Oklahoma softball beats Duke in six innings to open Women’s College World Series

Duke entered the Women’s College World Series as the new kid on the block. They didn’t look nervous at the plate, but the pitching struggled against the reigning national champions.

Three two-run homers, including four runs in the bottom of the third, pushed Oklahoma (55-6) past the Blue Devils (52-8), 9-1, in six innings and set up an elimination game against Alabama at 7 p.m. on Friday.

“They’ve always been a very resilient group where they don’t hold on to the negative too long,” Blue Devils head coach Marissa Young said. “We always regroup and talk about what we can learn from the game and what we need to adjust in the game plan moving forward. They have a short-term memory. They’ve got a lot of spunk and fight, and I’m confident they’re gonna bounce back tomorrow.”

This was the second meeting of the season between the two programs. Duke played the reigning national champion in its season opener, falling to the Sooners, 3-0, at the Puerta Vallarta Challenge.

Almost four months later, the Oklahoma bats took advantage of Duke’s weaknesses in the circle.

Young said it’s tough to see her pitchers struggle on this stage, but she feels good about what the bullpen is capable of.

“When you leave balls over the plate to a team like Oklahoma, they’re gonna make you pay,” Young said. “But, they can walk away from a game like today knowing they didn’t hit their best stuff. I think that that’s a positive, because we’ve got to figure out how to turn around tomorrow and beat Alabama.”

Four Duke pitchers entered the circle in the loss, with starter Cassidy Curd having the most success. Curd threw two innings and allowed one run, three hits and walked one batter.

Jala Wright replaced Curd after the sophomore walked Coleman, but she struggled more than her left-handed counterpart. Wright finished her day with five runs on four hits and two strikeouts.

Oklahoma native Lillie Walker pitched two innings. She finished with three hits, one run and a strikeout. Walker recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, the only one for Duke.

Dani Drogemuller induced a pair of popups in the sixth, before giving up OU third baseman Alyssa Brito’s walkoff base hit.

Despite the struggles in the circle, OU complimented the Blue Devils’ pitching staff.

“Duke’s pitching staff is very, very good. They have the one of the best pitching staffs here in OKC, in my opinion,” catcher Kinzie Hansen said. “Curd was throwing gas up in the zone and then Jala was throwing gas down in the zone.”

Alynah Torres called the pitching staff “legit.”

“We really prepared for Duke, because they’re a really good team,” Sooners head coach Patty Gasso said. “I have immense respect for them, their coaching staff and what they’ve done to get here. They’ve always been on the cusp, so we knew that we were going to get a feisty team.”

Duke designated player Francesca Frelick actually gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the second inning. She hit a leadoff home run — the ball’s exit velocity clocking 65 miles per hour — and emphatically stomped her foot on home plate before celebrating with her teammates in the on-deck circle.

Frelick said she entered the batter’s box looking for a good pitch, wanted to keep it simple.

“First at-bat of the game, trying to get the butterflies out and just looking for something I could hit hard,” Frelick said. “I wasn’t trying to hit a home run. I was just looking for a good pitch to hit right back up the middle.”

That lead didn’t last long. Hansen launched a two-run home run into left field, driving in center fielder Jayda Coleman. Two at-bats later, pinch hitter Torres added a second two-score homer to put the Sooners up, 4-1.

OU first baseman Cydney Sanders added a two-run shot over the wall in the fourth frame, ultimately putting the game out of reach.

Sooners third baseman Alyssa Brito plated Coleman and second baseman Tiare Jennings to end the game early.

Duke had an opportunity to retake the lead in the fourth after loading the bases. The Blue Devils recorded a fielder’s choice, hit by pitch and walk, forcing the Sooners to replace starting pitcher Kelly Maxwell with Winston-Salem native Kierston Deal. OU ended the threat after a diving play from Coleman in the outfield.

“Saving runs and breaking hearts,” Jessica Mendoza said on the ESPN broadcast. “That’s Jayda Coleman, folks.”

The Blue Devils finished with three hits, four walks, one hit batter and left six runners on base.

OU notched 11 hits and left five on the bags in the victory.

“Gotta have a goldfish mentality,” Duke catcher Kelly Torres said. “It’s over with; can’t change the past. What we can do is just focus on the next game.”