Seventh-Inning Rally Guides Duke Past Charlotte; Hosts NCAA Super Regional for First Time

Sunday, May 21

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

48-10

Charlotte

35-23

Duke

Charlotte

Seventh-Inning Rally Guides Duke Past Charlotte; Hosts NCAA Super Regional for First Time

5/21/2023 5:30:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score Postgame Quotes Postgame Interview Photo Gallery

DURHAM – No. 5 Duke softball (48-10) defeated Charlotte (35-23), 4-2, on Sunday afternoon in the championship game of the NCAA Durham Regional at Duke Softball Stadium.

With the win, the Blue Devils advance to the super regional round for the second consecutive year and will have hosting duties for the first time in program history.

Freshman D'Auna Jennings led the way on offense, batting 4-for-4, while accounting for two of Duke's final four runs. Graduate student Deja Davis, freshman Aminah Vega and sophomore Kelsey Zampa each added one hit and one RBI during the contest.

Freshman Cassidy Curd came in for relief and picked up the win after allowing just one run off two hits in 5.1 innings of work. The Port St. Lucie, Fla., native also struck out 10 during her time in the circle. Junior Lillie Walker earned her fourth save of the season after coming in to close the door on Charlotte in the bottom of the seventh.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The 49ers struck first in the bottom of the second, scoring on a wild pitch after drawing three straight walks to load the bases.
Curd came into the game in relief of starting pitcher junior Jala Wright and struck out three of her first four batters faced to escape the inning without further damage.
Vega then knotted the score in the top of the sixth after her RBI-single to center field scored Jennings from second. Jennings led off the frame with a single through the left side before advancing to second on a bunt single by Davis.
Charlotte pulled back in front at 2-1 in the bottom half of the frame when MaKalah Mitchell tallied a solo home run.
The Blue Devils quickly answered in the top of the seventh with a three-run frame, highlighted by three consecutive hits from senior Gisele Tapia, Zampa and Jennings.
The 49ers placed runners on first and second with two outs, but Walker came in to sit the final two batters down to hold off Charlotte's comeback bid.

NOTES

Duke is now 8-5 all-time in NCAA Championship play.
Curd recorded her fourth 10-plus strikeout game and pushed her season total to 153.
The rookie posted her 18th win of the year.
As a staff, the Duke pitchers registered their ninth 10-plus strikeout performance.
Vega tallied her 49th RBI this season.
Jennings matched her season high mark with four hits during the contest.
Davis, Vega and Zampa each tallied an RBI for their 31st, 49th and second of the season, respectively.
Wright earned her 22nd start in the circle and tossed 1.0 innings, allowing one earned run and three walks.

QUOTES

"Another championship Sunday. It's tough when you've played a team four times in a season – you know each other kind of inside and out. I'm really proud of my team's fight. People just continue to step up and do their part for this team. They have a lot of fight and a lot of grit and I think we saw that today." – Duke Head Coach Marissa Young

"I think a big thing for me has always been like my timing piece. When we first played George Mason, I was caught out of the box. I went back in the lab and figured out what I needed to do to make my adjustment. Once I figured out the timing, my footwork, it's pretty much back to normal. I was just thinking about seeing the ball out in front, using my chop, reading the defense, beating the shift and just doing my job – not trying to do too much." – Freshman D'Auna Jennings on being able to hit well in today's game.

"I think Cassidy [Curd] and I work really well off of each other. And whenever I'm in the dugout, I'm cheering as hard as I can for Cass. Just like I know she's got my back. She's cheering me on. We're amazing. We're all different in our own ways, and I think we work really well off of each other and we're able to just stump hitters, so it's really fun." – Junior pitcher Lillie Walker on coming in and pitching in a difficult situation.

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils will host the winner of the Stanford Regional next weekend at Duke Softball Stadium. Dates and times for the NCAA Super Regional round will be released at a later date.

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

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