Friday, April 13
Collins Family Softball Complex
5 PM
Tulsa
vs
USF
Photo by: Dave Crenshaw
Tulsa Set to Host USF in Three-Game Series this Weekend
4/12/2018 11:27:00 AM | Softball
Series Notes
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa softball team will look to climb up the American Athletic Conference standings this weekend when it hosts conference-leading USF for a three-game series at Collins Family Softball Complex.
The Golden Hurricane (25-15, 5-4) and Bulls (29-15, 7-2) will open the series on Friday, April 13, at 5 p.m. in a contest that can be seen on the American Digital Network. The teams then will meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday and close the series with a noon contest on Sunday.
TU is coming off a 3-1 week that started with a 7-4 win at Oklahoma State before the squad took 2-of-3 games at Wichita State. Shelby Estocado and Emily Watson were recognized on the conference's weekly honor roll for their performances against the Cowgirls and Shockers.
Estocado hit .357 with two doubles, a homer and seven RBIs in the four games. With her homer in game one of the series at WSU, she became just the fourth player in program history to hit at least 30 round-trippers in her career. Meanwhile, Watson went 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 21 innings.
USF is coming off a series win against Houston last weekend, as the Bulls took 2-of-3 with the Cougars in Tampa. The squad is led by Lindsey Devitt's .376 batting average and 32 RBIs, while the pitching staff has a collective 2.68 ERA. Georgina Corrick has seen the majority of the work in the circle for the Bulls and she is 9-5 with a 1.47 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 90.2 innings.
Tulsa is 5-5 all-time against USF and the Hurricane have won the last four meetings. TU swept the Bulls last season in Tampa.
Schedule
Friday, April 13
5 p.m. vs. USF — Stats/Video
Saturday, April 14
2 p.m. vs. USF — Stats/Video
Sunday, April 15
12 p.m. vs. USF — Stats/Video
Notes
Tulsa Welcomes Conference-Leading USF to Town This Weekend
• Tulsa will host conference-leading USF for a pivotal three-game series this weekend at Collins Family Softball Complex.
• With a 7-2 conference record, USF enters the weekend atop The American standings, while TU is in a three-way tie with Memphis and Wichita State at 5-4 in league play.
• Tulsa is 5-5 all-time against USF, including wins in each of the last four matchups. TU swept the series against the Bulls last season in Tampa.
Trending
• Emily Watson leads The American and ranks eighth in the nation with 192 strikeouts this season. Watson has struck out at least 10 batters in a game 10 times, including a season-high 15 Ks against Saint Francis (Pa.).
• After opening conference play with three one-run losses at UCF, Tulsa has bounced back to win six of its last seven games. Those six wins have come by an average of 4.5 runs (+27 run differential).
• Morgan Neal has reached base safely in each of her last 16 games, which is a season-best for the junior. During that time, Neal is hitting .354 and slugging .583. She also has recorded eight walks versus just four strikeouts for a .446 on-base percentage.
Ahead Early
• Tulsa has gotten off to a quick start with runs in the first inning in 20 of its 40 games.
• The Hurricane has outscored its opponents 37-12 in the first inning and has only allowed its opponent to score in the first inning of eight games during the campaign.
• TU has capitalized on the early lead this spring, going 15-5 when scoring in the first inning. The Hurricane also is 20-6 when the team scores first.
• The early run support has been a big part of the team's success as TU is 19-2 when leading after four innings, 17-1 when leading after five innings and 13-1 when leading after six innings.
TU Bats Heating Up in Conference Play
• The Tulsa offense will enter play this weekend hitting .308 in its nine conference games, a mark that ranks second in the league, just behind Wichita State's .311 average.
• Haley Meinen leads the way with a .480 average and seven players are hitting at least .300 during conference play.
• TU also ranks near the top of several other offensive categories during conference play, including hits (2nd, 72), doubles (2nd, 13), total bases (2nd, 97), on-base percentage (2nd, .378) and slugging percentage (3rd, .415), while it's 26 strikeouts are the fewest in the circuit.
Hurricane Honors in The American
• TU has had several student-athletes honored by the American Athletic Conference and NFCA via its weekly awards this season.
