COLUMBIA, SC – Driven by initial support, No. 16 Duke won two victories to close the Gamecock Invitational, with the Blue Devils defeating Seton Hall, 6-1, and leading No. 18 in South Carolina, 5-1, on Sunday at Carolina Softball Stadium.
Duke was undefeated at the weekend (4-0) to improve to 12-1 in the 2021 campaign, while winning his second victory of the season over a qualified opponent.
Junior Deja Davis he continued his hot streak on the board, joining a 4 to 6 performance with two doubles, a treble and a home run while adding up to four RBI and scoring three runs. Second year Gisele Tapia also had a strong offensive performance, hitting 0.500 with a triple, home run and three RBI.
The Blue Devils pitching team ended an excellent weekend as a junior Shelby Walters and senior Peyton St. George achieved its fifth and fourth victories, respectively. Duke used four pitchers on the day as a junior Kylie Coffelt and Brianna Butler also saw action in the circle.
Duke 6, Seton Hall 1
Duke had an explosive start with four runs in four hits in the starting frame, including three doubles and a home run. Davis sent an opening double to the right center wall and was taken home on the homer of two Tapia races – his second of the season. Senior Jameson Kavel and junior Caroline Jacobsen both registered a double RBI to give Duke an initial 4-0 lead.
Davis and Tapia were back in the second round, starting with Davis’ triple fourth of the season and a single RBI on Tapia’s right side (5-0). Senior Rachel Crabtree managed a hit with a single infield for the pitcher, but the Blue Devils left her and Tapia at the base to finish off the top half.
The Blue Devils made changes to their schedule in the third, like second year Kamryn Jackson entered the game and scored his first blow of the season with a double to the left center. Freshman Francesca Frelick also appeared as she and junior Kyla Morris both reached the base on a hit shot. Duke tried to increase his advantage, but left the bases loaded, while Seton Hall added his only game round in the bottom half (5-1).
Frelick, who made his debut behind the plate, won his first hit of his career, stole a base and ran in the fifth inning. Graduated student Dominique Salinas reached third place in a pitching error from Frelick to make it 6-1.
Due to an 11-hour dead-down time, Duke won the 6-1 win by 6.2 entries. Walters improved to 4-0 with the win, dealing with 6.1 frames and accumulating five eliminations, the best of the season. Coffelt made his first appearance in the 2021 campaign, facing two hitters on Thursday.
Duke 5, South Carolina 1
For the second game in a row, Tapia scored a hit on his first hit with his first triple of his career and scored Duke’s first race in the competition on a single RBI through the right side of Crabtree (1-0). South Carolina recorded its first hit at the bottom of the first, but a direct advance for third runners stranded in the corners.
Torres fired a shot from the right side and a sacrificial bunt from Morris placed her in second place. Davis launched a two-run kick over the wall into the right field, registering his third home run of the season to expand Duke’s lead to 3-0.
With a double shot from Foreman to the center field, the Blue Devils tried to turn in another descent, but a pop-up would end the third place. Duke made a pitch change in the bottom half when St. George took over from Butler.
After three goalless entries, Davis sent a huge double-run of two runs to the left field wall, scoring Jacobsen and Wilson to increase Duke’s lead to 5-0 in sixth place. Gamecocks marked their only round at the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run (5-1).
In the circle, St. George threw five entries with six eliminations en route to his fourth win of the season. Butler, who won the start, launched two entries in which he recorded three punchouts.
Notable
- Seventeen Blue Devils went into action in the Seton Hall game.
- Walters had the best start to his career with a record of 5-0 – 4-0 in 2020 was previously his best start.
- Tapia’s 3 RBI against Seton Hall was a high point in his career.
- Duke’s four doubles against Seton Hall were the most tied this season, as the team also scored four against Pitt on February 20, 2021. The show’s record is six, which happened on two occasions (vs. Rutgers 2 / 15, vs. Campbell 2/19) last season.
- With hits in all four games this weekend, Davis has a streak of 10 games and has recorded at least one hit in 23 of his last 24 games.
The Blue Devils return to action on Wednesday, March 3, with a 6 pm contest in Charlotte.
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