Blue Devils Bounce Back, Win 6-2

Sunday, March 1

Durham, N.C.

1 p.m.

Duke University

15-4, 0

Notre Dame

12-6, 0

Notre Dame

Duke

Blue Devils Bounce Back, Win 6-2

3/1/2020 5:19:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke softball picked up its first ACC victory of the season with a 6-2 win over Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon at the Duke Softball Stadium.

With the win, the Blue Devils improved to 15-4 to avoid the series sweep as the Fighting Irish fell to 12-6 and 2-1. Redshirt junior Jazmine Moreno led Duke at the plate with a career-high 3-for-3 performance, including a double and three RBI, while sophomores Deja Davis and Caroline Jacobsen each recorded two hits.

"I didn't know, but Billy [Donnelly] just informed me that I went 3-for-3 today," said Moreno. "I really just tried to narrow it in and was looking for a pitch that I could drive. Coach Bloomer and Coach [Young] were telling me 'see ball and stay on – drive one into the gap' so those were my intentions today and I executed."

Junior Peyton St. George (6-2) bounced back from Friday's outing, earning her sixth victory of the season as she hurled seven complete innings in which she struck out six batters.

"We wanted to get a dub – we didn't like our performances the last two days and knew that wasn't us," Moreno said. "We figured that we need to show that we can handle losses well and come back to get a dub. We're going to be that team that comes and not let losses define us."

Notre Dame put a run on the board first, scoring one on two hits and a Duke error in the first. Davis began Duke's offense with a leadoff single and a stolen base in the opening frame, but the Irish picked up three quick outs.

Duke gained the lead in the second and never looked back as junior Jameson Kavel started the bottom half with a single through the left side before freshman Felise Collins took first base on a four-pitch walk. Junior Rachel Crabtree played a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher, moving runners to second and third. Freshman Gisele Tapia reached on a fielder's choice as Kavel scored and Moreno followed with an RBI single to give Duke a 2-1 advantage.

After a three-up, three-down top half, the Blue Devils added three runs to its lead on four hits and an error in the third. Kavel reached on an error and Collins ripped a ball to center field for an RBI double – the first of her collegiate career. Tapia brought Collins home with a hit to left and Moreno followed with a double down the line to score Duke's fifth run. Davis ended the frame with a single before she was caught stealing at second.

The Blue Devils notched three more hits in the fifth from Dominique Salinas, Kristina Foreman and Moreno, as she recorded her third RBI to plate Duke's final run of the afternoon.

The Fighting Irish looked to rally in the seventh, picking up four hits and one run, but Notre Dame left the bases loaded for Duke to win, 6-2.

Duke will be back in action on Wednesday, March 4, for a doubleheader with USC Upstate. First pitch of game one is set for 3 p.m. at the Duke Softball Stadium.

#GoDuke