Tag: Jala Wright

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 wins road series over No. 16 Florida State

Duke softball lost its second game of the season on Saturday, but the Blue Devils still took two out of three from their ranked ACC foes.

Duke softball traveled to Tallahassee this weekend for its first ACC road trip of the 2024 season.

Despite the No. 6 Blue Devils suffering their first loss since the season opener, Duke still left with a series victory over the No. 16 Florida State.

The Blue Devils rode into town with a 20-game win streak and showed no signs of slowing down on Friday night.

Duke star pitcher Jala Wright got the start on the mound and continued her exceptional form to begin the 2024 season. She hadn’t allowed an earned run in her previous 26 innings when she tossed her first pitch of the weekend, and she retired her first nine batters of the opening game. She struck out the entire side in the second inning, and after a leadoff single ended her perfect game in the fourth, she retired the side with her fourth strikeout of the day to end the inning.

On the offensive end, senior left fielder Claire Davidson launched a two-run home run in the opening inning to claim an early lead. She drove in another run two innings later when she tripled into left field, giving Duke a 3-0 advantage.

Davidson came to the plate for the third time in the fifth inning with two runners on, and she again laced a single into the outfield for her fourth RBI of the afternoon. Second baseman Aminah Vega doubled home two more runs in the very next at-bat, and Duke led 7-0 after four innings.

Shortstop Jada Baker picked up two RBIs herself in the middle of the game, first with an RBI single in the fourth inning before a solo home run in the sixth stretched the lead to eight. A two-run double from Vega later ballooned the advantage to 10-0 as she, Baker, and Davidson drove in every Blue Devils run.

Florida State’s bats finally awoke in the bottom of the sixth, picking up four runs (including the first earned run on Wright in nearly a month) after a handful of singles and walks. However, the Seminoles couldn’t pull any closer than 10-5 before the final out was recorded.

The road rivals bounced back on Saturday, however, to hand Duke its first loss since the season opener. Duke’s star sophomore Cassidy Curd started the second game in the circle, but Florida State chased her after just two innings. After an opening flyout, the Seminoles laced together four straight hits in the first inning, including two doubles and a triple, for a 3-0 lead before the end of the opening frame.

The Blue Devils’ offense could never get off the ground in the second game of the weekend, with only one baserunner (an Ana Gold walk in the first) across the first four innings. Florida State added a fourth run in the third inning, and a sixth-inning Duke rally could only muster two runs.

With the series on the line on Sunday, however, the Blue Devils came through.

After a Florida State run in the opening frame, Francesca Frelick rocked around the tying run in the second with a sacrifice fly. One inning later, Vega and Amiah Burgess brought in another run each to stretch the advantage to 3-1.

Duke still led 5-3 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, but Florida State refused to let the series end early. With the tying run on third base with only one out, however, Duke gave Wright the ball again.

The star pitcher forced a groundout (albeit surrendering the tying run due to contact) and a flyout to force an extra inning.

As was the story on Friday, Claire Davidson played hero once again. The Blue Devils led by two after a double by slugger Ana Gold, but the senior outfielder launched another home run to break the game apart in extra innings.

Florida State couldn’t score a run in the bottom of the eighth, giving Duke the series win and improving the Blue Devils to 22-2 on the season.

The Blue Devils play UNC Wilmington in a home doubleheader on Wednesday.

Jala Wright named ACC Pitcher of the Week for the second time.

The senior pitcher tossed 10 shutout innings against Syracuse over the weekend, allowing four hits and striking out 10 batters.

Duke senior Jala Wright was named ACC Pitcher of the Week for the second time on Tuesday after she tossed 10 shutout innings against Syracuse.

Wright took the mound first on Saturday, pitching the first six innings of the series. She started again in the final game on Sunday, going the first four innings. She struck out 10 combined batters over her two appearances, and the Orange only managed four hits and two walks against her.

Her last four appearances have all been shutouts, and Wright hasn’t allowed a run since February 16. She struck out 14 batters in a single game against Michigan State on Feb. 24.

Wright has thrown 37.2 innings so far this season, and she’s allowed just 15 hits and five walks. She’s struck out 48 batters, and her ERA is currently just 0.37, the ninth-best mark in the nation.

The Blue Devils senior is also fifth in hits allowed per seven innings (2.79) and 32nd in strikeouts per seven innings (8.9) so far this season.

Wright was named ACC Pitcher of the Week for the first time this season on February 13 after she allowed one run and three hits across 10.2 innings over opening weekend.

Duke softball stays within top five of D1Softball rankings after Syracuse sweep

Duke didn’t allow a run over the entire weekend in a three-game sweep over Syracuse that featured 10 scoreless innings from star pitcher Jala Wright. The performance kept them in D1Softball’s top five.

Duke softball remained in the top five of D1Softball’s weekly rankings on Monday after a weekend sweep of the Syracuse Orange.

The Blue Devils, now 15-1 for the season and 3-0 in conference play, didn’t allow a run for the entire three-game series.

They began with a 7-0 win on Saturday, the first game of a double-header. Star pitcher Jala Wright continued her exceptional form with six shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out five batters.

