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Softball to Host No. 18 UCF Friday and Saturday
4/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TULSA, Okla. - The Tulsa softball team faces No. 18 UCF in a three-game American Athletic Conference series Friday and Saturday at the Collins Family Softball Complex. The teams play a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. Friday, and a single game at noon Saturday.
The Golden Hurricane (22-12, 4-2 American) has won two in a row and six of its last eight games. The Knights (34-5, 6-0 American) have won seven in a row and 19 of their last 20 games. Live video and live stats for all three games will be streamed live on www.TulsaHurricane.com.
Saturday is Tulsa's annual pink game. Fans are encouraged to wear pink and bid on silent auction items, with proceeds benefiting the Young Survival Coalition.
Tulsa hits .314 (286-for-912) with 206 RBI, 226 runs, 53 doubles, 13 triples and 36 home runs, and has a .519 slugging percentage and a .410 on-base percentage with 141 walks. The Hurricane has a 3.22 team ERA with 185 strikeouts, 76 walks, 226 hits, 112 runs and 100 earned runs allowed, and has a .267 opponent batting average.
UCF is hitting .292 with 172 runs, 160 RBI, 33 doubles, six triples and 22 home runs, a .404 slugging percentage and a .364 on-base percentage. The Knights have allowed just 45 runs in 39 games, posting a 0.90 team ERA with 392 strikeouts, 73 walks and 127 hits allowed and a .141 opponent batting average in 265.0 innings.
Five Tulsa players hit better than .300, led by senior Julie Kernen, who hits .379 with 49 RBI, 10 home runs, 11 doubles and 26 runs scored. Sophomore Brittany Walker is hitting .381 with 24 RBI, 17 runs, a .730 slugging percentage and 11 extra base hits. Senior Erica Sampson hits .351 with 44 runs, 24 RBI and 14 extra base hits. Sophomore Maggie Withee hits .327 and has scored 32 runs, and junior Kaitlin Allen hits .341 with 10 RBI and 11 runs.
In the circle, freshman Emily Watson leads the Hurricane with a 2.53 ERA. She is 6-2 with three shutouts, 57 strikeouts to 22 walks, and has allowed 56 hits and 21 earned runs in 58.0 innings. Junior Caitlin Sill is 6-7 with a 3.25 ERA, and has thrown 71.0 innings in 18 appearances with 11 starts. She has allowed 37 runs, 33 earned runs on 71 hits, with 53 strikeouts and 30 walks. Senior Bailey Erwin is 10-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 18 appearances and 13 starts. She has 74 strikeouts to 21 walks, and has allowed 94 hits and 40 earned runs in 85.1 innings.
Tulsa and UCF have played 27 times. Tulsa leads the series, 18-9. The teams last met in 2013, when the Golden Hurricane won all four meetings in Tulsa - three in the regular season and one in the Conference USA tournament. The Hurricane has won six in a row in the series, dating back to the 2012 season when it took two of three from the Knights in Orlando. Tulsa is 11-2 all-time against UCF in Tulsa, including 10 wins in a row at home.
Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TulsaHurricane. Follow Tulsa Softball on Twitter (www.twitter.com/TulsaSoftball) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/TulsaSoftball).
