The Blue Devils couldn’t get the better of top-ranked Oklahoma on Thursday, but the Duke softball team handled business against Iowa State and Nebraska on Friday.
If any Blue Devils fans needed a reminder that a season-opening loss to Oklahoma is not the end of the world, the Duke softball team gave them that on Friday.
Duke played two games in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Friday, first against Iowa State before an afternoon game against Nebraska, and the Blue Devils won both games by a combined 18 runs.
The team wasted little time reminding the Cyclones they were still one of the best teams in the country during the morning’s opening game. After Duke batted in two runs in the opening inning, the Blue Devils broke the game wide open with a five-run second inning.
The entire rally happened with two outs. After the bases were loaded by two singles and a walk, junior Ana Gold laced a single into left that drove home two runners. Claire Davidson followed up with a two-RBI smack of her own in the very next at-bat, a double to right-center, before Aminah Vega brought her around to home with a single.
Seven straight Blue Devils batters reached base before the final out of the inning was recorded, and the lead was 7-0 before the Cyclones got their second chance to bat.
Iowa State tried to answer with two runs in the bottom of the second, but a grand slam from Davidson powered another five-run inning in the third, and the rout was on.
Duke scored four more runs over the rest of the game and ended up winning by mercy rule, 16-3, after just five innings. Davidson finished the game with a home run, two doubles, and six RBIs in just four at-bats.
The Blue Devils kept the momentum rolling in the top of the first against Nebraska, with Aminah Vega powering a line drive into right field to bring home a pair of runners and give Duke the early lead.
Duke managed to bring four more runs home across the next six innings, including a solo shot from Jada Baker in the sixth, but those opening two runs proved to be enough of a buffer.
Nebraska didn’t score a run until the bottom of the final inning, when Duke’s lead was already six, and the Cornhuskers managed just a single run and a single hit across the entire game as Duke coasted to a 6-1 victory.
The Blue Devils now sit 2-1 on the young after the back-to-back wins. They play their last game of the season-opening tournament on Saturday against Long Beach State. The game will start at 7:30 p.m. ET.
