Tenth-seeded Duke Blue Devils (52-7) are set to face second-seeded Oklahoma Sooners (54-6) on Thursday afternoon in their opening game of the 2024 Women's College World Series (WCWS) at Devon Park.
The Blue Devils will compete in the WCWS for the first time in program history. They progressed to the WCWS after defeating seventh-seeded Missouri in a best-of-three series.
Duke opened the weekend with a 6-3 win over the Tigers, before going down 3-1 on Saturday to force a winner-take-all game three. Duke then bounced back to win 4-3 in nine innings on Sunday to punch their ticket to Oklahoma City.
Defending champions Oklahoma, meanwhile, are coming off a two-game whitewash over 15th-seeded Florida State in the NCAA Norman Super Regional. The Sooners dominated the Seminoles, 11-3, in the Game 1 before clinching the series with a 4-2 victory on Friday. Oklahoma are aiming to become the first softball program to win four straight NCAA titles.
Below, GOAL brings you everything you need to know about the upcoming Duke vs Oklahoma game.
Duke vs Oklahoma: Date and First-Pitch Time
The Duke Blue Devils and the Oklahoma Sooners will face in a high-voltage NCAA Softball match on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 2:30 p.m. ET/ 11:30 a.m. PT, at OGE Energy Field at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA.
| Date | Thursday, May 30, 2024 |
| Time | 2:30 p.m. ET/ 11:30 a.m. PT |
| Venue | OGE Energy Field at Devon Park |
| Location | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
How to watch Duke vs Oklahoma Online - TV Channels and Live Streams
Fans in the USA can catch all the actions of the thrilling NCAA Softball game between Duke and Oklahoma on the ESPN+ streaming platform. The entirety of the WCWS will be televised on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.
Duke vs Oklahoma Team News & Key Performers
Duke
Duke head into the WCWS with one of the strongest pitching staffs in the country, with three arms with an ERA of 1.70 or higher.
Senior RHP Jala Wright, who has gone 19-2 as a starter with a 1.28 ERA and an opponent batting average of.176, has been their best pitcher in 2024. Cassidy Curd (1.29 ERA) has also performed well this playoffs, but expect Wright to get the call here.
The top bat for the Blue Devils' offense this season has been OF Claire Davidson, who leads Duke in batting (.439), OPS (1.420), RBIs (67), HR (18), slugging (.884), and on-base percentage (.536).
Oklahoma
LHP Kelly Maxwell will be making her fourth straight trip to the Women's College World Series, and her first trip as part of the Sooners' program. The Oklahoma State grad transfer has a 1.96 ERA over 128.1 IP and is holding opponents to a .172 batting average.
Tiare Jennings is the most probable candidate to become Oklahoma's "go-to" hitter in OKC. Jennings, the WCWS lifetime RBI leader with 29 as of this week, has been as clutch as they come in softball's biggest game.
Head-to-Head Records
This will be just the third all-time meeting between these two programs. Oklahoma is 2-0 against Duke, with the most recent win coming against them back in February in a 3-0 contest.