DURHAM, N.C. — Senior right-hander Jala Wright limited the Longwood softball team to one hit over four innings as the fifth-ranked Blue Devils handed the Longwood softball team a 6-0 defeat at Duke Softball Stadium Wednesday.

The Lancers (16-30) loaded the bases in the top of the first with a help of a leadoff single by Lauren Fox and consecutive full-count walks from Lauren Taylor and Kayley DeVivi, but Wright settled in to strike out the side and keep the Longwood off the scoreboard.

From there, Duke (41-6) scored six unanswered runs for the victory, avenging the Lancers' 4-3 win in Farmville April 26, 2023.

"This year has been different," Longwood head coach Dr. Megan Brown said. "We have played the toughest non-conference schedule in my time here. We have learned so many things and grown in so many ways. But on every journey there is a turn in the road where all of your hard work and preparation comes to fruition and you have to keep your eyes forward. 

Forward with all the amazing lessons you have learned. But forward feeling fully prepared for what lies ahead. The challenges that lie ahead are why we work so hard. It is never how you start, it is always how you choose to finish."

Duke received a run-scoring extra-base hit with two out in the third inning from Aminah Vega as she lined a double to left center field for a 2-0 lead. Ana Gold homered to left center in the fourth to make it 4-0, Francesca Frelick added an RBI double and Kelly Torres an RBI triple to round out the scoring in the sixth.

Wright improved to 15-1 on the season in the circle, while fanning eight Longwood batters. Sophie Garner-MacKinnon went the final three innings, striking out four and allowing a walk to pick up her first save.

Left-hander Cierra Gawryluk yielded six hits hits and four earned runs over three innings for Longwood. She did not walk a batter and struck out one despite falling to 1-6 on the season. Er'ron Burton went the rest of the way, giving up five hits two runs and a walk in three innings. She fanned two.

Torres and D'Auna Jennings each collected three of Duke's 11 hits on the day. Amiah Burgess scored two runs.

The Lancers open their final Big South South Conference series of the season Saturday with a 3 p.m., doubleheader at Charleston Southern, needing to win the set to sew up the second seed in the upcoming league tournament. All three games are set to be streamed on ESPN+.