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Frankie Frelick (yes, Sal’s sister) homers at College World Series for Duke, with elimination game Friday

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Frankie Frelick (yes, Sal’s sister) homers at College World Series for Duke, with elimination game Friday

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In Duke’s first appearance at the Women’s College World Series, Frankie Frelick became the first Blue Devil to hit a home run in the showcase, albeit in a losing effort against powerhouse Oklahoma on Thursday in Oklahoma City.

Second-ranked Oklahoma won the game, 9-1, but Duke will play again Friday night against Alabama, looking to stay alive in the double-elimination softball tournament.

Frelick — the sister of Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick — batted cleanup as Duke’s designated player and lofted a ball over the wall in the left field corner to spot her team a 1-0 lead in the second inning during the first day of World Series play. It was Frelick’s third home run of the postseason.

The 10th-ranked Blue Devils and 14th-ranked Alabama will square off at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Duke pulled an upset over Missouri in a best-of-three battle at the Super Regional level to get this far, with Frelick homering in two of those games. The deciding game went to extras, with Duke holding on to a 4-3 lead in nine innings.

Frelick, a senior, batted .278 this season with eight homers, 42 RBIs and a .361 on-base percentage, serving as a catcher and general utility player. Duke won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship this season and boasted the league’s player of the year (senior outfielder Claire Davidson), pitcher of the year (senior Jala Wright) and defensive player of the year (sophomore second baseman Aminah Vega). Frelick is a two-time Easton/NFCA All-American scholar-athlete.

Brianna Turang, the sister of Brewers second baseman Brice Turang, played for the 2013 Oklahoma softball team that won the College World Series title.

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