DURHAM, N.C. – Following a shortened 2020 season due to COVID-19, three seniors will use the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA and join the 2021 Duke softball roster.
Jazmine Moreno,
Dominique Salinas and
Raine Wilson all return for their final season in a Blue Devil jersey, enrolling in graduate school at Duke's Fuqua School of Business.
A three-year starting catcher, Moreno has started in 130 of 131 games she's appeared in. The Elk Grove, Calif., native has caught 24 runners stealing in her career and holds a .989 fielding percentage.
An outfielder from Corpus Christi Texas, Salinas has played in 125 games during her career as a Blue Devil. Following her three seasons at Duke, she has a .242 career batting average.
A three-year captain, Wilson has played in 130 games with 128 starting assignments. The Mechanicsville, Va., native has a .315 career batting average and a .535 slugging percentage. She's tied with sophomore
Caroline Jacobsen for the most home runs in Duke history (15).
Head coach
Marissa Young maintains 19 student-athletes from the 2020 season that put together an impressive 23-4 record. Ten of Duke's 23 victories came in run-rule fashion. Having its best start since the inaugural season in 2018, the Blue Devils ranked 25th in the final ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll of the year – the first national ranking in school history.
Despite the season ending early, Duke broke numerous program records and were on pace to break more. Led by Jacobsen with a single-season high nine home runs, Duke set a team record with 26 homers. Junior
Briana Butler recorded a program-best 0.95 earned run average and a single-game high 14 strikeouts during the 2020 season.
A well-rounded team, Duke was second in the ACC in batting average (.319) and led the league in the pitcher's circle with a 1.61 ERA In the field, the Blue Devils .968 fielding percentage was fourth in the conference.
On top of Duke's lethal returning lineup, Young adds six freshmen for the 2020-21 year with
Claire Davidson,
Sarah Goddard,
Lillie Walker,
Julia Boyet,
Kelly Torres and
Francesca Frelick.
#GoDuke