DURHAM – No. 13 Duke softball (13-3, 0-0 ACC) finished off competition at the Duke Invitational, earning back-to-back wins over Northern Kentucky and No. 19 Michigan on Saturday at Duke Softball Stadium.
The Blue Devils opened the day with a convincing 15-0 decision over the Norse (7-7, 0-0 Horizon) and celebrated twice against the Wolverines (8-5, 0-0 Big Ten) receiving their 2021 ACC Championship rings pregame and defeating Michigan 6-1 shortly thereafter.
Duke vs. Northern Kentucky
The Blue Devils immediately jumped on the Norse, as
Rachel Crabtree reached on a hit by pitch, before
Jameson Kavel brought her home on a two-run home run.
Caroline Jacobsen made it back-to-back, homering to left center for a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
In the second, the Blue Devils tallied seven runs, as the familiar faces from the first inning jumped on the Norse again. After
Ana Gold scored on a throwing error following a Crabtree double, Kavel and Jacobsen notched RBI hits, and
Kristina Foreman added another to extend the lead to 7-0. Foreman and
Kelly Torres later came home on an error and
Kyla Morris put a bow on the inning with an RBI double.
The day was capped off by a grand slam from freshman
Kelsey Zampa and another home run from Foreman, who went back-to-back with Zampa for her seventh home run of the year.
In the circle, the Blue Devils pitched a one-hitter, as
Peyton St. George,
Claire Davidson and
Lillie Walker struck out eight batters over five innings to secure the win.
Duke vs. No. 19 Michigan
In a rematch of Friday night's thriller, the Blue Devils took advantage of their second look at the Wolverines, securing their second ranked win of the season.
In the second, it was Foreman who provided the catalyst for a big inning, as she led it off with a single. Foreman would steal a base and
Kamryn Jackson walked and stole a base of her, eventually setting up Gold. The Ballston Spa, N.Y., native laced a two-run single to give the Blue Devils an early edge.
One frame later, Foreman and Torres reached base, and Jackson would break the game open with a three-run home run down the left field line for a 5-0 lead.
After three more shutout innings from
Jala Wright, who had gone 11.1 straight scoreless innings this weekend, the Wolverines finally got a run on a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1. Wright would give way to St. George, who controlled the Michigan offense, going 3.1 no-hit innings and striking out four.
The Blue Devils got some added insurance from Davidson, who drove in a run on a fielder's choice in the fifth inning, helping to put the game out of reach.
The Blue Devils will be back in action on Mar. 4, starting a three-game series against ACC foe Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. All three games will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra
Notes:
- The win over Northern Kentucky was the largest margin of victory for the Blue Devils this season.
- Zampa's grand slam against Northern Kentucky was the first of her collegiate career.
- Zampa's grand slam was the second of the season for the Blue Devils after Davidson hit one against Florida A&M.
- Jacobsen extended her on-base streak to 16 games to start the season. The Tallahassee, Fla., native matched the longest streak of her collegiate career and the third-longest in program history.
- Head Coach Marissa Young recorded her first win over her former head coach Carol Hutchins in the win over Michigan.
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