Swaggy Seniors
Vets' unbridled passion keys Top 10 softball
Meredith Rieder, GoDuke The Magazine
When Duke softball is at its best, it’s just a bunch of FSDs out on the diamond. And those “Free Swaggy Dogs” are unleashing their unbridled passion for each other, their sport and Duke University every time they step on the field.
With the tone set by the talented collection of six seniors — Claire Davidson, Frankie Frelick, Sarah Goddard, Kelly Torres, Lillie Walker and Jala Wright — the Blue Devils are winning a lot and having so much fun doing it.
“I feel like our entire team is so goofy,” said Frelick. “We’re an extremely weird group of girls who all come together. I think Kelly definitely leads the way. She just allows herself to be her and that trickles down to everyone else thinking it’s okay to be weird too and goofy and funny.”
That’s the “free” part of the Blue Devils’ game. Embracing everyone for who they are, taking each game one pitch at a time and always remaining in the moment.
“I would add that, it’s not that we changed the culture, but this year definitely has a different feel than any year before,” said Torres. “I’m not sure if it came from us or just from the team as a whole. But we’re a lot goofier and we allow ourselves just to have fun and be so present within the moment. I also think that’s a reason we’re performing this way.”
While staying true to their authentic selves, the Blue Devils have launched Team 7 to a 44-6 record, a No. 5 national ranking, too many program records to count and more in sight. Team 7 refers to this being the seventh year of Duke softball dating back to the inaugural season in 2018, known to this crop of seniors as the “OGs” of Duke softball.
An OG according to Merriam-Webster is “someone or something that is an original or originator and especially one that is highly respected or regarded.” And highly regarded they are, but we’ll get to that part of the story later.
The “swaggy” part is the confidence in which these seniors and the Blue Devils, thanks in part to the example set from the OGs, take to the field every day. They believe an ACC title is within their grasp and each of the six will tell you they belong in Oklahoma City at the Women’s College World Series in June.
“I think we just have this unwavering belief within ourselves,” said Torres. “If it’s not me who does it, I have Claire behind me. If it’s not Claire, I have Aminah (Vega). If it’s not Aminah, I have Ana (Gold). It’s just unwavering belief in every single person, one through nine, in the lineup.”
The “dogs” are referencing the ferocity with which this group attacked this season. The fall training, the hours in the weight room and in the batting cages. They still felt the sting from last season, falling to Florida State by one run in the ACC Championship game and ending the year with two losses to Stanford in the NCAA Super Regional at the Duke Softball Stadium.
“We all came in kind of knowing this is our last year,” said Davidson. “We came in and we knew it was the last fall we’re ever going to have. This is the last run test we have to run. All of those things. We just enjoyed them a lot more because we knew it was going to end soon and I think we’ve carried that through the whole season.”
This group of six seniors has seen so much. From winning an ACC championship their first year on campus to advancing to the program’s first NCAA Tournament and ultimately hosting an NCAA Super Regional in 2023, these seniors are the most experienced and battle-tested in Duke’s brief history.
Their story started with so much uncertainty. Five of the six arrived on campus in the fall of 2020 — Wright transferred to Duke the following fall — as college athletic departments across the country tried to decide how they were going to navigate the sports seasons safely amid the covid-19 pandemic. Classes were completely online, there were no fall or spring breaks and social interaction outside of one’s team was virtually nonexistent.
“It was very difficult, but looking back on it I think it was the best way to come into college,” Torres said. “It’s sad because with covid came a lot of sadness and a lot of death, but there was still some greatness within it because we spent so much time with each other, and we created such a bond. It was so special.”
Led by a group that had it all taken away suddenly in March 2020, the Blue Devils’ Team 4 came back and took the softball world by storm. Duke won a program-record 44 games and defeated No. 7 Florida State and No. 13 Clemson to win an ACC championship and earn its first NCAA Championship berth.
With no fans allowed in the stands throughout most of the 2021 season, family members and fans had to experience the excitement from home. The team did its part though, bringing a palpable energy that jumped through the TV and computer screens.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to be there with you guys our true freshman year, but I just remember watching from home and I could feel your guys’ energy together and the culture you had through the TV screen,” said Wright, who transferred to Duke after one season at Michigan State. “I always knew I wanted to be a part of that, and I wanted to feel those bonds.”
