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Softball Takes on Missouri State in Final Midweek Contest
4/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 28, 2009
TULSA, Okla. - The University of Tulsa softball team renews a rivalry as old as the program itself when it battles Missouri State in the final midweek and non-conference contest of the season on Wednesday at 4 p.m., at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex.
The game be heard on 88.7 FM HD3 in the Tulsa area, while live audio and video will be available to members of All-Access on TulsaHurricane.com, and live stats via Gametracker will also be available on TulsaHurricane.com.
Tulsa and Missouri State have played 34 times and Missouri State leads the series 24-14. The series dates to 1993, when Tulsa was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, and the two teams have played every year since, except in 2005. The Golden Hurricane has won the last three meetings and six of the last nine. Missouri State won the first nine games before TU finally defeated the Bears in 1996. The teams have split doubleheaders six times and Tulsa has won both games twice. The Hurricane is 6-11 against Missouri State in Tulsa, 6-10 in Springfield and 2-3 in neutral site games.
Tulsa is currently 32-15 overall and 13-4 in C-USA play, after sweeping UTEP on the road over the weekend, 3-0, 9-3 and 4-2, and splitting its doubleheader last Tuesday against Kansas, losing 6-3 and winning 4-0.
The Hurricane enters the week with a team .287 batting average, with 217 runs scored, 361 hits, 198 RBI and 32 home runs. The team also carries a .363 on-base percentage and a .422 slugging percentage. The pitching staff has put together a 2.58 ERA with 11 shutouts and has given up 248 hits, 134 runs - 114 earned - 123 walks and 306 strikeouts in 309.1 innings.
Missouri State (19-21, 8-9 MVC) is hitting .244 as a team, with 124 runs scored, 263 hits, 103 RBI and 18 home runs. The Bears carry a .294 team OBP and a .343 team slugging percentage. The pitching staff has a 2.67 ERA with nine shutouts and has allowed 280 hits, 140 runs - 108 earned - 94 walks and 173 strikeouts in 283.2 innings.
Individually, Tulsa is led by junior right fielder Lauren Lindsay with a .377 batting average (57-for-151) with 32 RBI, 36 runs scored, eight home runs, 13 doubles, a .623 slugging percentage and a .469 on-base percentage. Senior left fielder Brooke Smart hits .359 (46-for-128) with 26 RBI, 27 runs scored, seven doubles and four homers. Junior first baseman Vanessa Vice has a .324 batting average (47-for-145) with 20 RBI, 15 runs scored, seven doubles and one triple.
In the circle, Junior Jackie Lawrence is 15-4 with a 1.41 ERA and six shutouts, allowing 86 hits and 39 runs - 27 earned - with 53 walks and 138 strikeouts in 134.0 innings with a .179 opp. batting avg. Sophomore Jordan Kinard is 11-6 with a 3.26 ERA with two shutouts, and has allowed 82 hits, 53 runs - 50 earned - walked 53 and struck out 121 in 107.1 innings. Senior Katie Lee (Edmond, Okla.) is 6-5 with a 3.81 ERA in 14 appearances with 12 starts. She has allowed 80 hits, 42 runs - 37 earned - with 17 walks and 47 strikeouts in 68.0 innings.
Missouri State is led in hitting by shortstop Jessie Smith, who has a .393 batting average (48-for-122) with 20 RBI, 26 runs scored, 10 doubles, two triples, six homers, 15 walks, a .656 slugging percentage and a .453 on-base percentage. Second baseman Jenna Schwark hits .314 (38-for-121) with 23 runs scored, one homer, a triple, seven doubles and 15 RBI. The Bear pitching staff is led by Lauren Supak, who sports a 5-7 record in 25 appearances with 16 starts, and has a 1.94 ERA, allowing 114 hits, 44 runs, 32 of which are earned, 48 walks and has struck out 58 in 115.2 innings. Lauren McGinley has a 10-10 record in 23 appearances and 20 starts, with a 2.90 ERA, allowing 109 hits, 61 runs, 46 of which are earned, 40 walks and 57 strikeouts in 111.0 innings.
The Golden Hurricane concludes the regular season with a three-game set against Southern Miss this weekend with an opportunity to win the C-USA regular season title. The series begins Saturday with a doubleheader at noon that will be televised by CBS College Sports, and will conclude with a single game Sunday at noon.
Tickets for Tulsa softball home games are $6 for adults and $4 for youth high school aged and younger. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Tulsa Athletics Ticket Office in person, by calling (918) 631-GoTU or on the web by visiting www.TulsaHurricane.com.
