fourth when she walked two batters and hit a batter to load the bases. But [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] came in to end the bases loaded threat and allowed just two hits over her 2.1 innings pitched.

Maxwell went 3.2 innings pitched and allowed one run on one hit but walked four and struck out four to earn the win.

Coleman, Hansen, and Brito each had two hits in the game to lead the way for the Sooners, who had four extra-base hits in the win.

Among the eight teams in the Women’s College World Series field, Duke had the lowest ERA and opponent batting average. The Sooners knocked them around for 11 hits, three walks, and nine runs. It’s the eighth time in their 10-game winning streak that the pitching staff has allowed two runs or fewer and the seventh time Oklahoma has scored six or more runs.

The Sooners now move on to a Saturday matchup with No. 6 seed UCLA.

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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.

Duke softball wraps up regular season on dominant note, finishes 44-6

Duke finished the 2024 regular season with a 44-6 record and 20 ACC wins, their fourth straight seasons with 19 conference victories.

The Duke Blue Devils softball team concluded the regular season Sunday with a 5-3 win against NC State.

The win helped the Blue Devils cap off a 44-6 season with five straight wins and a sweep of the Wolfpack.

Duke finished the 2024 regular season with a 20-4 record against ACC opponents. The Blue Devils’ 44 wins are a new program record, and they have now won 19 or more conference games in four straight years.

Duke finished second in the ACC, just behind Florida State, who went 18-3 in conference play. Despite finishing behind FSU, the Blue Devils did win two of their three games against the ‘Noles earlier in the season.

Senior outfielder Claire Davidson set a school record with 61 RBIs for the season and led the team with 17 home runs. She produced a .423 batting average and a .522 on-base percentage for the season.

Sophomore second baseman Aminah Vega was the other Blue Devil to reach a double-digit home run total after she knocked 10 over the wall. She also finished with a .405 batting average and 48 RBIs, second only to Davidson in both categories, and she led the team with 17 doubles.

The Blue Devils boasted a balanced offense with six different players batting in at least 30 runs.

Duke’s pitching staff wrapped up a dominant regular season that helped the Blue Devils hold a top-five ranking for much of the regular season.

Pitcher Jala Wright recorded a team-best 1.15 earned run average, the sixth-lowest in the country, in 26 appearances. She started 20 of those games, finished with a 16-1 record, and went the distance for six complete games.

She racked up 147 strikeouts across 121.2 innings pitched, allowing just 0.94 combined walks and hits per inning. Duke’s opponents batted .173 against the senior.

Cassidy Curd, who started 18 of her 24 appearances, also impressed with a 1.38 ERA. She struck out 127 batters in 86.1 innings pitched, and her average of 10.3 strikeouts per seven innings was the fifth-highest in the nation.

Both Curd and Wright were named ACC Pitcher of the Week multiple times.

Duke went 9-2 against top 25 opponents, including two sweeps against Clemson and Virginia Tech. The Blue Devil’s two losses came against FSU and Oklahoma.

Duke will host the ACC Softball Championship, starting on Wednesday and continuing through Saturday.

Jala Wright is the best Duke athlete you aren’t talking about, and she might be the best one on campus

If you aren’t paying attention to the senior pitcher with 38 strikeouts and two earned runs through 27.2 innings so far this season, do yourself a favor and tune in.

Duke athletics has been dominated by basketball for as long as anyone can remember.

After all, the Blue Devils men’s basketball team has cut down the nets five teams since 1991. There aren’t many programs with more historical relevance than Duke or figures with more historical relevance than former coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Even this year, Duke is a top-10 team in the country with preseason All-American Kyle Filipowski and five-star freshman Jared McCain, both of whom are living up to the hype.

They still aren’t the best athletes in Durham so far this spring. That would be senior softball pitcher Jala Wright.

Wright has made four starts for the Blue Devils so far this season. She finished the complete game all four times. Across her 27.2 innings pitched, she’s let up 11 hits, three walks, and two earned runs, both of which came on solo home runs.

In that same time frame, she’s struck out 38 batters. Again, compared to just 14 total baserunners.ย That’s an average of almost 1.4 per inning, meaning that if Wright pitched a complete seven-inning game at her current pace, she’d strike out 9.7 batters before the end of the game.

She tossed out her magnum opus against Michigan State this weekend, retiring 14 of the 18 batters she faced via strikeout. She struck out eight straight batters from the first inning through the end of the third, and then she struck out the last six she faced in a row. 14 out of the Spartans’ last 15 at-bats ended with a third strike.

