Who will OU softball face in WCWS opener? Here are three things to know about Duke

Ryan Aber, The Oklahoman

Duke’s season began with a 3-0 loss to OU on Feb. 8.

Now, the Blue Devils will open their inaugural Women’s College World Series appearance against the Sooners.

OU (54-6) will take on Duke (52-7) at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Devon Park.

The Blue Devils clinched their first WCWS appearance with a 4-3 win over Missouri in nine innings Sunday to take the Columbia Super Regional in three games.

Here’s what to know about the Sooners’ first-round opponent:

More: How OU softball's seniors led Sooners to their eighth consecutive WCWS

Duke softball won the ACC regular-season championship for the first time in program history. The Blue Devils are among the favorites to win the 2024 ACC Softball Championship tournament in Durham.
Duke softball won the ACC regular-season championship for the first time in program history. The Blue Devils are among the favorites to win the 2024 ACC Softball Championship tournament in Durham.

Get to know the Blue Devils

  • Record: 52-7 (20-4 ACC)

  • NCAA Tournament history: 13-8, fourth appearance

  • WCWS history: First appearance

  • Leading hitter: Senior outfielder Claire Davidson leads the Blue Devils with a .439 batting average, 18 home runs and 67 RBIs and a 1.420 OPS.

  • Leading pitcher: Sophomore Cassidy Curd was at her best for eight innings Sunday, shutting out Missouri before running into some difficulty in the ninth. Curd is 13-3 with a 1.29 ERA, 156 strikeouts and just 29 walks.

  • OU’s all-time record vs. Blue Devils: 2-0

  • Last meeting: OU won 3-0 on Feb. 8 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

  • Short hops: Before this season, Duke had gone 0-4 in super regional games, being swept by Stanford at home last season and by UCLA on the road in 2022. … The other meeting with the Sooners came in last season’s opener, a 4-0 OU win in Irvine, California. ... The Blue Devils' 3.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio is among the top five in the nation. ... Duke's 6.71 runs per game is seventh nationally. OU is third at 8.05 runs per game.

More: How Jayda Coleman's 'unbelievable' catch lifted OU softball past Florida State into WCWS

Lillie Walker heading home

The Blue Devils have some Oklahoma flair to their roster with senior pitcher Lillie Walker.

Walker is an Inola native who had a 1.09 ERA and 163 strikeouts while hitting .363 as a senior, earning All-State pitcher of the year honors.

She also played basketball for the Longhorns.

Walker threw 2 ⅓ scoreless innings in the earlier meeting this season with the Sooners.

Walker pitched ⅔ of an inning in Sunday’s victory, getting groundouts for the first and second outs of the inning with a home run in the middle.

Walker is 12-1 with 39 strikeouts and 11 walks and a 1.67 ERA in 62 ⅔ innings this season.

Walker’s great-great-grandfather, Key Wolf, was the captain of the OU football team in 1908.

More: OU softball has dynasty, but more women's sports thriving in Oklahoma

Blue Devils have a young program

Duke’s program didn’t begin play until 2018, nearly three years after Marissa Young was hired as the program’s head coach.

Young played at Michigan, where she was a three-time All-America selection.

The Blue Devils had an above-.500 record right out of the gate, going 29-27 in their first season in 2018 before taking a small step back to 25-31 their second season.

But over the past four seasons, Duke has gone 188-42 to become one of the top programs in the ACC.

Former OU star Sydney Romero was an assistant under Young last season before moving on to join Melyssa Lombardi’s staff at Oregon.

More: Relive OU softball's run to three straight WCWS titles with our 'Crimson Empire' book

Duke setting program records

The Blue Devils come into the WCWS having won 52 games — breaking the previous program record of 48 set last season.

After losing the game to the Sooners to start the season, Duke ripped off 21 consecutive victories, not losing again until March 16 at Florida State.

The Blue Devils went on to win the ACC Tournament for the second time, beating Clemson in the semifinals and Florida State in the championship game.

Despite all of that, though, Duke didn't earn a top-eight seed, instead being tabbed as the No. 10 seed and having to go on the road in the super regionals after sweeping through its regional at home.

Thursday's WCWS games

  • Game 1: Alabama (37-18) vs. UCLA (42-10), 11 a.m., ESPN

  • Game 2: Oklahoma (54-6) vs. Duke (52-7), 1:30 p.m., ESPN

  • Game 3: Stanford (48-15) vs. Texas (52-8), 6 p.m., ESPN2

  • Game 4: Oklahoma State (49-10) vs. Florida (51-13), 8:30 p.m., ESPN2

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball: Three things to know about Duke, Sooners' WCWS opponent

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