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Tulsa
Penn State
Softball Finishes Second at the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge
3/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 2, 2008
Penn State Box Score | LSU Box Score
Baton Rouge, La. - For the fifth time this season, The University of Tulsa softball team split a pair of decisions on the same day. In seven opportunities of playing two games in one day, the Golden Hurricane has won a game and lost a game on five of those dates. Included in that stat is the final day of the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge in Baton Rouge, La. Tulsa, the fourth seed for bracket play, defeated top-seeded Penn State, 4-1 to start the day. The Hurricane fell in the championship game to host LSU, 6-1, to fall to 8-10 on the year. LSU, ranked ninth in the country this week, improves to 15-4 overall.
Against the Nittnay Lions, TU drew first blood in a pitcher's duel with a run in the top of the seventh inning. Through the first six innings of the game, there were only five base runners between the two teams. In the seventh however, junior Kailey Yarmer singled to left field with two outs. Fellow junior Brooke Smart doubled to left center to score Yarmer for the games first run.
PSU tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff homerun, to send the game into extra innings. Freshman Jordan Kinard allowed only two hits in the first seven innings, including the home run, for the Golden Hurricane.
In the eighth inning, senior Lindsey Tower got things started for TU with a leadoff single up the middle. Freshman Lauren Menke came into run for Tower, and was sacrificed over to second by sophomore Jackie Lawrence. A double by sophomore Lauren Lindsay scored Menke to give TU the lead. After a walk was drawn by junior Stephanie Chomicki, TU was able to load the bases on a fielder's choice and another walk. A single up the middle by Yarmer scored TU's final two runs of the morning.
PSU did manage a pair of two-out singles in the bottom of the eighth to make things interesting, however Kinard was able to shut the door on her second victory of the season. She finished with six strikeouts, while allowing only four hits and one walk in the complete-game effort.
Less than 24 hours after out hitting the Tigers, TU could only manage three hits off LSU pitching in the finale. The Tigers scored two runs in the opening stanza, followed by a single run in the second. TU scored its run in the top of the second inning to cut the lead to 2-1. Smart led off TU's second at-bat with a walk. A pair of infield singles from Tower and Lawrence loaded the bases for the Hurricane with only one out. A two-out walk from Chomicki scored Smart from third for TU's run.
LSU tacked on three insurance runs in the fourth inning, for the final margin.
Lindsay and Kinard were named to the All-Tournament team.
The Hurricane will return to the friendly confines of the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex on Wednesday, March 5th, hosting Oklahoma in a single game at 6 p.m.