Wright began her season with a scoreless inning against Oklahoma, the three-time defending national champions and consensus No. 1 team in the country. She pitched a complete game against Nebraska the next day, giving up one run and striking out eight in seven innings.

She went the distance again against Rutgers, again allowing just one run across seven innings before she tossed back-to-back shutouts this weekend. First, she blanked Villanova for five innings in a mercy-rule victory before she suffocated the Spartans offense on Saturday.

Wright’s ERA currently sits at an eye-popping 0.51 through six appearances, and the two solo home runs she’s given up are the only extra-base hits she’s allowed so far this season. Two extra-base hits in 27.2 innings.

The entire Duke softball team deserves your attention as it makes a run toward the Women’s College World Series. The Blue Devils have won 11 straight games with two more on Sunday, and they’re a consensus top-10 team in the country.

If you’re looking to get on a bandwagon early, however, start keeping an eye on when Wright gets to start the game in the circle. There’s a lot of softball left to play, but you might just [anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]see something unprecedented.

Sooners Still On Top: Updated look at the top 25 softball power rankings after Week 2

Updated look at college softball power rankings after week 2.

Week 2 of the softball season is in the books. And while the action in Clearwater, Florida, getting halted due to weather left much to be desired, it was another fantastic week on the diamond.

There were a number of impressive performances across the country and we’re beginning to see the top teams separate themselves.

Oklahoma may be in a tier of its own because of what it has done over the last three-plus years, but teams such as Texas and Georgia have been impressive as well.

On the flip side, powerhouse programs UCLA and Florida State have had slow starts.

The SEC is beginning to establish itself as the premiere softball conference. Mississippi State and Kentucky have picked up big nonconference wins this season. In D1Softball’s latest top 25, 11 SEC programs are represented. That’s not even including Oklahoma and Texas who will officially be joining the SEC in July.

The Red River Rivals have been on a tear to start the season and look to be on a collision course for the Big 12 title in their final years.

Here’s a look at the latest D1Softball top 25 and where those teams rank in the Softball America power rankings.

Updated to include USA TODAY Sports NFCA Coaches Poll and USA Softball/ESPN Poll.

More: 3 Stars from the Sooners 5-0 weekend in Lake Charles

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.

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.

Sooners Kelly Maxwell named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week

Oklahoma Sooners pitcher Kelly Maxwell wins Big 12 Pitcher of the Week.

It was a fantastic start to her Oklahoma career for senior Kelly Maxwell. She threw five scoreless innings to beat the Duke Blue Devils and followed that up with another 2.2 scoreless innings to get the win over Washington.

That’s 7.2 innings without allowing a run. In her first two outings, she allowed just one hit, two walks, and a hit by pitch while recording four strikeouts.

For her efforts, Maxwell was awarded Big 12 Pitcher of the Week. It was the seventh time in her career that Maxwell has won a weekly award.

More: Social media reacts to the Sooners extra-inning win over Washington

The Sooners are off to a 4-0 start to the season and Maxwell is a big reason why. She’ll be counted upon in big spots all season like she was late in the win against Washington.

Her big-game experience will be huge for the Sooners as they attempt to make history in pursuit of a fourth-straight national championship. Kelly Maxwell provided a glimpse of what she’s capable of in week one for the Oklahoma Sooners.

More: 3 Stars from the Sooners 4-0 week in Puerto Vallarta

Contact/Follow usย @SoonersWireย on Twitter, and like our page onย Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

Sooners No. 1: Updated look at D1Softball’s top 10 after opening week of action

Oklahoma Sooners still No. 1 in the latest softball rankings. What do the rest of the rankings look like?

The opening week of softball action has come and gone. It was a great opening week of tournaments across the country. There were several surprises but a number of the top teams showed that they were indeed contenders to start the season.

Of the surprises, perhaps none was bigger than UCLA struggling with Maryland and San Diego while losing big to Texas and Oklahoma State in Southern California. The Bruins were bounced from the Los Angeles regional last May. Are they heading in the wrong direction as a program, or is this just an early-season funk.

Florida State dropped their opener to Charlotte, but responded well over their final four games of the week.

It’s just week one, but teams like Texas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma State made statements about their status as contenders in 2024.

The Oklahoma Sooners remained the No. 1 team in the nation in both D1Softball and Softball America’s latest top 25 rankings released on Monday.

Here’s a look at the top 10 teams in D1Softball’s top 25 and where they ranked according to Softball America.