Tulsa
Arkansas
Softball Beats Arkansas, 6-0, Wins First NCAA Regional Game
5/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 15, 2009
Box Score |
Box Score 
NORMAN, Okla. - Senior Brooke Smart went 3-for-4 with four RBI and junior Jackie Lawrence pitched a one-hit shutout to lead The University of Tulsa softball team over Arkansas, 6-0, in the first round of the NCAA Softball Tournament Friday evening at the OU Softball Complex.
The win is the Golden Hurricane's (39-15) first in NCAA postseason play, and advances TU into the winner's bracket of the double-elimination regional tournament. Lawrence (21-4) pitched a one-hit shutout, walking three batters and striking out three. Smart hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, and drove in four of TU's six runs, while senior shortstop Kailey Yarmer also went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and a run scored. The Hurricane recorded six runs on 12 hits in the ballgame.
Tulsa will play at 1 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Oklahoma and North Dakota State, which play the nightcap scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Live video and live stats of Saturday's game, as well as all games of the NCAA Norman Regional can be found at www.TulsaHurricane.com.
"If you had to write a script, that's how you would write it - you get out to an early lead, then your pitcher goes out and keeps throwing `zeros' for you, so that you can keep tacking on (runs)," Tulsa Head Coach John Bargfeldt said. "I can't say enough about our defense. They made some outstanding plays. They got us out of one jam that I remember for sure. But other plays like a backhand play at shortstop with no outs - that just helps to stifle rallies when your defense is playing that well. I was proud of our girls on our defense, and I was proud of us on our clutch hitting too."
Tulsa jumped on the board early, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning, and two more in the third inning. Lindsay led off the game with a single up the middle, and sophomore designated player Lauren Menke walked, followed by a single by Yarmer to load the bases. Smart hit into a one-out RBI ground out, and junior catcher Christian Timmons followed with an infield single deep in the hole at second base to score Menke.
In the third inning, Lindsay led off with a walk and Yarmer hit a one-out single over the third baseman's head into left field, and junior first baseman Vanessa Vice loaded the bases with a single up the middle. Smart then came on and drove a single into left center to score Lindsay and Yarmer. The Hurricane got two more base runners in the inning, but left them loaded and carried a 4-0 lead into the fourth inning.
Defensively, Tulsa was solid, even making some spectacular plays in the field. Among those, senior third baseman Stephanie Chomicki made two foul pop up catches on the fence line, and reached into the Arkansas dugout on the second one. Yarmer also went to her right, deep at short and made a backhanded grab and threw out the hitter.
Lawrence and the Hurricane retired the Razorback side in order in four innings and allowed only one runner to reach third base in the entire game. Arkansas' lone hit came on a ball that found its way into left field in the fourth inning. Other than the hit and three walks, Lawrence was dominant, and did not allow many hard hits by the Razorbacks.
"Jackie pitched an outstanding game," Bargfeldt said. "Obviously, she gives up one hit, and she wasn't the strikeout pitcher she has been against some teams, but the thing I look at when she's pitching, is how many hitters squared the ball up on her. There weren't too many (hitters) that squared the ball up on her today. That means she's got some movement going on and some good locations going on. That's the way she's been pitching for us for the last five weeks and it was nice to see that effort continue."
The Golden Hurricane picked up one run in each of the fourth and fifth innings. Freshman second baseman Skylar Swanson led off the fourth with a single up the middle, and scored when Yarmer smashed a two-out double to left center field. Smart blasted a rocket shot halfway up the scoreboard to lead off the fifth inning and make the score 6-0 in favor of TU.
Junior right fielder Lauren Lindsay scored two runs in the game, tying Katie Torres with 125 career runs scored, the most in school history. Torres played at TU from 2003-06.
Follow the TU softball team through the NCAA Regional with results, stats and news at www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow TU Athletics on Twitter - go to www.twitter.com/TulsaHurricane.
