Upcoming Event: Softball versus Arizona on May 17, 2026 at 12 p.m.
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12 p.m.
Softball
vs Arizona
Saturday, May 16
Durham, N.C.
1 p.m.
Duke University
40-15
1
vs
10
Arizona
37-16
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 0 |
| Duke | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics
Duke Advances to Regional Championship Game Sunday
5/16/2026 11:02:00 PM | Softball
DURHAM, N.C. – After falling to Arizona in their opening game, the 12th-seeded Blue Devils rebounded with a dominant run-rule victory over Marshall to advance to their sixth straight NCAA regional championship game on Sunday.
The Blue Devils (41-15) fell to Arizona (37-16), 10-1, in five innings in the first game before rolling past the Herd (38-19), 11-1, in the nightcap.
Senior D'Auna Jennings extended her hitting streak to a team-high 10 games, batting 3-for-7 during the two games. Jennings also drove in four RBI on the night with her first career grand slam versus Marshall. Freshman Gabriella Shadek and redshirt junior Jessica Oakland also provided a spark on offense, finishing 3-for-5 and 2-for-6, respectively. The duo combined to drive in five of Duke's 11 runs against the Herd.
Seniors Cassidy Curd and KK Mathis split the circle during the opening game against the Wildcats. Curd was ultimately tagged with the loss despite fanning a game-high seven batters. Junior Larissa Jacquez earned the start in the second game of the day, working 3.0 scoreless innings to pick up the win. Redshirt freshman Ava Bradshaw entered in the bottom of the fourth for 2.0 innings of relief.
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. ARIZONA
#GoDuke
The Blue Devils (41-15) fell to Arizona (37-16), 10-1, in five innings in the first game before rolling past the Herd (38-19), 11-1, in the nightcap.
Senior D'Auna Jennings extended her hitting streak to a team-high 10 games, batting 3-for-7 during the two games. Jennings also drove in four RBI on the night with her first career grand slam versus Marshall. Freshman Gabriella Shadek and redshirt junior Jessica Oakland also provided a spark on offense, finishing 3-for-5 and 2-for-6, respectively. The duo combined to drive in five of Duke's 11 runs against the Herd.
Seniors Cassidy Curd and KK Mathis split the circle during the opening game against the Wildcats. Curd was ultimately tagged with the loss despite fanning a game-high seven batters. Junior Larissa Jacquez earned the start in the second game of the day, working 3.0 scoreless innings to pick up the win. Redshirt freshman Ava Bradshaw entered in the bottom of the fourth for 2.0 innings of relief.
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. ARIZONA
- Arizona opened the scoring early, taking advantage of a pair of Blue Devil throwing errors to push two unearned runs across the plate in the opening frame.
- Mathis drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the third, advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt and base hit to left field. Mathis then stole home to cut the deficit to 2-1.
- The Wildcats pushed ahead 4-1 in the following frame courtesy of Tele Jennings' two-run shot to right field. The long ball brought in Grace Jennings after she sent a single up the middle.
- The Wildcats carried their momentum into the top of the fifth, erupting for six runs off five hits to put the game out of reach and secure the 10-1 run-rule victory.
- Duke jump-started its offense in the top of the second, using three straight base hits to quickly load the bases. Marshall was able to grab the first two outs before Jennings launched a grand slam to left center field to open the scoring. Senior Aminah Vega kept the two-out rally alive with an infield single and Oakland followed with another long ball to give Duke a six-run lead.
- The Blue Devils loaded the bases again in the following frame and Vega drew a two-out walk to extend Duke's edge to, 7-0.
- Shadek stretched the gap to double digits with her three-run blast in the top of the fourth.
- In the top of the fifth, graduate student Tyrina Jones ripped an RBI-triple to the wall in left center field to bring in Vega for Duke's 11th run of game.
- Marshall pushed its lone run across the plate in the bottom half of the frame as Paige Simpson sent a double down the left field line to score Sydney Turner from first.
- Curd moves to 17-3 after 34 appearances in the circle. The Port St. Lucie, Florida, native fanned seven in the opening game to raise her strikeout total to 127 on the year.
- Jacquez made her NCAA debut against the Herd and improves her season ledger to 6-5.
- Jones drove in two of Duke's 11 runs versus Marshall, recording her 22nd multi-RBI outing of the season.
- Jennings tallied her eighth career home run against the Herd.
- Shadek launched her 11th home run on the year, including three in the past three games.
- The Blue Devils are 18-13 all-time in NCAA Championship play.
- Duke is 12-4 in run-rule games this season.
#GoDuke
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Berry, Jenae (4-1)
L: Curd, Cassidy (17-3)
Batting:
2B: Jennings, Tele 1
HR: Sniffen, Jenna 1 ; Jennings, Tele 1
RBI: Sniffen, Jenna 3 ; Biehl, Tayler 1 ; Jenkins, Grace 1 ; Jennings, Tele 3
SF: Jenkins, Grace 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sniffen, Jenna 1 ; Stewart, Sydney 1 ; Shockey, Regan 2 ; Escobar, Kiki 1 ; Biehl, Tayler 2 ; Jenkins, Grace 1 ; Jennings, Tele 1 ; Trice, Sereniti 1
CS: Kavanagh, Emma 1
Batting:
SH: Baker, Jada 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mathis, KK 1
SB: Mathis, KK 1 ; Jennings, D'Auna 1
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
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C
/ Softball
INF
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