It was going to be a comeback for the ages.
No. 13 Duke lost three games to No. 14 Florida State over the weekend, instigating a run-rule ending in the first and suffering a 9-2 loss in the third. In the final frames of the second game, however, the Blue Devils nearly came back from a 10-run deficit with a heroic recovery effort that proved a remarkable offensive resilience.
“We can’t control the outcome but we can control if we’re in the fight, we can control our process, and we’re always talking about trying to keep getting better,” head coach Marissa Young said Saturday. “So that at-bat may not change the outcome of the game, but it’s gonna help you for the remainder of the season, so you want to stay in it.”
In the bottom of the fourth, Florida State’s defense made quick work of Duke, catching pop flies from Thessa Malau’ulu, Kairi Rodriguez and Jada Baker to tally three quick outs and hold the home team to just one run — to the Seminoles’ 11. In the bottom of the fifth, Aminah Vega whacked a three-run homer out of the ballpark, scoring freshman Brooklinn Thomas and junior D’Auna Jennings. Three more runs were not all that promising, but kept Duke, at least, safe from an early end to the game.
And then the seventh. Oh, the seventh. Jennings had scored Baker and Thomas in the bottom of the sixth and Hailey Shuler, pitching for Duke, had allowed Isa Torres to score one more for Florida State in the top of the final inning. The Blue Devils had half of the Seminoles’ score and one chance to double it.
Senior Ana Gold was up first; she singled, quickly. Sophomore Amiah Burgess was next; she took her time, racking up two strikes to Jazzy Francik’s three balls before smacking a home run out of Duke softball stadium. Rather than stressing them out, it seemed as if the pressure of this final half-inning had sharpened the Blue Devils.
The theme continued. KK Mathis singled, and Young sent in Aleyah Terrell to pinch run for her. The Seminoles were not quite as calm: Francik walked Malau’ulu to first. The graduate transfer from UCLA almost blew it when Rodriguez stepped up to bat; misreading a foul ball for a good hit, Malau’ulu started sprinting to second base. She slid back to first just inches away from earning Duke its first out.
“We've got to show up with that fight that we finished this game with,” Young said. “I felt like it came on late. We've got to start the game with that type of fight.”
When Rodriguez did earn Duke its first out, it was a sacrifice play that positioned Malau’ulu on second and Terrell on third. Baker, next up at bat, got lucky with a double that should have been a single had Florida State first baseman Angelee Bueno not muffed her catch. When fleet-footed Terrell scored, Duke had closed the gap to 12-9 and still had two outs to make use of.
Ashtyn Danley took over for Francik in the circle. She didn’t have much of an effect, at least not on Thomas, who singled to score Malau’ulu and place Baker on third base. Danley didn’t have much of an effect on Jennings, either, who singled too, loading all three bases for Vega. When the DeBary, Fla., native swung the bat and started running, confusion broke across the field.
Baker, sliding home, was called out. But only briefly — a review overturned the call, meaning Baker had put Duke within one of Florida State, with Thomas on third and Gabriella Mike pinch running for Vega on first. Jennings was out, but the Blue Devils had pulled just in front of the impossible.
Gold stepped up and drew a cross on home plate with her bat. Her quiet prayer worked: Danley walked her to first. Burgess, bases loaded, had the power to turn the game around.
But her attempt at a hit landed right at the feet of Florida State’s third baseman, who tagged Mike for a game-ending third out. Just like that, the almost-crazy comeback effort was over, and Duke was resigned to its second loss of the series.
“I'm super proud of them,” Young said of her team. “For us to go from a few outs away from being run-ruled to being one out away from tying the ball game is huge, just showing their fight and their resilience.”
Sunday saw Florida State regain its dominant form, downing Duke without so much as breaking a sweat. The Blue Devils took the field with renewed vitality after their near-recovery, but Seminole sophomore Jaysoni Beachum could not abide this energy. In the game’s first frame, she launched a towering blast into left field. Practically a bullet, the ball clanged off a spotlight — silencing the vivacious Duke faithful.
From then on, Florida State was firmly in control. It never relinquished its advantage, stretching the lead all the way to seven by game’s end. When the last out was finally recorded, the scoreboard read 9-2 in favor of the visitors, completing the sweep for the Seminoles.
“They really can do it all,” Young said of the Seminoles. “You know, they have a lot of speed. They put pressure on you … they have a lot of different arms to keep hitters off balance. They have different looks to go to from a pitching staff.”
Cassidy Curd started on the mound for the Blue Devils, but struggled to keep Florida State in check. She only made it through two full innings, conceding four earned runs on three hits and two walks. Shuler entered in relief, but did not fare much better. Unimpressive pitching haunted Duke all weekend, as usually reliable powerhouses Curd and Dani Drogemuller fell back on their teammates’ defense to save plays. Young switched them out with each other, Shuler and junior Sophie Garner-MacKinnon in an effort to disrupt the Seminoles’ rhythm, but to little avail.
“We just hit a little lull where no one's really sharp … it's that time of year where we've got to keep using everybody in the bullpen,” Young said.
By the time Duke was up to bat in the fourth inning of Sunday’s game, the Blue Devils were already down 6-0. A short-lived rally by the bats of Burgess and Mathis drove in two runs, but it was the totality of Duke’s offense on the day. This was due in no small part to the Seminoles’ stifling defense, with several bang-bang plays cutting down would-be baserunners.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
It was wire-to-wire control from Florida State, who simply looked the better team in this matinee contest.
The Blue Devils will look to refocus ahead of a midweek tilt against East Carolina Wednesday, hoping to get back to winning ways before meeting Louisville in Kentucky next weekend.
Sophie Levenson is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.