St. George Sets Program Record as No. 13 Duke Sweeps Doubleheader with NC State

Friday, March 11

Durham, N.C.

3 P.M.

Duke University

19-3, 4-0

NC State

19-4, 2-2

NC State

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

St. George Sets Program Record as No. 13 Duke Sweeps Doubleheader with NC State

3/11/2022 10:34:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 BOX SCORE (GAME ONE)BOX SCORE (GAME TWO)

DURHAM – Graduate student Peyton St. George set a program record to help lead No. 13 Duke softball (20-3, 5-0 ACC) to a Friday doubleheader sweep of NC State, winning game one 7-1 and the nightcap 3-1, in Duke Softball Stadium.

St. George tallied a single game program high of 15 strikeouts, breaking Brianna Butler's record of 14 set on Mar. 8, 2020, against Gardner-Webb. The Mechanicsville, Va., native allowed just one hit and one run against the Wolfpack (19-5, 2-3 ACC) going a complete seven innings for her third consecutive complete game.

Not to be outdone, Jala Wright struck out 11 in seven innings of one-run softball in the first game. Deja Davis led the offense for the Blue Devils in the doubleheader, driving in five runs.

Game One – Duke Wins 7-1
The Blue Devils got off to a quick start in the opener, when Jameson Kavel launched a solo home run in the first inning to take an early lead. However, NC State had an answer, leading off the third inning with a double and then an RBI single by Kaylee Lambrecht to tie the game at 1-1.

In the bottom of the third, Ana Gold gave the Blue Devils the lead for good, driving home Davis on a double after she was hit by a pitch in the previous at-bat. Gold would come home on a sacrifice bunt by Rachel Crabtree to extend the lead to 3-1.

Duke broke the game open in the fourth inning, loading the bases via a walk from Kelly Torres, a single by Gisele Tapia and a walk from Kamryn Jackson. Davis would clear the bases with a three-run double to left center field and would be brought home later on another RBI by Crabtree to take a 7-1 lead.

The runs gave Wright an ideal cushion, as the Charlotte, N.C., native struck out seven batters in the final three innings to secure the win. Wright improved to 4-0 on the season, lowering her ERA to 1.26.

Game Two – Duke Wins 3-1
Much like the opening game, the Blue Devils earned their first run off a solo home run. This time, it came from Torres, who took a 1-2 pitch into left field for her second home run of the season and a 1-0 lead.

The Wolfpack were held hitless by St. George until Logan Morris hit a home run in the fourth inning to make it 1-1. That would not phase St. George, who held the Wolfpack hitless for the remainder of the game.

The Blue Devils took the lead back in the bottom half of the fourth inning, as Torres and Tapia reached to set up Davis once again. The Cerritos, Calif., native laced a two-run double down the left field line, giving St. George and the Blue Devils a 3-1 cushion.

St. George closed out a historic night by striking out six of the remaining nine batters, including two in the seventh inning to improve to 9-1 with a 1.77 ERA this season.

The Blue Devils will meet the Wolfpack for the series finale on Sunday at 4 p.m., with the game set to be televised on ACC Network. Sunday will be both a "Sunday Runday", where kids can run the bases after the game, and a postgame autograph night, in the lower-level concourse behind home plate following the game.

Notes:

In addition to her record-breaking performance, St. George improved her previous career-high of 12 by three strikeouts.
Wright also set a career-high in strikeouts for the second straight start, becoming just the fifth Blue Devil ever with 10-or-more strikeouts in a game.
The Blue Devils matched a program-high for strikeouts in a two-game span with 26 (tying Mar. 7-12, 2021, against UConn and Virginia).
Duke is now 9-2 against NC State, having won the last seven games in the all-time series.

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