Duke softball suspends top 3 hitters, 7 players in total for series opener vs. Tar Heels

Duke will have to play its biggest game in program history so far with a severely depleted roster.

The Blue Devils suspended seven players for their Friday evening's series opener against North Carolina due to a violation of team rules, the team announced in a press release Friday afternoon just three hours before game time. Haley Wymbs, Raine Wilson and Katherine Huey—who own the three best batting averages on the team—were among the suspended Blue Devils, as well as Peyton St. George, Dominique Salinas, Reilly Metzger and Emilie Cieslak.

Wymbs, Wilson, Salinas and Metzger are four of Duke's only five players who transferred from other schools and are not freshmen or redshirt freshmen.

All seven suspended players except Cieslak have been regular starters through 18 games, accounting for nearly half of the team's hits so far this season. St. George and Huey have also been two of the Blue Devils' top pitchers so far this year, starting 11 of their 18 games. The only two players to take the mound all season aside from that duo are freshmen Amelia Wiercioch and Brianna Butler.

All of the Blue Devils are expected to be available for Saturday's doubleheader against the Tar Heels to wrap up the series.