DURHAM, N.C. – It was domination from the start for the Duke Blue Devils (28-23, 12-11 ACC) Saturday afternoon, as a sixth-run first inning keyed a 9-1 run-rule victory to take the series against the Virginia Cavaliers (12-38, 3-20 ACC) at the Duke Softball Stadium.

With the win the Blue Devils have won three-straight ACC series for the first time in program history, taking down Notre Dame and Virginia Tech on the road before reeling off wins in the first two games this weekend.

Duke received production across the lineup, as seven players recorded a hit to fuel the Blue Devils' nine-hit day. Leading the way was Jill Ferraro and Dominique Salinas, who each tallied a pair of hits while Ferraro drove in a game-high two runs as well.

The first of those runs batted in came in the six-run first inning, as the Blue Devils wasted no time in getting things started. Rachel Abboud drew a leadoff walk to open up the contest, followed by a Haley Wymbs infield single and a hit by pitch for Raine Wilson that loaded the bases for Amelia Wiercioch. The pitcher would draw a walk to score the game's first run and then a sac fly to right from Jameson Kavel scored Wymbs to make it 2-0 Duke.

Ferraro was next up to the plate. Ripping a 2-2 pitch up the middle to push Wilson across home plate and chasing Virginia's starting pitcher from the contest. After a groundout moved runners to second and third, a UVA throwing error scored two more to make it 5-0 in favor of the Blue Devils. Salinas would tally her first hit of the day with a single to left to give Duke a 6-0 advantage after just one inning of play.

Both sides were quiet in the second frame before Ferraro pushed home Duke's seventh run of the contest with a double to left, scoring Kavel. The Cavaliers were able to cut the lead down to six with a lengthy top of the fourth that resulted in an RBI single to left center to bring the Blue Devil lead to 7-1.

However, Duke would get that run back in the home half of the fourth and tack on one more to enact the run rule situation. Abboud drew a one-out walk and was pushed to second on a sac bunt from Wymbs to set the scene for a Wilson double to give Duke an 8-1 lead. Peyton St. George, who entered in relief in the top half of the inning, delivered her second run batted in of the weekend to make the lead 9-1 after four.

St. George would get a strikeout swinging and back-to-back groundouts to secure the run-rule win in the top of the fifth. Wiercioch (10-10) picked up the win, going 3.2 innings while allowing one run on four hits. St. George threw 1.1 innings in relief, striking out one and holding UVA without a hit.

The Blue Devils will go for their second ACC series sweep of the season in the weekend finale on Sunday, April 29. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET at the Duke Softball Stadium, with senior day festivities for Ferraro beginning at 12:51 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, which fans can access through WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.

For more information on Duke softball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for “DukeSoftball”. You can also find all-access coverage of all Duke athletic programs on SnapChat by searching for “dukeathletics”.

Extra Bases…

• Duke secured its third-straight ACC series victory for the first time in program history.
• The Blue Devils have now won four conference series total in year one, with two at home and two on the road.
• Saturday's run-rule win was the second such victory of the inaugural season. The other came in an 8-0 win against Kent State (March 4) to close out the Duke Inaugural Tournament.
• A key to Duke's success on Saturday was its two-out hitting, as it went 4-for-8 at the plate with two away and recorded three two-out RBI.
• Duke was a perfect 3-for-3 Saturday with runners at third and less than two outs.
• The Blue Devils are now 4-1 against opponents from the state of Virginia.
• Duke's nine runs are the most in program history.
• The Blue Devils are now 17-3 when scoring five or more runs in a game.
• Duke improved to 20-2 when leading after four innings.
• Winning the hits battle 9-4, Duke is now 21-7 when out-hitting its opponent.
• Saturday marked the 17th game of the year without an error for the Blue Devils. They are 12-5 in such contests.
• Haley Wymbs has hit safely in a career-high four-straight games.
• Peyton St. George has recorded a hit in three-straight contests, coming one shy of tying her career best.
• Jill Ferraro now has four multi-hit games on the year.
• With two runs batted in on Saturday, Ferraro recorded her first multi-RBI game of the season.
• Raine Wilson is now hitting .423 (30-for-71) in ACC play this year with 18 RBI, 13 runs scored, five doubles and four home runs.
• After going 2-for-2 on the day, Dominique Salinas has four multi-hit games this season.

Series Schedule...

Friday, April 27
Duke def. Virginia, 3-2 (Stats)

Saturday, April 28
Duke def. Virginia, 9-1 [5] (Stats)

Sunday, April 29
Duke vs. Virginia – 1:00 p.m. ET
ACC Network Extra
Durham, N.C.
Duke Softball Stadium

A Year Of Firsts...
The Blue Devils' inaugural campaign will be filled with a number of statistical firsts as the year goes on. Here is a look at the firsts accomplished by Team One so far.

