No. 16 Duke Defeats No. 25 Michigan, 6-3, to Conclude Clearwater Invite

Sunday, February 19

Clearwater, Fla.

9 a.m.

Duke University

7-3

Michigan

6-4

Duke

MICHIGAN

No. 16 Duke Defeats No. 25 Michigan, 6-3, to Conclude Clearwater Invite

2/19/2023 2:17:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

CLEARWATER, Fla. – After dropping its opening contest of the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational, No. 16 Duke strung together four consecutive wins to conclude the tournament, capped by a 6-3 victory over No. 25 Michigan on Sunday.

Three of those wins came against nationally ranked opponents.

On Sunday against the Wolverines, senior Gisele Tapia lead the team finishing 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. The Long Beach, Calif., native finished the weekend going 8-for-14, adding four RBI and four runs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Tapia started things off for the Blue Devils' offense with a two-RBI double to right center in the top of the first to score sophomore Ana Gold and freshman D'Auna Jennings. Gold and Jennings led off the frame with a walk and single, respectively, to place runners on base.
Michigan then tallied two outs but junior Sarah Goddard brought home one additional run following her double to right center to score Tapia and hand Duke a 3-0 edge.
The Wolverines answered right back in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run homerun to cut the deficit to one at 3-2.
Both teams went scoreless through the next three innings until Jennings singled up the left field line and reached home after a throwing error to begin the fifth frame.
Junior pitcher Claire Davidson then sent a long ball over the right field fence for a two-run homerun to extend the Blue Devils' edge to four at 6-2. Davidson scored Tapia on the play who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning.
Michigan earned one run back in the bottom of the fifth, but junior pitcher Jala Wright came into the game in relief to close out the final 2.2 innings allowing just one hit to register the save.

NOTES

With the win, the Blue Devils picked up their fourth win over a top-25 opponent this season.
Davidson collected her second win in the circle after giving up nine hits and three runs in 4.1 innings of work. She added four strikeouts during her time in the circle.
Wright made her eighth appearance in the circle this season and struck out two in her 2.2 innings.
Davidson and Tapia each posted two RBI in the contest, tallying their fifth of the year, respectively.
Davidson has now registered a hit in four consecutive games.

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils open the home schedule with a doubleheader against Charleston Southern on Wednesday at Duke Softball Stadium. The first game is slated for 3 p.m. with the second to follow immediately after.

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