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Tulsa
Illinois (Centenary Tourn.)
Softball Team Begins Season 3-0 at Centenary Tournament
2/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 9, 2002
Shreveport, La. - For the first time in the program's history, The University of Tulsa softball team won its first three games of the season, defeating Birmingham Southern (2-0), Centenary (5-0) and Illinois (2-1) at the Centenary Softball Tournament in Shreveport, La.. The previous best start was two victories over Pittsburg State and Cameron to begin the 1997 season.
In its first game of the day, the Golden Hurricane used the heroics of Broken Arrow, Okla., junior Christy Watkins. The designated player hit a two-run walk off homerun to right centerfield in the bottom of the seventh for a 2-0 TU victory. The hit was Watkins' first hit of the season as she drew two walks in her previous plate appearences. Senior Jenny Magill picked up the win in a complete-game, seven strikeout performance. With the win, Magill also broke the school record for career victories with 24. She also added to her school record career shutouts with 14.
Tulsa used the long ball again in its second game of the day, breaking a scoreless tie with back-to-back homeruns by juniors Danielle Olsen and Crissy Strimple in the fourth inning. TU picked up a third run in the fourth off a Watkins RBI single. The Hurricane added two more insurance runs in the top of the fifth. Freshman Lindsey Dyer struckout 11 batters, only two shy of a school record, and scattered three hits in the complete game victory.
The Hurricane picked up one of their biggest wins in recent history in the third game of the day, a 2-1 win over Illinois. The Fighting Illini won 49 games last season and finished third at the Big 10 Tournament. Again, the long ball played a big part of the victory as Strimple hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman Ami Day held the Illini at bay in the pitching circle for the complete-game victory. Day scattered three hits, allowed one unearned run and two walks while striking out three.
The win over Illinois clinched the No.1 seed for the TU during bracket play on Sunday. Tulsa will face Birmingham Southern at 11 a.m., with the winner playing the winner of Illinois/Centenary game for the championship.
