Sportswrap: Softball advances to Super Regional, men's lacrosse secures place in Final Four

Duke's weekend triumph against Charlotte means that the Blue Devils will host a Super Regional for the first time in program history.
Duke's weekend triumph against Charlotte means that the Blue Devils will host a Super Regional for the first time in program history.

Sportswrap is your one-stop shop for everything Duke athletics, where we’ll recap how each of Duke’s sports currently in competition performed over the last week and give a brief look ahead. Here’s our recap for the week of May 15-21.

Softball

For the first time ever, the Blue Devils are hosting a NCAA Super Regional. No. 8-seed Duke (48-10, 19-5 in the ACC) squeaked out a 2-1 victory against George Mason to open the Durham Regional Friday, pushed ahead by yet another Ana Gold homer. After beating Charlotte 5-0 Saturday, the Blue Devils defeated the 49ers once more Sunday in a 4-2 thriller that saw Duke held scoreless till the sixth. Freshman phenom D’Auna Jennings went 7-for-7 against Charlotte and Duke’s pitching staff combined for 23 Ks across the weekend. Duke will face off with No. 9-seed Stanford starting Friday. -Molly Honecker

Men’s lacrosse

And then there were four. No. 1-seed Duke poured the pressure on Michigan Saturday afternoon, riding Brennan O’Neill’s six goals to a dominant 15-8 victory. The Blue Devils (15-2, 5-1) were a well-oiled attacking machine throughout, with senior Dyson Williams and sophomore Andrew McAdorey also logging hat tricks, rendering a resolute Wolverines back line helpless for much of the game. Graduate goalie William Helm had 14 saves on 22 shots on the day as well. Up next, Duke travels to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for a Saturday noon date with Penn State in the Final Four, with eyes on Monday’s championship game against one of Virginia or Notre Dame. -Andrew Long

Baseball

No. 12 Duke completed its regular season on a down note, but still set itself up nicely for the postseason. A midweek loss to Gardner-Webb and a series loss to Miami dropped the Blue Devils (35-19, 16-13) to just 2-5 in their last seven games. The series against the Hurricanes began well, with Duke taking game one 5-3, but things turned sour when the team blew a 8-3 lead and lost game two in extra innings. The last game of the series was all Miami, with the Blue Devils losing 10-1. On a high note, junior Alex Stone continued his hitting streak, extending it to 28 games. Despite its passive finish, Duke enters the ACC tournament as the No. 5 seed and will play in a pool with Miami and N.C. State, starting Tuesday at 7 p.m. -Dom Fenoglio

Women’s golf

Heading into the final round of stroke play at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., senior Erica Shepherd is the only Blue Devil who remains. Duke closed its season Sunday after finishing 18th among the field, missing the cut by just four strokes. Shepherd, on the other hand, was one of nine individuals to advance to the next round in addition to the top 15 teams courtesy of her even-par 216 over three days. Shepherd kicks off the next round Monday afternoon while her teammates prepare for the 2023-24 season. -Long

Men’s golf

Duke completed an unbelievable comeback, rallying from 10 strokes down in the final round of the NCAA Norman Regional to clinch a spot in the NCAA Championships. The Blue Devils finished the event in fifth place with a total team score of 21-under at 843 shots, both new program records at an NCAA regional. The comeback was sparked mainly by impressive play from Kelly Chinn and William Love, who both shot five-under on the last day of the tournament. Freshman Ethan Evans also dunked in a 75-foot chip on the final hole to solidify the resurgence. With new life, Duke travels to Scottsdale, Ariz., for the NCAA Championships starting Friday. -Luke Jovanovic

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