Game: Feb. 8, 2018 vs. FAU (Game 1)

Win (Team): Feb. 8, 2018 vs. FAU (Game 1), 4-3

Win (Individual): Katherine Huey vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

At-Bat: Jameson Kavel vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Pitch: Amelia Wiercioch vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Baserunner: Jameson Kavel (Walked, 1st Inning) vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Hit: Amelia Wiercioch (Double, 1st Inning) vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Single: Rachel Abboud (3rd Inning) vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Double: Amelia Wiercioch (1st Inning) vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Walk: Jameson Kavel (1st Inning) vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Hit By Pitch: Ashleigh Rodriguez (7th Inning) vs. FAU (Game 2), Feb. 8, 2018

Run Scored: Raine Wilson (1st Inning, Amelia Wiercioch 2 RBI Double) vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Run Batted In: Amelia Wiercioch (1st Inning) vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Sacrifice Hit: Jazmine Moreno (SAC Bunt, 1st Inning) vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Sacrifice Fly: Rachel Abboud (5th Inning) vs. FAU (Game 2), Feb. 8, 2018

Strikeout: Amelia Wiercioch (Strikeout Looking) vs. FAU (Game 1), Feb. 8, 2018

Stolen Base: Dominique Salinas (2nd Inning) vs. FAU (Game 2), Feb. 8, 2018

Complete Game: Katherine Huey vs. Michigan State, Feb. 9, 2018

Shutout: Katherine Huey vs. Michigan State, Feb. 9, 2018

Complete Game Shutout: Katherine Huey vs. Michigan State, Feb. 9, 2018

Extra Innings Game: Feb. 10, 2018 vs. Boston University (L, 7-4 [8])

Home Run: Katherine Huey (2-Run, 4th Inning) vs. Penn State, Feb. 16, 2018

Save: Amelia Wiercioch vs. Penn State, Feb. 16, 2018

Comeback Win: Feb. 16, 2018 vs. Penn State (Trailed 5-0 in T3, won 7-5)

Triple: Jameson Kavel (6th Inning) vs. Purdue, Feb. 16, 2018

One-Hitter: Amelia Wiercioch vs. Purdue, Feb. 16, 2018

Double Play Turned: 5-3 (Raine Wilson to Rachel Abboud) vs. Purdue, Feb. 17, 2018

Winning Streak: 5 Games (Feb. 16 vs. Penn State - Feb. 23 vs. Morgan State)

National POTW Honor: Katherine Huey (espnW), Feb. 21, 2018

Extra-Innings Win: March 2, 2018 vs. Yale (W, 4-3 [9])

Grand Slam: Amelia Wiercioch (4th Inning) vs. Lehigh, March 3, 2018

Run-Rule Victory: March 4, 2018 vs. Kent State (W, 8-0 [5])

ACC Contest: March 9, 2018 at North Carolina (L, 2-1 [9])

Multi-Home Run Game: Raine Wilson at North Carolina (Game 1), March 10, 2018

Midweek Contest: March 14, 2018 at Charleston (W, 5-1)

ACC Victory: March 16, 2018 vs. Boston College (W, 4-3)

ACC Victory (Individual): Peyton St. George vs. Boston College, March 16, 2018

Four-Hit Performance: Rachel Abboud vs. Boston College, March 17, 2018 (4-4)

ACC Shutout: March 18, 2018 vs. Boston College (1-0)

ACC Series Victory: March 16-18, 2018 vs. Boston College

ACC Series Sweep: March 16-18, 2018 vs. Boston College

ACC Road Win: April 1, 2018 at Pitt (2-1)

ACC Double Play Turned: 4-6-3 (K. Dry to J. Kavel to R. Abboud) vs. Georgia Tech, April 6, 2018

ACC Weekend Rubber Game: April 8, 2018 vs. Georgia Tech (L, 5-3)

ACC Road Series Win: April 13-14, 2018 at Notre Dame

Inside-The-Park Home Run: Amelia Wiercioch (3rd Inning) at Notre Dame (Game 2); April 14, 2018

Multi-Double Play Game: Two at Virginia Tech; April 20, 2018

Back-to-Back ACC Series Wins: April 13-14, 2018 at Notre Dame & April 20-22, 2018 at Virginia Tech

Three-Straight ACC Series Wins: April 13-14, 2018 at Notre Dame, April 20-22, 2018 at Virginia Tech & April 27-29 vs. Virginia

#GoDuke