• Emily Watson has been named The American Pitcher of the Week three times this season (12 times in her career), including on April 2 after she went 2-0 with a save and 23 strikeouts in 15 innings during last weekend's sweep of ECU. The senior also earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week honors for her efforts against the Pirates.
• Hurricane hitters also have had success as Tori Stafford was named Player of the Week on March 19. Meanwhile, Shelby Estocado and Morgan Neal have been named to the conference's weekly honor roll this season, as well.
Career Numbers Update
• Emily Watson ranks in the program's all-time top 10 in several categories, including ERA (2nd, 1.69), opposing batting average (2nd, .205), strikeouts (2nd, 789), shutouts (2nd, 29), wins (2nd, 66), games started (3rd, 95), complete-games (4th, 64), innings pitched (5th, 603.0), saves (6th, 5) and appearances (6th, 113).
• Shelby Estocado ranks third in program history with 30 homers, including seven round-trippers this season. She also ranks sixth with 124 RBIs and seventh with 310 total bases.
• Julia Hollingsworth currently owns the program-record with a .460 on-base percentage, while her career .367 batting average ranks second. She ranks sixth with 40 stolen bases and her six triples are tied for eighth. Hollingsworth tied a single-game record with a pair of triples in Tulsa's win over Nicholls State (March 3).
Look Who's Back
• Tulsa returns 13 letterwinners, including six position starters, the designated player and three pitchers, from last year's team which went 41-17 and won its first American Athletic Conference regular-season title with a 15-3 league mark.
• The TU offense will bring back all of its home runs, 79.3-percent of its extra-base hits, 76-percent of its runs scored, 74.3-percent of its RBIs and 71.1-percent of its hits from last year's squad.
• The lineup will see the return of NFCA All-Region picks Julia Hollingsworth (OF) and Haley Meinen (DP), while the pitching staff will see the return of second-team NFCA All-American Emily Watson.
It's Elementary, Watson
• The Golden Hurricane pitching staff is anchored by NFCA All-American Emily Watson. The senior nearly set a program single-season record with 348 strikeouts, while her 14 shutouts set a new program standard and led the nation last season.
• Watson also set single-season records with 30 wins, 36 starts, 29 complete games and 246.2 innings pitched.
• The senior was recently announced as one of 50 players across the nation on the "Watch List" for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award and she was one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
• So far in 2018, she has compiled a 16-6 record with a 1.55 ERA and 192 strikeouts in 144.2 innings pitched.
Tulsa Picked to Repeat as American Athletic Conference Champs
• Tulsa garnered six first-place votes and the squad was picked to repeat as American Athletic Conference champions by the league's coaches.
• TU earned 48 points in the poll, while Houston picked up a pair of first-place nods and 44 points to rank second.
• The duo was followed by USF, UCF, Wichita State, Memphis, UConn and ECU.
• Last season, TU won both the regular-season and tournament titles, sweeping those championships for the first time since 2014 when the Hurricane accomplished the feat in its final season as a member of Conference USA.
The Schedule
• Tulsa's 2018 schedule will see the team play 10 games against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
• The schedule also will have the Hurricane matched-up with teams that started the season either ranked or receiving votes. Texas A&M is 12th in the NFCA Coaches Poll, while TU also will face defending national champion Oklahoma (April 17) and Oklahoma State (March 21, April 4).
• Meanwhile, McNeese State (Feb. 9-10), Texas State (Feb. 24) and St. Francis (Pa.) (March 17) also started the season receiving votes.
TU Success Under Coach Bargfeldt
• Now in his 13th season at Tulsa, head coach John Bargfeldt is the program's longest-tenured head coach and has the most wins and highest winning percentage in school history.
• Prior to Bargfeldt's arrival, the program had just four winning seasons in 13 years and did not win a conference title or appear in an NCAA Regional.
• Since his hiring prior to the 2006 season, the Golden Hurricane has had a winning record in all 12 campaigns with six regular-season and six conference tournament titles. In addition, TU has advanced to nine NCAA Regionals, including a spot in the postseason for six of the last seven years.
Up Next
• After hosting USF for a three-game series this weekend, TU will welcome No. 2 Oklahoma to the Collins Family Softball Complex at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17, in a contest that already is sold out. The Hurricane then will take to the road for a three-game series at Houston (April 20-22).
