Tulsa Takes on Arkansas Friday to Open NCAA Norman Regional

NORMAN, Okla. – No. 23/23-ranked Tulsa will open up the double-elimination NCAA Norman Regional today against Arkansas at at Marita Hynes Field on SEC Network. Due to morning storms, the game time has been moved from 11:30 a.m. to 12:34 p.m. The matchup marks a rematch from earlier in the season between the Hurricane and Razorbacks as both home teams came away with wins in the two-game series.

The regional marks the ninth NCAA appearance for the Hurricane (39-15 Overall), who have played six of those nine in Norman including 2009 when Arkansas, Oklahoma and North Dakota State were all present in the regional. Tulsa owns a 9-16 record in regional play dating back to their first ever appearance in 2006, reaching the winner-take-all final game in two appearances and most recently in the 2014 Waco Regional.

Tulsa will play their second game of the regional on Saturday with a time to be determined by Friday's results.

NCAA BRACKET

GAME COVERAGE/SCHEDULE
Friday
Game 1 - #23/23 Tulsa vs. RV/RV Arkansas - 12:34 p.m.. - Live Stats/SEC Network

Saturday
Game 2 - Oklahoma vs. North Dakota State - 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 - Tulsa vs. Winner Game 2 - 5:30 p.m. - Live Stats/ESPN3
Game 4 - Arkansas vs. Loser Game 2 - 8 p.m.

Sunday
Game 5 - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 - TBA
Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 - TBA
Game 7 - If Necessary - TBA

DEJA VU
The Hurricane are in a familiar position heading into the NCAA Norman Regional for the sixth time in nine tournament appearances and second consecutive season. Tulsa, Okla- homa, Arkansas and North Dakota State were all present in the 2009 Norman Regional with the Hurricane earning a walk-off win over Oklahoma to advance to the title game against NDSU.

LAST TIME OUT VS. ARKANSAS
TU split the two-game season series against the Razorbacks with both home teams walking away with victories. In game on at Tulsa, the Hurricane picked up an 8-0 five-inning win behind 4.1 innings of perfect softball from Emily Watson as she struck out eight while Rylie Spell knocked in a career-high five runs. In game two, Tulsa tossed three pitchers throughout the evening in a 3-1 loss.

TOP-25 POLLS
Tulsa climbed back into the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll after dropping out for a week before shutting out both opponents in the conference tournament. The Hurricane rank 23rd in the Coaches Poll to go along with another 23rd ranking in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll after jumping a spot up from 24 last week.

RECORD WATCH
Emily Watson needs 26 strikeouts to pass three-time All-American Aimee Creger (354, 2014) for the most strikeouts ever by a Tulsa pitcher in a single season. Watson passed Creger in most shutouts after picking up two at the conference tournament while dropping her ERA below one at 0.96, the best by a TU hurler.

FULL NOTES

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Tulsa Takes on Arkansas Friday to Open NCAA Norman Regional

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Players Mentioned

Rylie Spell

Emily Watson