Tulsa
Hawaii (2/WAC)
Golden Hurricane Complete Series Sweep of Hawaii
4/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 19, 2004
Game 1 Box Score |Game 2 Box Score
Tulsa, Okla. - In a year of firsts, The University of Tulsa softball team marked yet another first time off the list. After defeating Hawai`i for the first time in Tulsa on Sunday, the Golden Hurricane completed its first ever series sweep of the Rainbow Wahine with 2-1 and 5-4 Western Athletic Conference victories Monday night. A crowd of 363 at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex celebrated the Hurricane's ninth consecutive victory.
All the scoring in the first game happened in the first inning. Junior Ami Day only threw eight pitches in the top half of the inning, but it only took two pitches for Hawaii to get on the board. Junior Denise Dahlberg deposited the first pitch she saw over the left field fence to give UH a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Hurricane did not let the deficit last long, as senior Heather Hiar opened the TU half of the inning with an infield single. After a one-out walk from sophomore Katie Torres, fellow sophomore Kelly Miller hit her 12th double of the season to score Hiar. Another infield single by junior Stephanie Sliepen loaded the bases for TU. Torres scored the go-ahead run on a single by Julie Shafer. Hawai`i hurler Melissa Coogan then shut the door on the TU rally with a pair of strikeouts to end the inning. She would finish with eight strikeouts in the contest.
The Rainbow Wahine threatened in the top of the seventh inning, by recording back-to-back singles to start the inning. Sophomore Maren Genow came into relieve Day to record three straight outs to pick up her fifth save of the season. She is now tied with former Hurricane hurler Kerri Bartholomew for the most in a single season. Her save also gave TU six on the season, surpassing three other Hurricane squads for the most saves as a team in a season.
Hawai`i scored first in the nightcap as well, with two runs in the third inning. With two outs in the frame, junior Tracie Uchima reached on an infield single, followed by a double down the leftfield line by Dahlberg. Senior April Crowell then ripped a single to center field to score Uchima and Dahlberg.
Tulsa again answered in the bottom of the same inning, with a single run to cut the lead in half. Hiar again led off the inning with a single, just like she did in the first inning. However in the third, she would score, on Torres's 12th double of the season.
In the fourth inning, TU took the lead for good with a pair of runs. Sophomore Julie Shafer led off with a single to right center. Freshman Angela Osbon recorded her third home run of the season with a two-run shot to left field.
The Hurricane added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth inning. Torres walked to open the stanza, followed by a single by Miller. Another walk drawn by Shafer loaded the bases with Hurricane runners with only one out. Freshman Lindsay Galloway drew TU's third walk of the inning to score Torres. Day pinch-hit for junior Holly Reynolds, sending a shot up the middle. Hawai`i's Noelle Izumi made a beautiful diving stop to keep the ball from going into centerfield. She then flicked the ball to the covering shortstop who fired the ball home to gun down Shafer trying to score from second base. Miller was able to score TU's fifth run of the inning before Shafer was tagged out to end the inning.
Genow cruised through the middle innings, sitting down the Wahine in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth. After seeing the Moore, Okla., native for the 15.2 innings of the four-game series, Hawai`i started getting its timing down. Sophomore Ashley Ruff and junior Stacey Ritter led off the inning with back-to-back home runs to cut the TU lead to a single run. Freshman Julie Fennell came in and sat down the remaining UH hitters down in order to pick up her second save of the year.
Junior Shannon Tabion was saddled with the loss to fall to 14-8 on the year. Genow improves to 18-3 on the year, while staying a perfect 6-0 in WAC play.
Tulsa is scheduled to play at Southwest Missouri State on Wednesday, April 21, for a non-conference doubleheader. The Hurricane will return to WAC action on Saturday with a twinbill at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La.