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa softball team will look to climb up the American Athletic Conference standings this weekend when it hosts conference-leading USF for a three-game series at Collins Family Softball Complex.
The Golden Hurricane (25-15, 5-4) and Bulls (29-15, 7-2) will open the series on Friday, April 13, at 5 p.m. in a contest that can be seen on the American Digital Network. The teams then will meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday and close the series with a noon contest on Sunday.
TU is coming off a 3-1 week that started with a 7-4 win at Oklahoma State before the squad took 2-of-3 games at Wichita State. Shelby Estocado and Emily Watson were recognized on the conference's weekly honor roll for their performances against the Cowgirls and Shockers.
Estocado hit .357 with two doubles, a homer and seven RBIs in the four games. With her homer in game one of the series at WSU, she became just the fourth player in program history to hit at least 30 round-trippers in her career. Meanwhile, Watson went 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 21 innings.
USF is coming off a series win against Houston last weekend, as the Bulls took 2-of-3 with the Cougars in Tampa. The squad is led by Lindsey Devitt's .376 batting average and 32 RBIs, while the pitching staff has a collective 2.68 ERA. Georgina Corrick has seen the majority of the work in the circle for the Bulls and she is 9-5 with a 1.47 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 90.2 innings.
Tulsa is 5-5 all-time against USF and the Hurricane have won the last four meetings. TU swept the Bulls last season in Tampa.
Schedule
Friday, April 13
5 p.m. vs. USF — Stats/Video
Saturday, April 14
2 p.m. vs. USF — Stats/Video
Sunday, April 15
12 p.m. vs. USF — Stats/Video
Notes
Tulsa Welcomes Conference-Leading USF to Town This Weekend
• Tulsa will host conference-leading USF for a pivotal three-game series this weekend at Collins Family Softball Complex.
• With a 7-2 conference record, USF enters the weekend atop The American standings, while TU is in a three-way tie with Memphis and Wichita State at 5-4 in league play.
• Tulsa is 5-5 all-time against USF, including wins in each of the last four matchups. TU swept the series against the Bulls last season in Tampa.
Trending
• Emily Watson leads The American and ranks eighth in the nation with 192 strikeouts this season. Watson has struck out at least 10 batters in a game 10 times, including a season-high 15 Ks against Saint Francis (Pa.).
• After opening conference play with three one-run losses at UCF, Tulsa has bounced back to win six of its last seven games. Those six wins have come by an average of 4.5 runs (+27 run differential).
• Morgan Neal has reached base safely in each of her last 16 games, which is a season-best for the junior. During that time, Neal is hitting .354 and slugging .583. She also has recorded eight walks versus just four strikeouts for a .446 on-base percentage.
Ahead Early
• Tulsa has gotten off to a quick start with runs in the first inning in 20 of its 40 games.
• The Hurricane has outscored its opponents 37-12 in the first inning and has only allowed its opponent to score in the first inning of eight games during the campaign.
• TU has capitalized on the early lead this spring, going 15-5 when scoring in the first inning. The Hurricane also is 20-6 when the team scores first.
• The early run support has been a big part of the team's success as TU is 19-2 when leading after four innings, 17-1 when leading after five innings and 13-1 when leading after six innings.
TU Bats Heating Up in Conference Play
• The Tulsa offense will enter play this weekend hitting .308 in its nine conference games, a mark that ranks second in the league, just behind Wichita State's .311 average.
• Haley Meinen leads the way with a .480 average and seven players are hitting at least .300 during conference play.
• TU also ranks near the top of several other offensive categories during conference play, including hits (2nd, 72), doubles (2nd, 13), total bases (2nd, 97), on-base percentage (2nd, .378) and slugging percentage (3rd, .415), while it's 26 strikeouts are the fewest in the circuit.
Hurricane Honors in The American
• TU has had several student-athletes honored by the American Athletic Conference and NFCA via its weekly awards this season.
• Emily Watson has been named The American Pitcher of the Week three times this season (12 times in her career), including on April 2 after she went 2-0 with a save and 23 strikeouts in 15 innings during last weekend's sweep of ECU. The senior also earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week honors for her efforts against the Pirates.
