Duke slides past Clemson, 4-3, with 10th inning play at the plate to make ACC title game
For the second consecutive day, Duke advanced in the ACC Softball Tournament with a walk-off win.
The Blue Devils held off Clemson for a 4-3 victory on Friday thanks to a bloop infield single with two outs in the 10th inning.
Amiah Burgess scored the winning run from second on the hit by Francesca Frelick, just beating the tag from Clemson catcher Aby Vieira.
Burgess was originally called out, but the call was overturned after replay review to end the game.
Burgess said after the game that she was determined to score and send the Blue Devils to the ACC Softball Tournament Championship.
“I wasn’t stopping. I wasn’t stopping,” Burgess said. “I did see her catch the ball. I did know that the ball did beat me. But I knew if I threw my body at [home plate] – I didn’t even feel her tag me, so as soon as they said out, I said, ‘Nah uh, you’ve gotta review that.’
“I’ve never slid that hard, like I’ve never thrown my body that hard in my life, but I’ve been diving in the outfield all day. It was pretty similar.”
Burgess was 0-for-4 at the plate, but she did score a pair of runs for Duke. Claire Davidson, Ana Gold, D’Auna Jennings and Frelick each had multiple hits for the Blue Devils.
Lillie Walker earned the win for Duke, pitching the final 2 2/3 innings, without allowing a run. She improved to 12-2 on the year.
Up next, Duke will face the winner of Florida State and Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game on Saturday. Burgess said that the Blue Devils will be ready to go.
“I play for the seniors, absolutely. I’m a freshman. I just got here. So everything I do is for them,” Burgess told the ACC Network. “They deserve an ACC Championship. They deserve to raise that trophy one more time before they go out. So if I’m in the lineup, I’m out there, that’s what I’m aiming for – for those seniors to raise that trophy one more time.”
First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN2.
Clemson dropped to 34-17 on the year with the loss. The Tigers will now wait to find out who they will face in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Duke improved to 46-6 with the win and will look to continue to help its NCAA Tournament seeding on Saturday.