No. 13 Duke Outlasts Penn State, 4-2

Tuesday, March 8

Durham, N.C.

5 P.M.

Duke University

17-3

Penn State

9-10

Penn State

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 13 Duke Outlasts Penn State, 4-2

3/8/2022 9:44:00 PM | Softball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

DURHAM – No. 13 Duke softball (17-3, 3-0 ACC) recovered from an early deficit to defeat Penn State, 4-2, on Tuesday night at Duke Softball Stadium.

The Blue Devils tallied two runs in the fifth inning to go ahead of the Nittany Lions (9-10, 0-0 Big Ten), while sophomore Jala Wright delivered a complete game in the circle, striking out eight over seven innings and allowing just four hits and two runs to improve to 3-0 this season.

Penn State was quickly on the board to open the game, as Ally Kurland hit a double and Lexie Black drove her in on a two-run home run. From there, Wright settled down, allowing just two hits over the remaining 6.1 innings of work.

Her offense picked her up in the bottom of the first inning, as Jameson Kavel and Caroline Jacobsen each drew walks, before Kelly Torres drove in a run on an RBI single to make it 2-1. In the second inning, the Blue Devils tied the game on a solo blast by Deja Davis, who picked up her first home run of the year to erase the early deficit.

Wright and her Penn State counterpart Bailey Parshall traded scoreless frames until the fifth inning, when Kyla Morris led off the inning with a single. After Morris advanced to second on a fielder's choice, freshman Ana Gold gave the Blue Devils the lead, driving her home on an RBI single. Gold would use her speed to steal her team-leading seventh base and adding another on an error. Graduate student Rachel Crabtree brought her home on a sacrifice fly for a 4-2 lead.

Wright controlled the Nittany Lions for the remaining frames, striking out two batters and holding the team hitless to secure the victory.

The Blue Devils will be back in action tomorrow evening, hosting No. 25 Charlotte at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

Notes:

Jacobsen extended her season-opening on-base streak to 20 games, with a first inning walk.
Wright tallied eight strikeouts in the win, good for a single-game career high.
Wright also went the full seven innings for the first time in her career, recording her second complete game (joining her five-inning no-hitter on Feb. 24 against Army).
Davis recorded the 150th hit of her collegiate career on her home run.

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

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