Gold Hits Two Home Runs as No. 13 Duke Sweeps NC State

Sunday, March 13

Durham, N.C.

4 P.M.

Duke University

21-3, 6-0

NC State

19-6, 2-4

NC State

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Gold Hits Two Home Runs as No. 13 Duke Sweeps NC State

3/13/2022 9:19:00 PM | Softball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

DURHAM – No. 13 Duke softball (21-3, 6-0 ACC) used two home runs from Ana Gold and a complete game shutout by Peyton St. George to power past NC State, 8-0, in five innings on Sunday afternoon in Duke Softball Stadium.

St. George struck out 12 Wolfpack (19-6, 2-4 ACC) batters in the win, allowing just two hits, while the Blue Devils scored in every inning in the victory.

On the first at-bat of the day, Gold laced a 1-2 pitch into straightaway center field, clearing the batters' eye for an early 1-0 lead. The home run kicked off a stretch of eight runs and nine hits in the game for Duke.

In the second inning, Kyla Morris recorded a triple to center field, and it set up Gold for her second at-bat of the day. The Ballston Spa, N.Y., native fell into an 0-2 hole but crushed the next pitch she saw over the flag poles in left field, extending the Blue Devils lead to 3-0.

While St. George was maintaining the lead, striking out eight in the first three innings, the Blue Devils added two more in the third inning. Kelly Torres opened the frame with a double and came around on an NC State error to make it 4-0. After Claire Davidson drew a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch, Morris added another extra-base hit with an RBI double to make it 5-0.

The Blue Devils put the game away in the fourth inning, as Rachel Crabtree began the inning with a walk. Jameson Kavel drove her home immediately, on an RBI double, setting up an opportunity for Torres later that inning. Torres delivered the third Blue Devils home run of the day on a blast to right center field, extending the lead to 8-0.

St. George capped off the team's ninth run-rule win with two additional strikeouts in the fifth inning, giving her 27 in two games against the Wolfpack.

The Blue Devils will be back in action next weekend, hosting No. 17 Clemson for three games, opening the series on Friday at 6 p.m.

Notes:

Gold joins an exclusive group of Blue Devils to hit two home runs in a game, joining Kristina Foreman, Kamryn Jackson, Caroline Jacobsen and Raine Wilson.
Gold is also only the second freshman to hit two in a game, matching Jackson.
St. George's 27 strikeouts in two games is the most in her career and only the second time she's struck out double-digit batters in back-to-back games.
Morris tallied her first collegiate triple and recorded two extra-base hits in a game for the first time.
The Blue Devils have now won 21 consecutive games against ACC opponents and won their fourth consecutive ACC sweep, dating back to last season.
With the win on Sunday, the Blue Devils improve to 10-2 against the Wolfpack. The Blue Devils have reached 10 wins against an ACC opponent for the first time.