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Tulsa
Creighton
Homers Lift Softball over Creighton, 4-1
2/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 22, 2009
Box Score |
Box Score 
TULSA, Okla. - Behind three home runs and another solid pitching performance from Jackie Lawrence, The University of Tulsa softball team defeated Creighton, 4-1, Sunday afternoon in the Tulsa Select Festival finale at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex.
Junior right fielder Lauren Lindsay led off the bottom of the first inning with an opposite field shot to give the Golden Hurricane (10-3) a 1-0 lead. In the fifth inning, freshman center fielder Jessica Stoelke hit her first career home run down the left field line to extend TU's lead to 2-0, and then in the sixth, senior left fielder Brooke Smart blasted a two-run homer to left center, giving Tulsa a 4-0 lead.
Lawrence (6-0) went the distance, pitching 7.0 innings, and gave up seven hits, one earned run, three walks and she struck out seven. Lawrence worked her way out of a few jams in the ballgame, including four innings in which Creighton had two runners on base when the third out was recorded. In the seventh inning, the Blue Jays were able to push a single run across on three hits, but TU shut down any potential rally to win the game, 4-1. Tara Oltman (4-3) picked up the loss for the Blue Jays (5-4), throwing 6.0 innings with six hits, four earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts.
Lindsay went 2-for-3 for the Hurricane with her homer, while junior first baseman Vanessa Vice also went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Smart went 1-for-3 with her two-run homer, and Stoelke was 1-for-3 with her blast.
"The best feeling that we have today is coming back from what we experienced yesterday (a 10-2 loss to Saint Louis)," Tulsa Head Coach John Bargfeldt said. "That was uncharacteristic of us yesterday, and we haven't been playing that way all year long. It was good to come out and get that taste out of our mouths against a very good team. Creighton has been to the NCAA Regional at least the last two years, and that pitcher has won about 30 games the last two years.
"So, to get a quality win at the end of the tournament and to win the tournament was really good," Bargfeldt continued. "I challenged them at the beginning of the game that this is for a championship, and if we want to win conference championships and things like that, when it's a big game, we've got to go out there and perform. And the girls did. They swung the bats well. Jackie came out with another outstanding effort and kept us right there even though she had to battle through some tough situations, and she made big pitches when she needed it."
Creighton got two runners on in the first inning - the first on an error at first base and the second on a walk - but Lawrence came back and struck out the cleanup hitter and coaxed the next batter into a groundout. In the second inning, the Blue Jays led off with a single, but Tulsa retired the next three batters. In the third after a one-out bunt single and a walk, Lawrence got the next two batters to pop up, one of which was an infield fly and the other a pop foul out to third base. Again in the fourth, Creighton singled with one out, but Lawrence struck out the next two to quickly put out any thoughts of a rally.
After retiring Creighton in order in the fifth, Tulsa avoided another potential jam in the sixth as the Blue Jays tried again to put together a string of plays. Following a leadoff single, Creighton laid down a sacrifice bunt, but did not advance the runner past second base.
The Jays finally got on the board in the seventh inning, which began with a bunt single, followed by a base hit through the left side of the infield. After a ground out to the pitcher, first baseman Renee Sinkler doubled to left center, scoring the run from second base. However, Lawrence fought off the hits to strike out the next batter and end the game with a ground out to third.
The Tulsa offense put solid contact on the ball all game, with four home runs and another shot from Kailey Yarmer that Creighton center fielder Jessica Wakasugi caught over the center field fence to rob the home run. Lindsay also hit a double and other Hurricane batters recorded some hard-hit outs.
All of the scoring for Tulsa in this game, however, came by the power of the home run. The Hurricane, not a traditionally powerful team - 31 homers in 2007 and 33 in 2008, 15 from Lauren Lindsay alone - has hit 11 through 13 games this season.
"I don't know, maybe we'll be that type of team this year," Bargfeldt said with a chuckle. "Any time you see players putting the barrel on the ball - that is what you're happy with. Brooke lined out to first base, but had a great at-bat there. Kailey got robbed over the fence - another one on the barrel. Christian hit some balls on the barrel - some of them were foul, and one of them she flew out to left. Vanessa Vice is starting to come around to be the hitter she has been for two years. That's what you want, and it's good to see hitters having some quality swings against good pitching."
The Golden Hurricane returns to the field Wednesday, as it takes on Oklahoma at 5:30 p.m. at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex. Tickets for TU softball can be purchased in person at the TU Athletics Ticket Office, by calling (918) 631-GoTU, or on the web by visiting www.TulsaHurricane.com.
Results from Sunday's games of the Tulsa Select Festival: Game 1 - Saint Louis 2, Louisiana-Monroe 0; Game 2 - Louisiana-Monroe 3, Creighton 0; Game 3 - Tulsa 4, Creighton 1.
