February 6, 2024
Enviable, but not inevitable.
That’s the best description of the success arc for the Duke softball program, which crazily didn’t even exist until the late 2010’s and has steadily ticked the boxes of accomplishment all the way to hosting an NCAA Super Regional in 2023. The Blue Devils are eyeing the next notable signpost of the Women’s College World Series, with the 2024 effort beginning at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, powered by Triple Crown Sports.
Duke’s athletic department got into some complicated waters with Title IX; adopting softball and first fielding a team in 2018 solved that issue, with head coach Marissa Young tasked with building a roster that could survive the furious competitive vibe of the Atlantic Coast Conference. When you could have excused an ACC expansion program for losing 40 games a year for a decade, the Blue Devils simply dug into the challenge – a winning record in Year 1, ACC champions in 2021 and a 48-12 record in 2023 that nearly saw the squad make the cut to Oklahoma City.
Given all that progress, will Duke be distracted and frantic about making the next, hardest step? Young, who starred as a pitcher at Michigan in the early 2000’s, will encourage keeping the temperature down while the intensity still burns.
“We keep the team process-oriented and focused on things we have to do to be the best version of ourselves. We know the ultimate goal, to end the season at the World Series,” said Young, whose team is ranked in the natin’s Top 10 of most every major preseason poll. “We’ve been following the path; learning how to respond to adversity and showing up in big moments. We test the team against good competition early in the season, as we’ve done the last several years … preparation is the key, and last year we did it with a lot of freshmen and new players in new positions. Having them back, well they’re champing at the bit to get started.”
Offensively, Duke lost just one starter from the batting order (which hit .318 last year, No. 15 in D-I) and looks primed to threaten the opposition, start to finish. Folks are still in wonderment about the freshman debut of D’Auna Jennings, who hit .462, scored 48 runs and stole 21 bases while playing a stellar centerfield. It hardly ends there – Aminah Vega set a program record for home runs by a freshman with 12, closing win a .371 batting average with 50 RBI, and Ana Gold was a power hitting menace as a sophomore, launching 19 home runs and driving in 56 runs while hitting .313.
“That’s it – we want to hit the ball hard, create chaos on the bases with runners in motion,” said Young, who also saw Gisele Tapia hit .362 and Claire Davidson hit .325 with 15 doubles. “I think it (spreads) the pressure, where it’s not on one hitter to make things happen for us. Up and down the lineup, anyone in the lineup can deliver big. I’m excited to see the growth and maturity of this established group.”
No D-I softball program can aspire to the high ground without elevated skills in the pitching circle, and the Blue Devils are set up for success there as well. Sophomore Cassidy Curd is all over the various preseason watch lists after going 18-3 with a 1.65 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 127.1 innings; senior Jala Wright came through with a 12-4 record, 2.51 ERA and 127 whiffs in 133.2 innings. Providing that extra dose of depth is Pittsburgh transfer Dani Drogemuller, who threw 136 innings last year for the Panthers.
“Three quality aces, two relievers in the mix – I think we’ve got the best pitching staff in the country,” said Young, who appreciates the subtle art of matching her starters with the right assignments as the season unfolds. “It’s not easy – pitchers want that spotlight. It starts with recruiting; I look for pitchers who are different from one another, and as they come into the program getting them to understand we operate as a staff. Everyone has a job and a role. When the ball gets handed to them, they say I’m going to do my job, and whoever comes in behind me has my back. Credit to the pitchers for embracing that culture and mentality. They’re each other’s biggest cheerleaders.”
But just because it says “Duke” on the uniform, there are still variables the program will have to wrestle in 2024. Moments of strain and adversity last year created some struggles in the field, to the extent Young said defense was the team’s “kryptonite.” And a couple players will need to emerge and solve lineup vacancies in right field and at designated player.
Young, however, is hardly unprepared for the tough decisions that will determine how the Blue Devils cope with serious expectations. Sure, Duke is a blueblood NCAA name, but Young and her staff had to create a winning environment from scratch.
“Proud is the word that comes to mind. I’m very thankful for those who believed in me,” she said. “I was very ambitious and over-zealous in starting the program of where I wanted us to be – this is exactly where I wanted us to be, and I’m not sure everybody around me believed we’d get there this soon.
“But it was a tough journey, and we’ve had a lot of bumps in the road. There were sacrifices along the way to get here, hard work, nights of not getting home to my family. It’s great to see the hard work pay off, and I’m enjoying the journey a lot more these days.”
Duke will face Oklahoma first at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Feb. 8, followed by Iowa State, Nebraska and Long Beach.
PV COLLEGE CHALLENGE – From Marissa Young: “I love to take us on a neat trip every four years, to give that group an experience. I love that for some of them, it’s their first time out of the country. Doing international travel as a group is a great experience. I love the community feel there, interacting with the locals and young kids there, and it feels like a mission trip on top of softball tournament. And who doesn’t love the time away we get at the pool and the beach – it’s a great way to kick off the season, experiencing all those things together as a softball family.”