No. 15 Alabama Edges No. 16 Duke, 5-4, in TaxAct Clearwater Invitational

Thursday, February 16

Clearwater, Fla.

1 p.m.

Duke University

3-3

Alabama

3-1

Duke

Alabama

No. 15 Alabama Edges No. 16 Duke, 5-4, in TaxAct Clearwater Invitational

2/16/2023 7:30:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

CLEARWATER, Fla. – No. 16 Duke couldn't complete the full comeback on Thursday afternoon, falling to No. 15 Alabama, 5-4, during the teams' opening game of the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational, presented by EvoShield.

The Blue Devils trailed 5-0 after the second inning but slowly chipped away at the deficit, pulling to within 5-4 with one out in the top of the seventh inning. A few batters later, Duke had an opportunity to pull even with a runner on third and two outs but weren't able to finish off the comeback.

Junior catcher Kelly Torres led the rally for the Blue Devils, finishing 2-for-3 with three RBI and two home runs. Freshman Cassidy Curd entered the game in relief and limited the Crimson Tide to just one hit and two walks in 4.1 innings of work.

HOW IT HAPPENED

No. 15 Alabama came out swinging, scoring five runs on five hits in the first two innings.
Following a scoreless third inning, Torres cut into the Crimson Tide's lead with a two-run blast over the left field fence in the top of the fourth to pull the Blue Devils to within 5-2.
In the top of the sixth, Torres again went yard when she blasted a shot over the right center fence, trimming Alabama's edge down to two.
Duke would continue to fight recording another run in the top of the seventh after junior Claire Davidson led off the inning with a double to center field before advancing to third on a wild pitch and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Kamryn Jackson.
Graduate student Deja Davis kept the Blue Devils' momentum going with a two-out double to left field. Despite Davis advancing to third on a wild pitch during the ensuing at bat, the Blue Devils weren't able to bring home the tying run.

NOTES

Torres became the sixth Blue Devil in program history to score two homeruns in a single game, joining Jameson Kavel in 2022, Kristina Foreman in 2021, Jackson and Caroline Jacobsen in 2020 and Raine Wilson in 2019.
Davis and Davidson each tallied a double in the contest for their fourth and first of the year, respectively.
Duke's starting pitcher junior Jala Wright was credited with the loss after allowing five runs, three earned, on five hits in 1.2 innings of work.
Curd threw 87 pitches in her four innings and added five strikeouts.
All three of Duke's losses on the year have come to teams ranked in the top-15.

UP NEXT
Duke faces USF and No. 4 Arkansas during the second day of action in Clearwater on Friday. First pitch with the Bulls is slated for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network. The Blue Devils and Razorbacks battle on Friday at 6 p.m. with ESPN+ broadcasting the contest.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils softball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeSOFTBALL".

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