No. 8 Duke Sweeps Pitt in Regular Season Finale

Saturday, April 29

Pittsburgh

1 p.m.

Duke University

42-9, 0

Pitt

21-24, 0

Duke

Pittsburgh

No. 8 Duke Sweeps Pitt in Regular Season Finale

4/30/2023 12:29:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – No. 8 Duke softball closed out the regular season in strong fashion after outscoring Pittsburgh, 24-7, in a doubleheader on Saturday to complete the weekend series sweep at Vartabedian Field.

The Blue Devils improve to 43-9 overall, including a 19-5 mark in conference play, after defeating the Panthers (21-25, 3-17 ACC), 12-3, in the opening contest before recording a 12-4 victory in the nightcap.

Graduate student Deja Davis and senior Gisele Tapia led the Blue Devils at the plate, finishing 5-for-9 with two home runs and 5-for-10 with a double and a home run, respectively. The pair also accounted for 13 of Duke's 22 RBI during the twin bill.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)

Davis gave the Blue Devils an early 6-0 lead with back-to-back home runs in her first two plate appearances. The Cerritos, Calif., native blasted a two-run shot to right center field in the first inning before tallying a three-run home run in the second.
The Panthers responded in the second, scoring three runs off three hits to trim the Blue Devils edge to 6-3.
Junior Claire Davidson added on another Duke run with an RBI-single to score freshman Aminah Vega, who reached on a triple down the left field line.
The Blue Devils scored five additional runs in the seventh to ultimately put the game away for a 12-3 victory. Tapia drove in three of those five runs with a base-clearing double.
Junior Lillie Walker earned the win in the circle after striking out two and giving up just four hits in 4.0 innings of work. She moves to 7-1 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)

Pitt's Sarah Seamans sent a two-run home run over the left field wall in the opening frame to give the Panthers the first lead, 2-0.
Junior Claire Davidson countered with a two-run shot of her own, bringing in junior Kelly Torres, who drew a lead-off walk, to tie the game up at 2-2.
The Blue Devils' offense came alive in the fourth inning as they posted five runs off four hits, highlighted by Tapia's two-out grand slam over the left field wall.
Duke continued to push ahead, adding in three more runs in the fifth and sixth inning for a 10-2 lead.
Haylie Brunson and Bailey Drapola of Pittsburgh sent back-to-back homers over the center field wall to chip away at the gap before junior Lillie Walker entered the game to sit down the final three batters.
Freshman D'Auna Jennings and Davis added in a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to round out Duke's 12 runs.
Left-handed pitcher Cassidy Curd picked up the win after tossing 5.0 innings, giving up Pitt's four runs on six hits and punching out 10. She improves her record to 14-1 on the year.

NOTES

Davis tallied the first multi-home run game of her career after crushing two back-to-back during the opening contest.
Jennings finished the doubleheader batting 4-for-9 and extended her hitting streak to 14 games, pulling her into a tie for the program's longest hitting streak with Davis's 14 games in 2021.
Davidson, Davis, Tapia and Vega combined to register Duke's six home runs during the twin bill.
The Blue Devils' 43 wins sets a program-high for regular season wins. The previous mark of 40 wins came during the historic 2022 season.
The Blue Devils claimed their fourth ACC series sweep of the season after also defeating North Carolina, Boston College and Georgia Tech in three-game sets.
Overall, the Blue Devils have outscored the Panthers 87-37 in the 14 all-time meetings.

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils now await seeding for the ACC Tournament, which will take place May 10-13 in South Bend, Ind.

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