A red-hot Duke team entered the weekend in hopes of remaining undefeated in March. Clemson, however, came prepared with the water to douse the Blue Devils’ fiery bats in an even series.
Despite snatching a sweep in the Friday doubleheader, No. 18 Duke fell in low-scoring affairs Saturday and Sunday to split the road series at No. 21 Clemson. The four-game set was crucial for the Blue Devils to establish themself as a top team in the ACC, as the Tigers sit just behind them atop the conference standings. Friday also marked the first time the two programs have ever went head-to-head in conference play, as the shortened 2020 season was Clemson’s first as a program.
Unfamiliar to Duke as it took the field Friday afternoon was the relatively large, socially-distanced crowd enjoying a softball-filled afternoon in the sun. Duke had spent much of the last three weeks at home in the quiet confines of the Duke Softball Stadium, where no fans are allowed.
“It’s a great atmosphere,” head coach Marissa Young said of the highly-attended weekend series. “I think it definitely adds to the atmosphere and intensity of the game when you've got a crowd like that.”
After putting 31 runs on the board across four games against Syracuse the previous weekend, the Blue Devil bats were cooled instantly against the Tigers. While Duke (26-3, 14-3 in the ACC) ended up securing the 2-0 win in Friday's opener, the team managed just one hit through the first five frames. Without many extra-base hits, the Blue Devils were forced into playing an unfamiliar brand of small-ball, taking every opportunity to move runners, including a failed attempt at stealing home.
For the entire weekend, Clemson’s pitching seemed to consistently shut down the Blue Devils just as they were threatening to score. The 3-for-36 clip with runners in scoring position was a mere shadow of the potent offense Duke trotted out over the last few weeks. Even in the two wins against Clemson (22-4, 14-4), the Blue Devils labored to bring runners around.
“We've had a really good run, and our kids have been doing things really well. We're not going to hit the panic button because we had a tough weekend,” Young said of the struggling offense.
Defensively, it was mostly smooth sailing for the Blue Devils, who had Peyton St. George and Shelby Walters seemingly taking turns throwing from the circle. St. George, who tied the program record for wins in a season with her 11th victory Friday, threw 252 pitches over 14.2 innings, giving up 11 hits and four earned runs. Walters complemented St. George nicely with 11.1 solid innings of one-run ball. Although the latter half of the weekend saw an increased number of walks, Young has faith in the co-aces to propel Duke over opponents of Clemson’s caliber.
“Obviously we'll continue to manage them as a staff throughout the season,” Young said, adding that third pitcher Brianna Butler will soon return to game action after taking the week off. “Shelby and Peyton are great matchups for Clemson and, again, things just didn't go our way, but I thought they did exactly what we needed them to do.”
The weekend certainly wasn’t perfect for Duke, which suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since Feb. 2020. However, the Blue Devils showed again that they can hang with some of the best in the conference and the nation.
Duke returns home to host No. 13 Virginia Tech Friday through Sunday.
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Micah Hurewitz is a Trinity senior and was previously a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.