Duke softball program, head coach Marissa Young reach 100 wins

The Duke softball program hit a major milestone in a doubleheader sweep. 

It’s been a historic season for the Duke softball program, and things are only getting better in Durham.

Entering a weekend series with the Syracuse Orange, the No. 14 Blue Devils (24-1, 14-1 ACC) were looking for their first benchmark victory as a program with their 100th career victory, as well as the 100th victory for head coach Marissa Young.

After a Friday victory over the Orange, Duke entered a Saturday doubleheader with Syracuse needing both games to reach the milestone, and the Blue Devils would continue their dominance.

With an 11-0 victory in a mercy-rule shortened 5-inning game coupled with a 7-3 victory in the second game of the afternoon, the program and its head coach notched their 100th victory.

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Duke then picked up victory No. 101 on Sunday with an 8-2 victory in a four-game series sweep of Syracuse for the 18th straight victory for the program.

Young came to Durham via Eastern Michigan and North Carolina as an assistant coach, and Duke has only had one losing season since beginning its program in 2016.

In the first year of the team’s existence, Duke posted a 29-27 record followed by a 25-31 season in year two.

COVID-19 cut short a promising season for the Blue Devils in year three as Duke was 23-4 prior to the shutdown, but now Young has her team as one of the best in the country with highlight victories over then-No. 5 LSU and No. 18 South Carolina.

Duke softball being led by jaw-dropping performances

The only loss Duke has suffered this season was back on February 20 in the first game of a three-game series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 5-3.

Deja Davis has been leading Duke with a .425 batting average in addition to four home runs and 16 RBI while Kristina Foreman is leading the team with five home runs and 21 RBI. Jameson Kavel also has 21 RBI for the Blue Devils.

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Peyton St. George and Shelby Walters are leading the Blue Devils in the circle as St. George is posting a 10-0 record with a 1.19 ERA while Walters is 9-0 with a 0.51 ERA.

Duke will look to continue its winning streak this weekend with a trip to Clemson four a four-game series with the Tigers beginning on Friday afternoon.