Softball Set to Begin Conference Play on the Road This Weekend at USF

TULSA, Okla. - The University of Tulsa Softball team will begin American Athletic Conference play this weekend as they travel to Tampa, Fla. for a three-game series against USF with game one scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m. Head Coach John Bargfeldt sat down with Bruce Howard to discuss his team's recent performance heading into the conference slate.

The Hurricane (20-10 Overall) head into conference having won six straight contests and nine of the last 10 games, including a 5-0 record at the Rock Chalk Challenge last weekend. During the span, Tulsa has out-hit their opponents .348 to .187 while outscoring the competition 49 to 10 as they picked up wins over ranked opponents in #19 California, #25 Arkansas and #12 LSU.

Tulsa trails USF 5-2 in the all-time series after dropping all three games in the series last season before responding with a 4-0 shutout of the then No. 24-ranked Bulls in The American Conference Tournament Championship at Collins Family Softball Complex on May 14 to secure the automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. USF has the second-best winning-percentage in the conference this season with a 20-15 (.571) mark, behind Tulsa's percentage of .667.

Live stats will be available for each of the three games in the series against USF while the final game on Sunday will be streamed live via Facebook live on USF Softball's page.

TU will return home for a mid-week contest against Missouri State on March 29 at 5 p.m. before playing their first home conference series of the season March 31 through April 2 against Memphis.

Weekend Schedule
Game 1
Friday – 3 p.m. – Live Stats

Game 2
Saturday – 3 p.m. – Live Stats

Game 3
Sunday – 3 p.m. – Live Stats

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LOUISVILLE SLUGGER/NFCA CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK...
Junior pitcher Emily Watson was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Co-Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday for her performances in the circle last week as she went 4-0 and pitched 24 innings of scoreless softball. The award marked the second of its kind in Tulsa's history and first since 2007 when Jackie Lawrence was named Player of the Week.

RPI RANKINGS...
Tulsa ranks 34th on the initial RPI released by the NCAA on Monday afternoon. The Hurricane are the highest ranked team in The American, ahead of USF at 61.

200 CAREER HITS...
Senior Maggie Withee picked up career hit number 200 over the weekend at the Rock Chalk Challenge and currently ranks tied for sixth all-time at Tulsa in the category with 206. Withee is just the eighth Tulsa batter to reach the mark in program history and currently trails Sara Dyer (2005-08, 223 hits) for fifth all-time.

NEW NUMBER SEVEN...
Junior Shelby Estocado hit her 21st career home run in a 4-3 win over Kansas on Saturday afternoon, moving her into a tie for seventh on Tulsa's career home runs list. Estocado is tied for seventh with Erica Sampson (2014-15) and Sara Dyer (2005-08) and currently trails Skylar Swanson (2009-12) by one home run for sixth all-time.

FULL WEEKLY NOTES

Softball Set to Begin Conference Play on the Road This Weekend at USF

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Players Mentioned

Shelby Estocado

Emily Watson

Maggie Withee