Completed Event: Softball versus Georgia on May 18, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 5 , (F/8)
/
Final
Softball
2
vs Georgia
5
Thursday, May 12
Pittsburgh
5 P.M.
Duke University
vs
Georgia Tech
Photo by: Duke Athletics
No. 9 Duke Set for ACC Championship
5/11/2022 7:37:00 PM | Softball
DURHAM – No. 9 Duke softball (40-7, 19-3 ACC) is set to begin its ACC Championship title defense, traveling to Pittsburgh, Pa., for the ACC Championship, from May 12-14, at Vartabedian Field.
The Blue Devils are seeded second and will open the weekend with a quarterfinal matchup against seventh-seeded Georgia Tech (37-15, 11-13 ACC) at 5 p.m., on Thursday. The majority of coverage will be televised on ACC Network, while the ACC Championship final will be televised on ESPN2.
Last Time Out
The Blue Devils capped off a long-awaited return home with a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh, as the program honored its senior class. Caroline Jacobsen made her senior weekend count, notching back-to-back games with a home run to pace the Blue Devils offense, while the team got great pitching from Peyton St. George and Jala Wright. St. George tossed a one-hitter in the series-opening win over the Panthers, while Wright matched her with six innings of one-run ball in the finale. The stretch capped off the first 40-win regular season in program history.
Opponent History – Quarterfinal
Duke vs. Georgia Tech – Duke leads, 7-2
The two sides meet again this season, but for the first time ever in an ACC Championship game, after the Blue Devils earned a series sweep of the Yellow Jackets from Mar. 4-6 of this season. Jameson Kavel was the story in that series, hitting .556 with two home runs and three RBI, registering a four-hit game in the process. That was enough to earn Kavel ACC Co-Player of the Week honors, following her huge week in her home state of Georgia.
ACC Championship History
The Blue Devils are 3-2 all-time in the ACC Championship, winning the program's first title last season with wins over Louisville, Florida State and Clemson. It will be the fourth tournament appearance in program history for the Blue Devils after not competing in the 2020 ACC Championship because of the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scouting The Opponent
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets started their ACC Championship run with a bang, downing 10th-seeded NC State, 4-2. Starting pitcher Blake Neleman was stellar, striking out 13 batters and allowing two unearned runs. Neleman is the key arm for the Yellow Jackets, throwing in 38 games this season. On offense, All-ACC first team honorees Tricia Awald and Emma Kauf will be counted on for runs, with the duo driving in 74 runs this season.
Duke Against the Rest of the Field
The Blue Devils faced several remaining programs during the regular season, with the Blue Devils sweeping sixth-seeded Virginia, 3-0, going 2-1 against fifth-seeded Clemson and ninth-seeded Syracuse and 0-1 against fourth-seeded Notre Dame in a weather-shortened series. Duke did not face top-seeded Virginia Tech or third-seeded Florida State during the regular season.
Duke Updated Rankings List
D1 Softball: #7 (Up three spots from #10)
Softball America: #8 (Up two spots from #10)
ESPN/USA Softball: #12 (Up one spot from #13)
USA Today/NFCA: #9 (Up two spots from #11)
What to Watch For
To stay up to date with Blue Devils softball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeSOFTBALL".
#GoDuke
The Blue Devils are seeded second and will open the weekend with a quarterfinal matchup against seventh-seeded Georgia Tech (37-15, 11-13 ACC) at 5 p.m., on Thursday. The majority of coverage will be televised on ACC Network, while the ACC Championship final will be televised on ESPN2.
Last Time Out
The Blue Devils capped off a long-awaited return home with a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh, as the program honored its senior class. Caroline Jacobsen made her senior weekend count, notching back-to-back games with a home run to pace the Blue Devils offense, while the team got great pitching from Peyton St. George and Jala Wright. St. George tossed a one-hitter in the series-opening win over the Panthers, while Wright matched her with six innings of one-run ball in the finale. The stretch capped off the first 40-win regular season in program history.
