Duke Advances to 2024 Women’s College World Series - Duke University (2024)

• Box Score

Game Recap: Softball | 5/27/2024 12:53:00 AM

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Tenth-seeded Duke punched its ticket to the 2024 Women's College World Series after using a two-out rally in the ninth inning to defeat seventh-seeded Missouri, 4-3, on Saturday at Mizzou Softball Stadium.

With the win, the Blue Devils improve to 52-7 overall and will make the program's first appearance at the WCWS. The Tigers close out their season with a 48-18 record.

Senior Claire Davidson guided the offense, finishing 2-for-4 on the day with a pair of singles. Senior Kelly Torres, junior Ana Gold, sophom*ore D'Auna Jennings and freshman Amiah Burgess each went 1-for-4 at the plate and combined to drive in Duke's four runs.

Sophom*ore Cassidy Curd earned the win inside the circle, surrendering two runs off six hits in her 8.1 innings of work. She also finished with a game-high seven strikeouts. The Port St. Lucie, Fla., native improves her record to 13-3 on the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Blue Devils were quick to spark their bats in the opening frame, placing runners on the corners using back-to-back singles, but weren't able to push a run across.
• The game remained scoreless as Curd and Missouri's Laurin Krings combined to allow just three hits over the next six frames. The pair allowed just one baserunner to advance into scoring position during that stretch.
• Jennings sparked the Blue Devil offense in the top of the ninth with a lead-off home run over the right field wall to break the deadlock.
• A few batters later, Burgess pushed the Blue Devils ahead again with an RBI-triple to score senior Francesca Frelick, who reached on a hit by pitch. Burgess then came home on Gold's RBI-double during the ensuing at-bat. Torres followed with another double to right field to plate Gold and extend Duke's lead to 4-0.
• The Tigers battled back in the home half with a three-run shot from Abby Hay but the Blue Devils were able to record the final two outs and preserve the win.

NOTES

• Duke is now 17-11 all-time in extra-inning games, including 5-1 this season.
• Burgess recorded her third triple of the year.
• Gold and Torres tallied their 43rd and 37th RBI of the season, respectively.
• Jennings blasted her second career home run.
• Senior Lillie Walker made her 27th appearance in the circle, sitting down two of the three batters she faced in the bottom of the ninth.

QUOTES

• "Wow. This is what postseason softball is all about – just a dogfight. Kudos to Missouri, they put up so much fight all weekend and are such great competitors. Super proud of our girls for continuing to fight with their backs against the wall. Cassidy Curd came out and threw a heck of a gem and I knew it was just a matter of time until our offense was able to score some runs for her and open things up. D'Auna [Jennings] coming up big, getting us started with her second ever home run, great timing for it. We're making history here and we're excited to take this team to Oklahoma City." – Head coach Marissa Young
• "First off, I just want to tip my hat to Missouri, they're a phenomenal team and they really gave me a run for my money this weekend. I think it was just pitch-by-pitch adjustments. Coach Young and I had a lot of conversations about what I needed to do to be successful and a lot of that was maturing mentally and understanding my adjustments. Really working with Kelly [Torres] and talking with her through our hand signals. I think it was about just continuing to go at them with my best stuff, do my best to move the ball around and I have the most unwavering confidence in the defense being right there to back me up." - Sophom*ore Cassidy Curd on shutting down Missouri's offense
• "I think it's important to not let the moment get too big, to really stay within yourself. We all had nerves and felt the pressure but it's all part of the game. We kept telling each other, do not try to do too much, keep things simple and at some point the balls are going to fall. Like I said, we've faced adversity all year, nothing has really changed. It's a chess match and today we really had to do it piece-by-piece. As soon as I started things off, we kept the offense rolling and that was all we needed to do." – Sophom*ore D'Auna Jennings on her mindset sparking the offense in the ninth inning

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils open up action in the Women's College World Series against second-seeded Oklahoma Thursday at 2:30 p.m. (ET)/1:30 p.m. (CT) at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

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

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