The bonds over the next three seasons grew stronger as the Blue Devils rode the highs and lows of a college softball season. They had to overcome struggles in confidence while managing a new weight of expectations that manifested due to the program’s quick rise to success. With all those experiences in their toolbox, this group admits this year feels different. They’re free.
“I think it says a lot to just how much work we’ve all put in and how we’ve all stuck together and picked each other up,” said Davidson, who is putting up All-American type numbers offensively for the Blue Devils. “Most of us haven’t been starters every single year and we’ve had to go through the grind of ‘When are we going to get a chance?’ And just taking advantage of our opportunities and we continue to push ourselves to make each other better. So, now that we’re all getting chances, we’re able to thrive in that environment.”
Duke’s numbers both offensively and defensively are proof of the Blue Devils’ work and dedication to their teammates and honing their craft. Defensively, the Blue Devils lead the league and are fourth nationally in ERA (1.57), they rank second in the ACC in fielding percentage (.975) and they stand eighth in the country in strikeouts-to-walks-ratio (3.89).
From the batter’s box, Duke is equally as impressive, ranking 11th nationally in batting average (.334) with Davidson spearheading the offense with a .444 average, 55 hits and 15 home runs. In 59 games last season, the Lakewood Ranch, Fla., native had 51 hits, five home runs and hit .325.
Nobody’s numbers this season tell the story better than Wright’s from the circle. She leads the ACC and ranks eighth nationally with a 1.11 ERA. At this point last season, Wright wasn’t even ranked among the top 150 pitchers nationally in ERA. Her 130 strikeouts in 107 innings pitched this season are already three more than she had in her 133 innings in 2023.
“I definitely feel different,” said Wright. “I would say I’ve finally taken the pressure off, and I’ve learned I have this amazing group of girls behind me, and I don’t have to do it by myself. Just to know that even if I do make a mistake, Lillie (Walker) is going to come in and shut the door or Kelly or Claire is going to come in and hit the big bomb behind me. Knowing these girls have my back allows me to just have fun and be that little girl I once was when I was five years old.”
In the moment, this season is all about the 19 players on the Duke roster. However, when these seniors sit down and reflect on their four years, they are keenly aware of how much they owe those who came before them — the OGs. They benefited from the 2018 class that won 29 games as freshmen in 2018 and won a then-program record 44 games in 2021.
“Our class has seen it all,” said Walker, who ranks fifth in the ACC in saves (3) and seventh in wins (10). “We’ve played with the OG Duke softball players, and now it’s kind of a new generation. So, I think we’ve been able to see the transition of Duke softball and we’re just trying to pour in all the stuff the OGs of Duke softball poured into us. We just want to leave the program better than we found it and make sure we’re holding true to the values that got us here to begin with.”
Goddard, who has played in 138 career games and has a career-high 22 starts this season, echoes Walker’s sentiment in needing to pay homage to those who started the record book they’ve rewritten this season.
“While this is a special year, and it feels different because we’re graduating, it really is just a testament to the people who have come before us who wanted this (success) for this program,” said Goddard. “Those are the people we play for. The people who aren’t on the field but are still with us and those who built the standards for this program. So, even though they’re not actually the ones doing it, they’re the reason we’re going out and playing and I hope that we can be somewhat of the same to our underclassmen.”
But before they hand over the reins to the younger Blue Devils, this group says they have some unfinished business to take care of first.
“I want to be the first team to make it to Oklahoma,” said Torres as all her classmates nodded in agreement. “And I think we will be if we don’t make the moment too big and just stay within Duke softball. It’s still seven innings, the same ball, the same bases. The game never changes.”
Same goes for all of you Blue Devils. Stay goofy. Be those Free Swaggy Dogs.
This story originally appeared in the 15.8 issue of GoDuke The Magazine – April 2024. Dedicated to sharing the stories of Duke student-athletes, present and past, GoDuke The Magazine is published for Duke Athletics by LEARFIELD with editorial offices at 3100 Tower Blvd., Suite 404, Durham, NC 27707. To subscribe, join the Iron Dukes or call (336) 831-0767.