Series Opener Against Houston Suspended Until Friday Afternoon
4/13/2017 8:31:00 PM | Softball
TULSA, Okla. — The series opener between American Athletic Conference softball leaders Tulsa and Houston was suspended with two outs in the top of the ninth and no score on Thursday evening. The game will resume at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon and game two of the three-game set will follow.
The matchup between the Golden Hurricane (26-13, 5-1 AAC) and Cougars (20-17, 5-1 AAC) lived up to the billing as Emily Watson and Savannah Heebner matched each other in the pitching circle.
Watson, the reigning AAC Pitcher of the Week, struck out a school-record 19 batters before play was stopped. The junior retired the first seven hitters that she faced on strikes before a single in the third inning. In addition to setting a new program record, Watson's 19 strikeouts are tied for the second-most in a game this season among Division I players.
Houston had the best scoring chance of the contest when it loaded the bases in the top of the eighth with no outs on a walk and a pair of bunt singles. But Watson escaped the jam with an out at home on a grounder back to the circle and back-to-back strikeouts.
However, Heebner matched Watson on the scoreboard by pitching to contact and she retired the first 22 batters she faced for 7.1 perfect frames. Tori Stafford busted up the perfect game with a single to left-center field in the bottom of the eighth and rain began to fall just as the Cougars followed that hit with an inning-ending double play.
In the top of the ninth, Watson recorded her 19th strikeout, but Houston put a runner in scoring position with a walk and sacrifice bunt as the rain intensified. A wild pitch moved the runner to third and that's when the umpires halted the contest.
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