Duke softball advances to Super Regional. How the Blue Devils beat Arizona
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- Duke rallied to beat Arizona twice and advanced to the Fayetteville Super Regional.
- Jacquez threw four innings in the opening game and also earned the Game 7 win.
- Aminah Vega had seven RBI across Duke’s two regional final games.
Duke head coach Marissa Young wasn’t happy Saturday about her team’s second-round NCAA Tournament regional loss.
She was pleased, however, with the Blue Devils’ emphatic bounce back later that evening.
“We take the lesson, not the loss,” Young said.
That message stuck with her squad. Duke defeated Arizona twice Sunday and advanced to the Fayetteville Super Regional against Arkansas next weekend. This is the program’s first Super Regional appearance since 2024 — when it made the Women’s College World Series — and its fourth in five years.
“This is exactly where we want to be,” Young said Sunday. “[It’s] really just a testament to the players that have chosen to come here, wear the uniform and put Duke softball on the map.”
The Blue Devils (43-15) defeated the Wildcats, 8-6, in the first game of the afternoon, and picked up a 9-4 victory in the winner-take-all Game 7. Over the course of the weekend, Duke played three games against the Wildcats. It entered the weekend winning every three-game series this season, and that record remains unblemished.
Seniors D’Auna Jennings and Aminah Vega made the most of their final day at Smith Family Stadium. Jennings went 6-for-7 on the day, with a double, her second home run of the weekend, and she advanced to second on a pair of singles — one on an Arizona error and another on the throw.
Vega hit a two-run home run in the first contest. In the rubber match, she added another two-run homer — though Arizona’s Regan Shockey nearly robbed the home run when she crashed into the center field wall — and plated a pair on a sacrifice fly and a double. She contributed seven RBI in Duke’s two regional final games. Vega laid out in right field for a clutch flyout, as well.
“They’re the best one-two punch in the country, and just the way that they set the tone in their own way is really special,” Young said. “It gives a lot of confidence to the rest of the lineup.”
Vega said the team knew if it lost, the season was over. They talked about it before the first game. The seniors also knew this was the final time playing at Duke, regardless of the outcome.
“Maybe [Jennings] and I did have a little bit of extra kick to go out there and compete,” Vega said. “But D and I do the same thing every day. Today, we could’ve went home, and we didn’t.”
Duke jumped out to an early lead in each game, and despite pressure from Arizona (37-18), held on for a pair of victories.
The Blue Devils, after recording a season-low two hits against the Wildcats on Saturday, combined for 22 on Sunday. They finished with eight home runs.
Defensive errors played a key role for both teams. Duke, which entered the weekend with a .971 fielding percentage, committed four errors and gave up four unearned runs. Arizona was also one of the cleanest defenses in the nation and committed three, but it limited the damage with one unearned run.
Relief pitching was also key for Duke. Junior Larissa Jacquez threw four innings in the opening contest, giving up one hit, after replacing senior Cassidy Curd. Curd — who struck out seven on Saturday — gave up five hits, six runs, four earned runs, four walks, two hit batters and one strikeout. She also committed her third defensive error in two days. Jacquez’s impressive pitching performance forced a winner-take-all Game 7.
Jacquez also started in the circle for the finale. She picked up her eighth win of the season, giving up five hits and two runs. Sophomore Mallory Wheeler picked up her fourth save of the season. Two runs scored with her at pitcher, both unearned.
“The fire and the spunk in her when she plays with such joy and passion, that’s contagious,” Young said of Jacquez. “I think that she struggled to find that a little bit at times throughout the season. The minute she had the ball in her hand this weekend, you could see it. It was back, and I knew she was going to take us where we needed to go.”
Duke is the only ACC team left standing after UCF upset Florida State, and Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Virginia and Stanford lost to their regional hosts.
This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Duke softball advances to Super Regional. How the Blue Devils beat Arizona."
