Saturday, April 15
Collins Family Softball Complex
12:00 pm
Tulsa
29-13, 8-1
7
vs
3
Houston
20-20, 5-4
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3
4
5
6
7
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H
E
Houston
2
1
0
0
0
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3
9
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Tulsa
3
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2
0
0
0
X
7
8
2
Tulsa Completes Sweep of Houston With 7-3 Win on Saturday
4/15/2017 2:33:00 PM | Softball
Box Score PDF | Box Score HTML | Season Stats
TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa completed a three-game sweep of Houston, who came into the weekend tied with the Golden Hurricane atop The American standings, with a 7-3 victory on Saturday afternoon at Collins Softball Complex.
For the second consecutive outing, Haley Meinen picked up the win in the circle, this time with five scoreless innings of relief, to improve to 4-1. Emily Watson entered the contest in the top of the seventh and recorded the final two outs to earn her second save of the weekend and close out the second AAC series sweep for the Golden Hurricane (29-13, 8-1 AAC).
Tori Stafford helped lead the offense with a 2-for-3 day at the plate and an RBI, while Julia Hollingsworth scored a pair of runs and drove in two with a double in the third inning.
Much like they did in game two of the series, the Cougars (20-20, 5-4 AAC) jumped out to an early advantage. Houston grabbed a 2-0 lead on two hits and an error in the top of the first, but Tulsa would come right back with a three-spot in the bottom of the inning.
Hollingsworth reached on an error to start the rally before Maggie Withee singled to right field and advanced to second on the throw. Morgan Neal then loaded the bases with a perfect bunt single and Maddie Withee brought Hollingsworth home on a hit to slice the deficit in half. Maggie Withee tied the score when she touched home after a wild pitch and Stafford made it 3-2 with a run-scoring single.
Two more hits and an error in the top of the second allowed the Cougars to tie the score at 3-all, but once again, the Hurricane responded and took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning.
Shelby Estocado started the frame by ripping a double down the left field line and Hollingsworth reached on another Cougars fielding miscue. Both runners moved up on a grounder and Estocado scored on Neal's groundout for a 4-3 lead. Houston's third error of the day allowed Hollingsworth to reach home and push the cushion to 5-3.
Tulsa put up two more runs in the third when Hollingsworth knocked a double to the wall in left-center field that plated Shannon Hughes, who also doubled, and Rylie Spell.
With a 7-3 lead, Meinen continued to put up zeroes as she scattered five hits in her five frames of work. The sophomore retired the side in order in the fourth and sixth innings, but ran into trouble in the top of the seventh.
The Cougars loaded the bases with one out to bring the tying run to the plate and Tulsa went to the bullpen for Watson. The junior needed just four pitches to induce a game-ending 6-3 double play that preserved the 7-3 win to notch the series sweep.
The double play capped an impressive weekend for Watson, who earned a win and a pair of saves with 22 strikeouts, including a school-record 21 Ks in game one, over 11.2 innings against the Cougars. Watson allowed just one run and seven hits for a 0.60 ERA during the series.
Tulsa will return to the diamond at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, when it will host Oklahoma State (28-16) at Collins Softball Complex.
TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa completed a three-game sweep of Houston, who came into the weekend tied with the Golden Hurricane atop The American standings, with a 7-3 victory on Saturday afternoon at Collins Softball Complex.
For the second consecutive outing, Haley Meinen picked up the win in the circle, this time with five scoreless innings of relief, to improve to 4-1. Emily Watson entered the contest in the top of the seventh and recorded the final two outs to earn her second save of the weekend and close out the second AAC series sweep for the Golden Hurricane (29-13, 8-1 AAC).
Tori Stafford helped lead the offense with a 2-for-3 day at the plate and an RBI, while Julia Hollingsworth scored a pair of runs and drove in two with a double in the third inning.
Much like they did in game two of the series, the Cougars (20-20, 5-4 AAC) jumped out to an early advantage. Houston grabbed a 2-0 lead on two hits and an error in the top of the first, but Tulsa would come right back with a three-spot in the bottom of the inning.
Hollingsworth reached on an error to start the rally before Maggie Withee singled to right field and advanced to second on the throw. Morgan Neal then loaded the bases with a perfect bunt single and Maddie Withee brought Hollingsworth home on a hit to slice the deficit in half. Maggie Withee tied the score when she touched home after a wild pitch and Stafford made it 3-2 with a run-scoring single.
Two more hits and an error in the top of the second allowed the Cougars to tie the score at 3-all, but once again, the Hurricane responded and took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning.
Shelby Estocado started the frame by ripping a double down the left field line and Hollingsworth reached on another Cougars fielding miscue. Both runners moved up on a grounder and Estocado scored on Neal's groundout for a 4-3 lead. Houston's third error of the day allowed Hollingsworth to reach home and push the cushion to 5-3.
Tulsa put up two more runs in the third when Hollingsworth knocked a double to the wall in left-center field that plated Shannon Hughes, who also doubled, and Rylie Spell.
With a 7-3 lead, Meinen continued to put up zeroes as she scattered five hits in her five frames of work. The sophomore retired the side in order in the fourth and sixth innings, but ran into trouble in the top of the seventh.
The Cougars loaded the bases with one out to bring the tying run to the plate and Tulsa went to the bullpen for Watson. The junior needed just four pitches to induce a game-ending 6-3 double play that preserved the 7-3 win to notch the series sweep.
The double play capped an impressive weekend for Watson, who earned a win and a pair of saves with 22 strikeouts, including a school-record 21 Ks in game one, over 11.2 innings against the Cougars. Watson allowed just one run and seven hits for a 0.60 ERA during the series.
Tulsa will return to the diamond at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, when it will host Oklahoma State (28-16) at Collins Softball Complex.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meinen, Haley (4-1)
L: HEEBNER, Savannah (9-8)
S: Watson, Emily (2)
Batting:
2B: MILLER, Shelby 1 ; CRUMPTON, Kaylin 1
RBI: MILLER, Shelby 1 ; VANNOY, Brooke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HEEBNER, Savannah 1 ; MILLER, Shelby 1 ; CRUMPTON, Kaylin 1
CS: VANNOY, Brooke 1
Batting:
2B: Hollingsworth, Julia 1 ; Hughes, Shannon 1 ; Estocado, Shelby 1
RBI: Hollingsworth, Julia 2 ; Neal, Morgan 1 ; Withee, Maddie 1 ; Stafford, Tori 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hollingsworth, Julia 2 ; Withee, Maggie 1 ; Neal, Morgan 1 ; Spell, Rylie 1 ; Hughes, Shannon 1 ; Estocado, Shelby 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ SoftballOF
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IF/OF
/ Softball
IF/OF
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C
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/ Softball
OF/C
/ SoftballIF
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