Duke Collects Two Shutouts; Takes Down No. 4 Texas

Saturday, February 22

Austin, Texas

3 p.m.

Duke University

11-2

North Dakota State

5-8

North Dakota State

Duke

Duke Collects Two Shutouts; Takes Down No. 4 Texas

2/23/2020 1:30:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

AUSTIN, Texas – Duke softball closed out the Texas Invitational on Saturday with two shutout victories, including a 3-0 win over North Dakota State before taking down No. 4 Texas (1-0) on its home field of Red & Charline McCombs Field.

The Blue Devils (12-2) defeated a ranked opponent for the first time in program history as the Longhorns (14-1) were handed their first loss of the 2020 campaign.

"There's been so much work put in that people don't see when they see the outcome of this game," said Raine Wilson. "As a senior, to see how far we've come…a year or two ago we weren't in these games so to go out and win was unreal."

Game Two: Duke 1, No. 4 Texas 0
With only three hits through seven innings, Duke garnered two during the fourth. Nearly sending one out of the park, Wilson smacked a ball against the wall in right center for a double. With a dropped strike three in the next at-bat, Wilson was able to advance to third. Stepping up to the plate, sophomore Caroline Jacobsen sent a shot to the pitcher and recorded an infield single to score the winning run.

Despite its three errors, Duke's defense behind junior Peyton St. George stranded nine Longhorn runners on base. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Jazmine Moreno gunned down a runner stealing second for the final out of the game.

"I was focused on the pitch and I saw her [Moreno] come up to fire – I ducked and right when she [Gisele] caught it I knew she was hosed," St. George said. "I wish I could relive the moment but what a way to end the game."

St. George threw a gem, hurling seven complete innings with one strikeout to notch her fourth victory of year while her counterpart, Miranda Elish, dropped her first decision of her senior season (7-1).

"I was really focused on not worrying about playing the jersey too much or making the moment bigger than myself, because I thought I was prepared for the moment and knew that I belonged in it," said St. George. "We were built for this and we worked so hard for this – it was good to put the team on the map."

Game One: Duke 3, North Dakota State 0
Jacobsen opened the afternoon with her fourth long ball of the season, clearing the wall in left center for a three-run homer in the first inning. Including the home run, the Blue Devils tallied three hits in the frame with singles from Wilson and Jameson Kavel.

Duke put runners in scoring position in the fourth as Dominique Salinas sent one through the right side while Deja Davis reached on a hit-by-pitch. A wild pitch advanced both runners, but the Blue Devils couldn't add to their lead.

Picking up the last hit of the game was Jacobsen who led the team with a 2-for-3 performance.

Junior Brianna Butler dealt her longest outing of the season, hurling seven complete innings to pick up her second shutout in 2020. Butler only allowed three hits while garnering two strikeouts to improve to 3-1 in the circle.

The Blue Devils have a quick turn around before a Tuesday matchup at home with NC Central at 6 p.m. at the Duke Softball Stadium. The following day, Duke will travel to Raleigh to play NC State at 5 p.m.

#GoDuke