Duke softball splits second day of NCAA Tournament. How it responded vs. Marshall
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- D’Auna Jennings hit a two-out grand slam to give Duke a four-run second-inning lead.
- Duke beat Marshall 10-0 and must win two games to reach the Super Regional.
- Arizona beat Duke 10-1 in five innings; it was Duke's third run-rule loss this season.
Four Duke players stood at home plate while outfielder D’Auna Jennings ran toward home plate and leapt in celebration. Jennings’ two-out grand slam gave the Blue Devils a four-run lead in the second inning of their elimination game.
That four-run lead ballooned to 11 in subsequent innings as Duke overcame an early-afternoon setback against Arizona to crush Marshall, 11-0, to advance to Sunday’s Durham Regional final.
The Wildcats won the first game of the day, 10-1, in five innings. It was the Blue Devils’ third run-rule defeat this season and the second-largest margin of defeat. They fell to Georgia, 9-1, in five innings on Feb. 14 at the Clearwater Invitational and to Oklahoma, 11-1, in six innings at the Mary Nutter Classic six days later.
Then, the Blue Devils (41-15) kept their season alive against Marshall (38-19), setting up a rematch against Arizona at noon Sunday. If Duke can beat Arizona this time, the Blue Devils will have to do it again in short order if they want to advance to the Super Regional.
“I think we just flushed it, literally hitting a reset button,” Jennings said. “I think if you sit here and dwell on what you didn’t do and what you did do — it doesn’t carry. Whatever we did until last game clearly didn’t carry on into this game, and I think that game just showed you what Duke softball can do.”
Duke started its offensive explosion against Marshall in the top of the second inning. The batters recorded three consecutive hits, including Layla Lamar’s one-pitch single in the leadoff spot. Jennings, who set the program’s single-season hit record on Friday, launched a two-out grand slam to left-center field and put her team up 4-0.
“Statistically, I’ve never really executed in bases-loaded situations,” Jennings said. “I’ve been wanting it all year long; to be the one I’m always wanting to be the one in big moments and big situations. … I wasn’t really thinking much but just looking for my pitch and wanting to execute.”
Infielder Jessica Oakland added the team’s second home run of the inning, extending Duke’s lead to six. The Blue Devils recorded seven hits in the frame, tripling their hits from its first game of the day.
Lamar and utility player KK Mathis recorded their second hits of the game in the top of the fourth. They crossed home plate on designated player Gabriella Shadek’s three-run home run. The homer, Duke’s 104th long ball of the season, put the Blue Devils in run-rule territory. Shadek went 3 for 3 against the Thundering Herd.
“I’ve literally grown my confidence throughout the season,” Shadek said. “I feel like, especially stepping into this weekend, I just am ready to be on like attack mode and do everything I can to help the team get as far as we can.”
Tyrina Jones tripled to drive in Duke’s 11th run of the game. After recording a season-low two hits against Arizona, the Blue Devils finished the night with 14 hits versus Marshall.
Junior pitcher Larissa Jacquez held the Herd scoreless with a pair of hits before Ava Bradshaw entered in relief. Bradshaw allowed one run in the bottom of the fifth, but she got out of a bases-loaded jam to end the contest.
The clean pitching, errorless defense and batting showed a much different version of the team that appeared against the Wildcats.
“The first game today didn’t go the way that we expected, but I still feel like we’re playing good softball,” Duke head coach Marissa Young said.
“Today’s bounce-back game was really about continuing to believe that we have what it takes to do our job, not to press, not to try to do too much. I just felt, up and down the lineup offensively, they set the tone for us being able to hit first. Then, super proud of Lottie, the way that she came in today and really shut them down, set the tone. We’ve needed our pitchers to step up, and I think that they’re pitching at their best when their best is needed. Happy for that.”
Duke drops first game against Arizona
Arizona (37-16) took a two-run lead in the top of the first inning on a pair of two-out defensive errors. Regan Shockey, the Wildcats’ leadoff hitter, recorded a single on the first pitch. Senior pitcher Cassidy Curd struck out the next two batters.
Shockey, however, scored on the next play after Curd overthrew a routine throw to first baseman Jada Baker. Curd gave up a second unearned run on Curd’s consecutive throwing error to first. She ended the inning with a strikeout.
The Blue Devils entered the game as one of the top defensive teams in the nation. Duke ranked No. 51 out of 304 teams and held a 97.1% fielding percentage. Curd had not committed an error this season.
“I think from a pitching standpoint, that was one of her best games all year,” Young said of her message to Curd. “The defensive miscues can overshadow that, but I wanted her to really hang on to the good of how well she pitched, because we’re going to need it again.”
Duke scored its only run in the bottom of the third on speedy base running. Mathis reached on a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Jennings added a single, putting runners on the corners.
Jennings found herself in a pickle between first and second. As the senior reached first base safely, Mathis slid into home ahead of the tag.
Mathis replaced Curd, who struck out seven, in the fifth inning after loading the bases, but the freshman couldn’t get a handle on the Wildcats. Arizona scored six runs to take a nine-run lead. The Blue Devils couldn’t push across the two runs required to extend the game, sending them into the elimination bracket.
This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Duke softball splits second day of NCAA Tournament. How it responded vs. Marshall."