• Hurricane hitters also have had success as Tori Stafford was named Player of the Week on March 19. Meanwhile, Shelby Estocado and Morgan Neal have been named to the conference's weekly honor roll this season, as well.
Career Numbers Update
• Emily Watson ranks in the program's all-time top 10 in several categories, including ERA (2nd, 1.69), opposing batting average (2nd, .205), strikeouts (2nd, 789), shutouts (2nd, 29), wins (2nd, 66), games started (3rd, 95), complete-games (4th, 64), innings pitched (5th, 603.0), saves (6th, 5) and appearances (6th, 113).
• Shelby Estocado ranks third in program history with 30 homers, including seven round-trippers this season. She also ranks sixth with 124 RBIs and seventh with 310 total bases.
• Julia Hollingsworth currently owns the program-record with a .460 on-base percentage, while her career .367 batting average ranks second. She ranks sixth with 40 stolen bases and her six triples are tied for eighth. Hollingsworth tied a single-game record with a pair of triples in Tulsa's win over Nicholls State (March 3).
Look Who's Back
• Tulsa returns 13 letterwinners, including six position starters, the designated player and three pitchers, from last year's team which went 41-17 and won its first American Athletic Conference regular-season title with a 15-3 league mark.
• The TU offense will bring back all of its home runs, 79.3-percent of its extra-base hits, 76-percent of its runs scored, 74.3-percent of its RBIs and 71.1-percent of its hits from last year's squad.
• The lineup will see the return of NFCA All-Region picks Julia Hollingsworth (OF) and Haley Meinen (DP), while the pitching staff will see the return of second-team NFCA All-American Emily Watson.
It's Elementary, Watson
• The Golden Hurricane pitching staff is anchored by NFCA All-American Emily Watson. The senior nearly set a program single-season record with 348 strikeouts, while her 14 shutouts set a new program standard and led the nation last season.
• Watson also set single-season records with 30 wins, 36 starts, 29 complete games and 246.2 innings pitched.
• The senior was recently announced as one of 50 players across the nation on the "Watch List" for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award and she was one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
• So far in 2018, she has compiled a 16-6 record with a 1.55 ERA and 192 strikeouts in 144.2 innings pitched.
Tulsa Picked to Repeat as American Athletic Conference Champs
• Tulsa garnered six first-place votes and the squad was picked to repeat as American Athletic Conference champions by the league's coaches.
• TU earned 48 points in the poll, while Houston picked up a pair of first-place nods and 44 points to rank second.
• The duo was followed by USF, UCF, Wichita State, Memphis, UConn and ECU.
• Last season, TU won both the regular-season and tournament titles, sweeping those championships for the first time since 2014 when the Hurricane accomplished the feat in its final season as a member of Conference USA.
The Schedule
• Tulsa's 2018 schedule will see the team play 10 games against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
• The schedule also will have the Hurricane matched-up with teams that started the season either ranked or receiving votes. Texas A&M is 12th in the NFCA Coaches Poll, while TU also will face defending national champion Oklahoma (April 17) and Oklahoma State (March 21, April 4).
• Meanwhile, McNeese State (Feb. 9-10), Texas State (Feb. 24) and St. Francis (Pa.) (March 17) also started the season receiving votes.
TU Success Under Coach Bargfeldt
• Now in his 13th season at Tulsa, head coach John Bargfeldt is the program's longest-tenured head coach and has the most wins and highest winning percentage in school history.
• Prior to Bargfeldt's arrival, the program had just four winning seasons in 13 years and did not win a conference title or appear in an NCAA Regional.
• Since his hiring prior to the 2006 season, the Golden Hurricane has had a winning record in all 12 campaigns with six regular-season and six conference tournament titles. In addition, TU has advanced to nine NCAA Regionals, including a spot in the postseason for six of the last seven years.
Up Next
• After hosting USF for a three-game series this weekend, TU will welcome No. 2 Oklahoma to the Collins Family Softball Complex at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17, in a contest that already is sold out. The Hurricane then will take to the road for a three-game series at Houston (April 20-22).
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Players Mentioned
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