No. 15 Blue Devils Split Doubleheader, Clinch Series Over Louisville Saturday

Saturday, March 11

Durham, N.C.

2 p.m.

Duke University

20-4, 0

Louisville

14-8, 0

Louisville

Duke

No. 15 Blue Devils Split Doubleheader, Clinch Series Over Louisville Saturday

3/11/2023 11:52:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

DURHAM – No. 15 Duke softball (20-5, 4-2 ACC) split Saturday's doubleheader with Louisville (15-8, 1-2 ACC) at Duke Softball Stadium and clinched the conference series, 2-1. The Blue Devils defeated the Cardinals, 5-3, in the opening game before falling, 13-9, in the nightcap.

Freshman Aminah Vega led the offense in the doubleheader, batting 4-for-7 with five RBI, including a solo home run in the opening contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)

Vega opened the scoring after clearing the bases with a three-RBI double to right center field in the bottom of the first to put the Blue Devils ahead, 3-0.
The Cardinals answered in the following frame after Makayla Hurst's double down the left field line brought in Daisy Hess, who reached on a bunt single.
Junior Francesca Frelick tacked on another Duke run in the bottom of the second to take a 4-1 lead.
Louisville countered again with a solo home run from pitcher Taylor Roby to open the fourth and trim the Blue Devils edge to 4-2.
Vega again pushed the Blue Devils ahead, turning the second pitch she saw into a solo shot over the center field wall.
Hess led off the sixth inning with a triple off the centerfield wall and was brought in on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Madison Winkler to round out the Cardinals' three runs.
Louisville attempted to close the gap once more in the seventh with a one-out single and the tying run at the plate, but the Blue Devils turned a double play to end the game and seal the 5-3 victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)

The Cardinals were first to strike in the nightcap, scoring three runs off three hits in the top of the third inning.
Duke answered right back in the bottom half with runs from Deja Davis, D'Auna Jennings and Ana Gold to tie the game up, 3-3.
The first of two solo home runs from junior Francesca Frelick came in the bottom of the fourth to put the Blue Devils in front, 4-3.
Three more lead changes ensued before Louisville pulled away in the top of the seventh after two errors and a two-run home run plated four more runs for a 13-8 lead.
Frelick sent her second solo shot of the night out of center field to add to the Blue Devils' score but it wasn't enough to make up the difference.

NOTES

Frelick tallied her third long ball on the year and recorded the first multi-home run game of her career in the series finale.
Junior Lillie Walker picked up her first loss on the season in game two after giving up five runs on three hits in two innings of relief.
Davis and Vega each recorded two doubles on the weekend, their tenth and fifth on the year, respectively.
Gold sits just 9 RBI shy of reaching last season's total of 36 after tallying two in the three-game series.

UP NEXT
Duke hosts a midweek matchup with James Madison on Wednesday at Duke Softball Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

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

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