Six-run sixth inning fuels Duke softball's rally to beat N.C. State

For five innings Wednesday, Duke was stymied by N.C. State pitcher Devin Wallace, generating a mere two baserunners and no runs. 

But it was better late than never for the Blue Devil offense.

Duke rallied from a 3-0 deficit with six runs in the top of the sixth inning to storm past the Wolfpack 7-4 at Dail Stadium in Raleigh in a game that went down as a nonconference contest, with the two Triangle foes not slated to face each other in ACC play this season. Seven of the Blue Devils' first eight hitters in the sixth reached base safely.

The sixth-inning rally did not include any extra-base hits, but resulted from a steady diet of singles and free passes. Dominique Salinas was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Raine Wilson and Haley Wymbs followed that up with singles to load the bases with nobody out.

N.C. State tried to get the force out at home on a grounder to third base by Rachel Abboud, but an errant throw allowed two runs to score and moved the tying run to third base. Kortney Dry walked to load the bases, and the Wolfpack tried unsuccessfully to get the force at home once again as a grounder off the bat of Amelia Wiercioch tied it up.

Katherine Huey then delivered the big hit, a two-run single up the middle. Wilson put the cherry on top of the inning with another single to drive in Duke's sixth run, and the Blue Devils tacked on an insurance run on an RBI double by Dry in the seventh.

N.C. State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning with four singles off Huey, who settled in to make it through four frames without any further damage. Wiercioch came on in relief and limited the Wolfpack to a single run in the bottom of the seventh while only letting two batters reach base in her three innings on the mound.

Duke will stay on the road this weekend with a visit to Virginia Tech for its penultimate regular-season conference series.