No. 11 Virginia Tech travels to Durham this weekend to open ACC play against No. 25 Duke.
The Hokies (22-2) and Blue Devils (16-9, 3-0 ACC) both come into the series playing well and riding winning streaks — 15 games for Tech and seven for Duke. The Blue Devils began conference play by sweeping Cal last weekend in (12-0, 3-1, 7-2).
The Saturday and Sunday games will be shown on the ACC Network, while Friday night’s game will appear on ACC Network Extra. Here’s the broadcast schedule:
- Friday, March 13: 6 p.m. ET, ACCNX
- Saturday, March 14: 2 p.m. ET, ACCN
- Sunday, March 15: 6 p.m. ET, ACCN
Duke did not add softball until 2018 but has quickly become one of the top teams in the conference. Its record over nine years is 321-133 (.707), and it’s put together five consecutive seasons with 40-plus wins and NCAA Tournament bids.
Although the Hokies own a 9-8 series advantage, the Blue Devils have won six of the last seven meetings, including a sweep in Durham in 2024.
The season has been a roller coaster for Duke with several impressive wins — over Texas A&M (No. 16), LSU (No. 17) and South Carolina (No. 24) — balanced with some inexplicable losses, including two to Boston University and one to East Carolina.
Meanwhile, the Hokies are playing well, with only flu-aided losses to Michigan State and Charlotte blemishing their record. Their team batting average is now in the top 10 in the country (.371), and every player who has started five-plus games is hitting .300 or better.
Duke is also hitting well, with a team batting average of .351. It’s led by Preseason All-ACC selections D’Auna Jennings and Aminah Vega. The latter is also a former First Team All-American and has been an all-conference pick each of the last three years in the infield.
Duke head coach Marissa Young was a three-time All-American as a pitcher at Michigan, so there is always an expectation that the team’s pitching staff will be solid. Consequently, the Blue Devils having an ERA of 4.22 this year, which ranks 13th in the league, is a bit surprising.
Senior left-hander Cassidy Curd (8-2, 3.26 ERA) has started 11 of Duke’s 24 games and is the ace of the staff. After some rough outings early in the year, Curd has gotten into a groove recently. In her last five outings, she is 5-0 with as many complete games and an ERA of 1.06. She threw a five-inning no-hitter at Cal last Saturday.
Transfers Larissa Jacquez (Incarnate Word, 2-3, 4.50 ERA) and Mallory Wheeler (Lafayette, 3-3, 5.66 ERA) have a combined nine starts between them. Redshirt freshman Ava Bradshaw (2-1, 4.73 ERA), who was the Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022 and was the No. 7 recruit by Extra Innings Softball, has the remaining four starts.
It’s not unusual for the starting pitcher to go the distance, as the Blue Devils have 11 complete games this season. Here is a comparison of the two staffs.
Defensively, the two teams are very similar, with both in the top half of the ACC in fielding percentage. Virginia Tech has a fielding percentage of .976 while Duke is at .971
Here is a tale of the tape:
