In two hard-earned victories over the Lady Flames, the Blue Devils showed that even when their bats aren’t hitting as they would like, their defense has what it takes to carry them to victory. Relying on defense to win the day was key in both games of the midweek doubleheader as No. 13 Duke fought its way to two victories, 7-3 and 3-2, over No. 21 Liberty.
From thunderous home runs to web gems in the infield, the doubleheader’s opening game entertained at every turn. Before the Blue Devils’ late-game heroics, however, the first inning belonged to Aminah Vega.
The junior infielder has put together quite the season — leading the team in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage with a .418/.465/.648 slash line. Yet, for all her dominance at the plate, the Debary, Fla., native has shined in the field too.
In the top of the first with one out and runners on first and second, Lady Flames infielder Savannah Whatley chopped a ground ball to fellow shortstop Ana Gold. Looking to turn an inning-ending double play, the senior flipped the ball to Vega at second, but Vega, recognizing that Whatley would easily beat the throw to first, instead fired it to third, where the Liberty baserunner had rounded the base too aggressively. The runner scrambled back to no avail; the Blue Devils (21-9, 4-2 in the ACC) returned back to the dugout unscathed, and Vega prepared for her at-bat in the bottom of the frame.
Although Lady Flames starting pitcher Elena Escobar sported a sub-2.00 ERA prior to the contest, Vega walked up to the plate intending to jumpstart the Duke bats. The second baseman took a ball before crushing an outside pitch over the left-center fence — not even bothering to run out of the batter’s box. Following the Blue Devils’ lackluster offensive start in their final contest against Syracuse, Vega had immediately given her squad a one-run, first-inning lead.
“She's been almost like a video game. Her numbers are crazy,” head coach Marissa Young said about Vega. “She's a threat and finding ways to get on base and put pressure on the other team.”
After Vega’s opening blast, the Blue Devils played a simple game: Allow the opponent to beat itself. And while Liberty’s early base-running miscue hurt, its most consequential mistakes came on defense.
In the bottom of the third, Escobar was unrattled by Aleyah Terrell in scoring position after Young pinch-ran her for Vega. Duke had two outs, so th chance to score looked slim. But Lady Flames third baseman Rachel Craine, fighting against the glare of the sun just overhead, squeezed her glove just too early to catch the pop-up from KK Mathis, and the seemingly-sure out dropped to ground. As Terrell crossed home to double the Blue Devils’ lead, Mathis sprinted safely to second.
“It is a big factor how we can manufacture runs in different ways,” Young said. “We don’t have to rely on the long ball, we can put runners in motion, get our bunts down and put a lot of pressure on the other team's defense.”
Liberty (23-6, 5-0 in CUSA) quickly tied the game with a Paige Doerr two-RBI double in the fourth, but the contest didn’t remain even for much longer. Leading off the bottom frame, Jada Baker dug into the batter’s box. As the home dugout cheered enthusiastically, hoping to manufacture some momentum, the first baseman hammered Escobar’s 2-1 offering over the left field fence — her first home run of the season.
Meanwhile, graduate student Dani Drogemuller handled business from the circle. In her second season at Duke, Drogemuller has led the team in ERA and WHIP and is second only to Cassidy Curd in innings pitched. Against the Lady Flames, she continued her pitching excellence — spinning 4.2 innings of two-run ball and punching out five batters. Although Liberty threatened nearly every inning, Drogemuller refused to let walks or hits derail her outing.
“The tough pre-season we played put [the pitchers] in a lot of those difficult situations,” Young said. “They've built that confidence to trust themselves and also their defense behind them, to just stay in the fight.”
In the bottom of the sixth, the Blue Devil offense dealt the final blow as both Malau’ulu and Jennings raced to home plate, bringing the score to 7-2.
Making a relief appearance, southpaw Cassidy Curd closed the game for the Blue Devils. While Curd surrendered a solo shot to infielder Savannah Woodard, it was far too little, too late for Liberty. -Alex Min
In the second match-up, Young turned to Sophie Garner-MacKinnon to lead Duke’s defense. The junior initially struggled in the circle, immediately giving up a home run to Liberty's first batter, Savannah Woodard, to put the Lady Flames on the scoreboard first. But after that, she quickly settled into her role and did not yield another hit in the first inning.
The Blue Devils went to work to even up the game in the bottom of the first. It was not long before they succeeded. After Liberty’s Kaylan Yoder walked Jennings at the top of the batting order, Vega quickly followed with a single, giving Duke two runners on base. Shortly after, Amiah Burgess took the plate and quickly powered one down the center field line. In the confusion of Liberty’s defense trying to throw one of the three runners out, Jennings ran home while Vega made it all the way to third, and Burgess took second. Just like that, the Blue Devils had tied the game 1-1.
Back on offense in the bottom of the third, Duke turned on its fire. The Lady Flames were plagued with errors and defensive miscues all day, and with the speed of their runners, the Blue Devils readily took advantage of those untimely errors. After Yoder overthrew teammate Brooke Roberts, Jennings used her speed to turn what should have been an out at first into a double play. Although Jennings would eventually be tagged out at third, Burgess and Gold continued to exploit the cracks in Liberty’s defense to their advantage.
Yoder walked both Gold and Burgess, placing them at first and second base. On a wild pitch that catcher Alexia Carrasquillo could not corral, the pair each advanced a base, putting them both in scoring position. A second wild pitch off of Yoder’s hand sent Gold sprinting to home plate and scoring to give Duke the slight 2-1 edge.
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The Lady Flames proved that they would not be easily doused, clearly wanting to split the series with Duke. Just as it had earned them their first score of the game, it would once again be a home run that evened the score for the visitors. This time it was Rachel Roupe who powered the homer high over the left field wall as Liberty tied the game once more. Despite giving up a homer to the first batter she faced, Garner-MacKinnon did not let that phase her, remaining calm in the circle. Duke’s defense had her back as they worked together to quickly grab three more outs and not yield another run.
“Defense wins championships,” Young said. “We might not always hit, but if we can pitch well and play good defense, we give ourselves a chance to win ball games.”
The Blue Devils still had a few hitting tricks up their sleeve to hand them the victory. Yoder once more walked Vega at the top of Duke’s batting order. Outfielder Aleyah Terrell came in to pinch run for her and shortly found herself advanced to second. KK Mathis hit a single as Terrell took off flying towards her home plate. Liberty scrambled to tag her out, but its frantic efforts were no match for Terrell’s speed as she secured a bit of breathing room for the Blue Devils to give them back the lead which they held for the rest of the game.
Duke remains at home to welcome an ACC opponent in Florida State for a three-game series beginning Friday night. -Elle Chavis