OKLAHOMA CITY (WNCN) — The Duke Blue Devils softball team opened their 2024 season against the defending champion Oklahoma Sooners, and now, the two teams are meeting again in Duke’s first ever trip to the Women’s College World Series.
The tenth-seeded Blue Devils (52-7) will try to knock off No. 2 seed Oklahoma (51-6) at Devon Park in Oklahoma City Thursday to get the first WCWS win in the program’s history.
It’s a tall task against the powerhouse Sooners, who have won the last three NCAA national championships and seven total since the 2000 season. Oklahoma won the head-to-head matchup between the two teams in February, 3-0.
But Duke, in just the program’s seventh season, has racked up the accolades this year on the road to Oklahoma City. The team won a record 52 games this year, sweeping both the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and championship tournament titles. Head coach Marissa Young, who according to the Duke sports information department is the first Black head coach to lead a team to the WCWS, also earned 2024 ACC Coach of the Year honors, while Claire Davidson won 2024 ACC Player of the Year.
The Women’s College World Series is double-elimination, so all teams play a minimum of two games. The winner of the Duke-Oklahoma game will play UCLA, who topped Alabama 4-1 earlier Thursday, on Saturday afternoon. The loser will play the Crimson Tide on Friday night in an elimination game.