The Blue Deivls charged into the Spartans’ home turf and didn’t look back, winning by a convincing margin of 16-3 in just five innings.
In their first matchup since throwing a no-hitter against them in last year’s ACC tournament, Cassidy Curd and the Blue Devils dominated the Tigers once again.
In two midweek games against nonconference opposition, perfection was the expectation for the Blue Devils. One game was close, but the other provided an unexpected test.
Sunday’s win against rival North Carolina was the Blue Devils' 11th in a row against their rival; Duke hasn’t lost to the Tar Heels since March 2019, sweeping them each of the past three years.
Star southpaw Cassidy Curd spearheaded a strict defensive effort that held Charlotte runless until the final inning and watched her teammates break into energetic offense in the fifth inning to seal a safe nonconference win at home.
In a heavyweight clash between two teams jostling for a regular season title, the Blue Devils were able to grind out a series sweep against top opposition.
Duke traveled down to Louisville, Ky., Friday for a three-game ACC series against the Cardinals. It entered the weekend confident, only a week after ending its 21-game winning streak. But after a tough one-run performance Saturday, the third-ranked Blue Devils reignited offensively for a 5-3 win against the Cardinals Sunday afternoon, winning the series.
Duke dropped its first game of the season to Florida State, but hung on in extra innings to take the Sunday rubber match.
She is standing, figuratively, on the precipice of her second season with Duke — one that expects the star pitcher to be one of the best players in the conference and the country. But Curd's tattoos tell a grander tale.
Duke had not been down against an opponent since Feb. 25. With the high-powered offense practically expected from Duke at this point, Tuesday afternoon’s game against the Lady Flames looked to be no different. But it wasn’t such a clear-cut path to an eventual 4-1 victory for the Blue Devils.
In their first crack at conference opposition, No. 7 Duke proved more than up to the task against Syracuse, conceding zero runs across three games.
The fifth-ranked Blue Devils established firm dominance at home in the Duke Invitational this weekend, sweeping the competition as they extended their now-13-game win streak.
Though four games at the FIU Invitation, Duke softball emerged unscathed, only allowing one run in its four wins.
Duke has been tested on the diamond already this year, as it took on the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, last weekend. That experience clearly prepared Duke for Wednesday’s matchup against North Dakota State, who it scorched 18-0.
It was sunny Puerto Vallarta that would get the first taste of Duke softball this year, as the Devils made the trip down to Mexico to ring in the new season. For the second year in a row, No. 5 Duke would be tested early.
The factors of Duke being both a youthful team and a growing program make it somewhat of an unknown in the established collegiate softball scene, but this year can change that. If this team is able to break through to the Women’s College World Series, it will show that this team has staying power.
As the bow gets tied on 2023, The Chronicle’s sports department is reviewing the biggest storylines in Duke athletics throughout the year. Coming in at No. 5: In the ACC tournament semifinals, Cassidy Curd took the mound and pitched a no-hitter — a tone-setter for a later moment of history in the NCAA tournament.
A four-run fifth inning powered the ninth-seeded Cardinal past No. 8-seed Duke Saturday, sending the Blue Devils packing from the NCAA tournament.
No. 8 Duke dropped the first game of the NCAA best-of-three Super Regionals to the ninth-seeded Cardinal 3-1 Friday, holding a 1-0 lead through four innings before the Cardinal scored three runs across the fifth and sixth.
After being held scoreless for the first five frames, No. 8-seed Duke took a thrilling 4-2 victory against Charlotte, pushing itself to the next round of the tournament, which will bring No. 9-seed Stanford to Bull City.
