Tag: Duke Blue Devils Softball

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. 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

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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.

3 Stars from Oklahoma Sooners 4-0 weekend in Puerto Vallarta

The Oklahoma Sooners finished the weekend 4-0 and here are the 3 Stars from their strong start to the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners 2024 season is off to a strong start. They’re 4-0 with a pair of top 10 wins over Washington and Duke. In the process, they extended their record-breaking winning streak to 57 games.

It wasn’t easy by any stretch, but the Sooners overcame adversity along the way to pull out the victories. They battled in an extra inning showdown that felt like a College World Series matchup and found a way to come out on top.

And while they went 4-0, it’s still early in the season and there are areas where they can continue to grow. The Sooners showed off their depth as veterans and true freshmen made contributions throughout the weekend.

As we continue our look at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, here are this weekend’s three stars and a couple of honorable mentions.

D1Softball’s way-too-early 2024 Women’s College World Series predictions

Taking a way-too-early stab at the 2024 season, D1Softball shared their predictions on which teams make the Women’s College World Series next year.

Coming off a national championship three-peat it should come as no surprise that the Oklahoma Sooners are expected back in the Women’s College World Series in 2024.

Looking ahead to 2024, D1Softball issued its way-too-early predictions (subscription required) for which teams make next year’s WCWS.

Of course, Oklahoma is expected to be in the mix.

Even without Bahl, the Sooners aren’t going away. Oklahoma still brings back a lot of talent from its 2023 roster. Every major contributor returns for the back-to-back-to-back champions aside from Bahl, Alex Storako, Haley Lee and Grace Lyons. Kierston Deal’s role will likely increase and become the second arm alongside Nicole May. Expect the Sooners to also add another big-time pitcher through the portal like they have done in the past few seasons. Jocelyn Erickson or Sophia Nugent can fill the designated player role. Who plays shortstop is a big question, but there are plenty of candidates – and potential transfer additions – that could take over. – Brady Vernon, D1Softball

Nugent entered the portal, but Oklahoma has options on the bench to  replicate Haley Lee and Grace Lyons’ production from 2023.

From their No. 1 scoring lineup, the Sooners return everyone but Grace Lyons in the batting order. Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings lead the way for a squad hoping to do what no team has done: Win four in a row.

But they’ll have to do so without staff ace Jordy Bahl, who entered the transfer portal on Monday after two years with the Sooners.

Still, Oklahoma has Nicole May, who was fantastic in 2023, finishing with a sub-1.00 ERA. They’ll also put more on Kierston Deal’s plate after she  showed well in relief in 2023.

Here’s who D1Softball is predicting to be back in Oklahoma City in 2024.

NCAA Tournament super regionals set after a wild weekend of college softball

A look at the super regional matchups, which includes the Oklahoma Sooners welcoming the Clemson Tigers to Norman.

The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament was fantastic. There were a pair of big-time upsets, fantastic back-and-forth action and most of the top softball teams advanced to what should be a great slate of super regional action next weekend.

There were big offensive outbursts and even a perfect game in a winner-take-all matchup on Sunday afternoon that highlighted a fabulous weekend for the sport of collegiate softball.

Three of the top 16 went home early. No. 2 UCLA, No. 10 LSU, and No. 11 Arkansas were unable to make home field hold up, and were sent home early. UCLA didn’t even get a chance to play Los Angeles Regional winner San Diego State because the Bruins were beaten by Grand Canyon and Liberty before the regional final.

With one more leg before the Women’s College World Series, here’s a look at each of the super regionals and what those teams had to do to advance.

5 takeaways from Oklahoma’s 5-0 weekend at the Mark Campbell Invitational

The Oklahoma Sooners went 5-0 in the Mark Campbell Invitational with three ranked wins, two shutouts, and two run-rule wins. Here are 5 takeaways.

The Oklahoma Sooners got things started with a bang in the Mark Campbell Invitational over the weekend, going 5-0 to open the season.

They were challenged in two of their five matchups, winning one-run ball games against Liberty and Washington, but also picked up a pair of run-rule wins over Stanford and San Jose State.

Oklahoma beat three top 25 teams, including a 4-0 shutout of Duke, a 10-1 win over Stanford, and the 5-4 nailbiter against the Huskies.

It was a productive start to the season that saw the Oklahoma Sooners deploy a lot of players. 15 players registered an at-bat, and four pitchers threw four or more innings pitched. And here’s a breakdown of the weekend from Seth Oliveras.