Opponent History – Quarterfinal
Duke vs. Georgia Tech – Duke leads, 7-2
The two sides meet again this season, but for the first time ever in an ACC Championship game, after the Blue Devils earned a series sweep of the Yellow Jackets from Mar. 4-6 of this season. Jameson Kavel was the story in that series, hitting .556 with two home runs and three RBI, registering a four-hit game in the process. That was enough to earn Kavel ACC Co-Player of the Week honors, following her huge week in her home state of Georgia.
ACC Championship History
The Blue Devils are 3-2 all-time in the ACC Championship, winning the program's first title last season with wins over Louisville, Florida State and Clemson. It will be the fourth tournament appearance in program history for the Blue Devils after not competing in the 2020 ACC Championship because of the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scouting The Opponent
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets started their ACC Championship run with a bang, downing 10th-seeded NC State, 4-2. Starting pitcher Blake Neleman was stellar, striking out 13 batters and allowing two unearned runs. Neleman is the key arm for the Yellow Jackets, throwing in 38 games this season. On offense, All-ACC first team honorees Tricia Awald and Emma Kauf will be counted on for runs, with the duo driving in 74 runs this season.
Duke Against the Rest of the Field
The Blue Devils faced several remaining programs during the regular season, with the Blue Devils sweeping sixth-seeded Virginia, 3-0, going 2-1 against fifth-seeded Clemson and ninth-seeded Syracuse and 0-1 against fourth-seeded Notre Dame in a weather-shortened series. Duke did not face top-seeded Virginia Tech or third-seeded Florida State during the regular season.
Duke Updated Rankings List
D1 Softball: #7 (Up three spots from #10)
Softball America: #8 (Up two spots from #10)
ESPN/USA Softball: #12 (Up one spot from #13)
USA Today/NFCA: #9 (Up two spots from #11)
What to Watch For
- The Blue Devils recently set another program record, with six named to an All-ACC team, as Kavel and St. George headlined the group on the first team. Kristina Foreman earns her first honor on the second team, while Rachel Crabtree, Ana Gold and Kamryn Jackson each took home third team honors for the first time.
- Duke has been using its speed in recent games, moving to the top of the ACC in stolen bases per game (1.60). The Blue Devils have stolen at least five bases in three of the last seven games.
- Kavel is closing in on the program's single season doubles record of 15, set by Raine Wilson in 2018. She is currently tied with Wilson for the all-time mark.
- St. George ranks 22nd in the nation in wins with 20 and just recently became the first 20-game winner in program history, setting a new program-high.
- The Blue Devils have several top-25 national statistical marks. Foreman ranks 14th in RBI per game (1.12), Kavel ranks 15th in runs per game (1.11) and St. George ranks 17th in saves (4) and 22nd in wins (20).
- Duke is swinging for the fences this season, ranking sixth in the nation in home runs per game at 1.83 to lead the ACC. Kavel leads the team with 15 on the year.
- With 86 home runs for the campaign, the Blue Devils have already blown past their single-season record of 47 from last year. The Blue Devils have also set a single-season RBI mark with 331 this season.
- The Blue Devils continue to lead the ACC in batting average (.335), slugging percentage (.625), on-base percentage (.425), home runs per game (1.83), scoring (7.45 runs per game) and ERA (1.74), while ranking in the top-10 nationally in all of them.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils softball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeSOFTBALL".
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
1B
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C/3B
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballDurham Softball Regional Day Two Presser
Saturday, May 17
Durham Softball Regional Game One Post Game Presser
Friday, May 16
Absolute Domination Over #2 Florida Gators - Duke Softball
Wednesday, March 19
ABSOLUTELY INSANE CATCH! NUMBER ONE PLAY ON SPORTSCENTER! #goduke #softball #ncaasoftball #espn
Thursday, March 13
