Extra-Inning Heroics Lift Duke into ACC Championship Game for Second Straight Year

Friday, May 10

Durham, N.C.

1 p.m.

Duke University

46-6

Clemson

34-17

Clemson

Duke

Frankie Frelick celebration ACC Championship Semifinal

Extra-Inning Heroics Lift Duke into ACC Championship Game for Second Straight Year

5/10/2024 6:00:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Photo Gallery

DURHAM – Top-seeded Duke defeated fifth-seeded Clemson, 4-3, in the 10th inning on Friday afternoon at Duke Softball Stadium to advance to its second straight ACC Championship game.

Senior Francesca Frelick drove in the game-winning run with a two-out, infield single to score freshman Amiah Burgess from second. Frelick finished the day 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Burgess accounted for two of Duke's four runs. Sophomore D'Auna Jennings and junior Ana Gold led the team with three hits each during the contest, going 3-for-4 and 3-for-5, respectively.

Sophomore Cassidy Curd and senior Lillie Walker both saw action in the circle on Friday. Walker picked up the win after working 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit while striking out three. Curd earned the start and tossed 7.1 innings, surrendering three runs off four hits with four strikeouts.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Clemson jumped on an early 2-0 lead after Maddie Moore recorded a two-run blast over the left field wall during the opening frame.
The Blue Devils knotted the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth when redshirt-sophomore Jada Baker sparked a two-out rally. The Longwood, Fla., native tallied an RBI-double to left field to bring in Burgess from third. Frelick then followed suit during the ensuing at bat, notching an RBI-single to right center to score Baker and even the score.
The Tigers jumped back on top again in the top of the seventh with a solo home run from the bat of Lindsey Garcia to take a 3-2 lead.
The Blue Devils would not go away, fighting their way back in the bottom of the seventh to scratch across the game-tying run after Kelly Torres posted a sacrifice fly to center field. Jennings and Claire Davidson posted back-to-back singles to begin the frame before Aminah Vega shifted them both into scoring position on a groundout.
The next two frames went scoreless until Burgess drew a lead off walk in the 10th and moved into scoring position on Gold's single to left field. The Tigers tallied the first two outs of the frame, but Frelick dropped an infield single into a gap at second to allow Burgess to score and claim the walk-off victory.

NOTES

The Blue Devils advance to the ACC title game for the second straight year and third time in program history after claiming the crown in 2021.
Duke is now 16-11 all-time in extra-inning games, including 4-1 this season.
Freshman Linh Le made the first start of her collegiate career, entering the lineup as the designated player.
Walker owns a 1.54 ERA and improves her season ledger to 12-1 after 25 appearances on the year.
Baker notched her fourth double of the season, while Torres and Tapia posted their fifth and fourth sacrifice fly and hit, respectively.

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils advance to Saturday's title game and will meet the winner of No. 2 seed Florida State and sixth-seeded Georgia Tech. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Jenny Dalton-Hill and Pam Ward on the call.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils softball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeSOFTBALL"

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