Wright took the mound again on Sunday, throwing the first four innings and surrendering three hits but again striking out five batters. She earned her seventh win of the season for the latter performance, and she retired her last six batters in a row.

The performances gave Wright four consecutive shoutout starts with 20 combined innings between them. She sports an ERA of 0.37 with more than three times as many strikeouts (48) as hits allowed (15) through her 37.2 innings of work this season.

The second game of Saturday’s double-header ended almost the exact same way with a 6-0 Duke victory. Senior Francesca Frelick, who batted in two runs during the first game against the Orange, batted in two more in the second with a double in the fourth inning.

Frelick has been a run machine for the Blue Devils as of late. Her four RBIs on Saturday gave her 13 runs batted in over her last six games, including a six-RBI performance against Michigan State.

Senior Claire Davidson also mashed a solo home run in the fourth inning, her fifth shot of the year and her second RBI of the afternoon.

The offense did the least damage in Sunday’s finale, with a three-run triple from first baseman Gisele Tapia in the bottom of the first providing the game’s only three runs.

Texas took over the top spot in the D1Softball poll from three-time defending national champion Oklahoma, who dropped to second. LSU and Oklahoma State rounded out the rest of the top 10.

Three other ACC teams made the site’s top 25. Clemson came in 11th, Virginia Tech slotted in 15th, and Florida State rounded out the trio in 16th.

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.Β 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.

Duke softball played one of the most impressive games you’ll ever see on Saturday night

The Blue Devils smacked two grand slams and star pitcher Jala Wright struck out 14 of the 18 batters she faced in Saturday’s 22-0 win over Michigan State.

If you weren’t paying attention to Duke softball on Saturday evening, you missed something special.

The Blue Devils took down Michigan State by mercy rule in just five innings, but that’s not the impressive part. Duke won by 22 (yes, 22) runs after the team strung together 19 hits at the plate, including two grand slams, and pitcher Jala Wright struck out 14 of the 18 batters she faced.

If you want to be even more impressed, all of Duke’s runs came in the first three innings.

Wright, who now boasts a 0.51 ERA after 27.2 innings in the circle this season, let up a single and a walk in the Spartans’ first two at-bats of the evening. She forced a pop-up for the first out of the night before she struck out the next eight Michigan State batters in a row. There was a stretch from the bottom of the first to the bottom of the fourth that included literally nothing but strikeouts for the Spartans.

Wright’s crazy streak came to an end when she allowed a walk to begin the fourth inning. So she just started a new one, striking out the last six Spartans batters to end the game.

The senior has been one of the most prolific pitchers in the country so far this season, and Saturday’s showcase brings her to 38 strikeouts on the young season. She’s allowed just 11 hits by comparison, and she has more complete games (four) than runs allowed (two).

At the plate, the Blue Devils were just as impressive. Gisele Tapia came to the batter’s box with the bases loaded in the first and punched one into the outfield for a two-run single.

One inning later, the California native again came up with three runners on board. This time, however, she sent the ball over the fence for a grand slam, bringing her RBI total to six before the end of the second.

The grand slam feat was matched an inning later by teammate Francesca Frelick. The senior brought home a run with a sacrifice fly in the first, but her single in the second inning was her second hit in 14 at-bats so far this season.

When she dug into the box with the bases loaded in the third inning, she’d only produced three RBIs the entire season. With one mighty swing, she more than doubled that total.

Quite literally, if I tried to walk you through every run the Blue Devils scored on Saturday, we’d be here all night. Tapia had another two-run single in the third inning to bring her RBI total to eight for the evening. Junior Ana Gold followed Frelick with a three-run homer in the third, her team-leading fifth of the season. Sophomore Aminah Vega brought home two runs to bring her season total to 16.

Perhaps the best concise way to sum up the performance is through the third inning when Duke made it around the order two full times and scored 14 runs. When Aleyah Terrell singled Tapia home for the 22nd run of the game, the Spartans hadn’t even recorded their ninth out.

Michigan State isn’t the world’s worst team either, entering the game with a 5-8 record. But for a few hours in Durham, the Blue Devils ran the world.

Duke coasted from there, extending its win streak to 11 after its third win of the weekend. The Duke Invitational continues on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Villanova, whom the Blue Devils beat 8-0 in five innings on Friday.

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’s Sunday game against FIU canceled amid rainy conditions

The Blue Devils’ weekend came to an early end after Sunday’s game against the FIU Golden Panthers was called after just one inning.

Duke softball only played one inning on Sunday before the Blue Devils’ game against FIU was canceled due to weather.

Duke had won four games over the past two days, including a Friday victory over the Golden Panthers but didn’t get to finish its chance at a ninth straight win.

The Blue Devils still managed to build a convincing lead in the short time they played on Sunday, holding a 3-1 lead before play was called for the day. Star pitcher Jala Wright, whose ERA will remain 0.79 on the season, allowed one run in the top of the first.

Sophomore Aminah Vega batted in a run in the bottom of the first, a good follow-up to her three-RBI performance on Saturday night even if the statistics won’t count for her season total. The Blue Devils scored two more runs before the inning ended, but a weekend rainstorm halted the game before it could really get going.

The Blue Devils remain 8-1 on the season, and they’ll get their next crack at a ninth straight win at home on Friday against Villanova.