Thursday, May 10
Tampa, Fla.
9 AM
Tulsa
31-23
3
vs
1
Wichita State
30-21
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Tulsa
1
0
0
0
2
0
0
3
5
1
Wichita State
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
5
0
Photo by: Ben Solomon
Hollingsworth, Watson Lead Tulsa to 3-1 Win Over Wichita State on Thursday
5/10/2018 12:01:00 PM | Softball
Box Score (.pdf) | Season Stats (.pdf) | Photo Gallery | Game Replay
TAMPA, Fla. — Julia Hollingsworth went 2-for-4 with a triple, homer and three RBIs, while Emily Watson tied an American Athletic Conference Championship record with 13 strikeouts to lead sixth-seeded Tulsa to a 3-1 win over third-seeded Wichita State in Thursday's quarterfinals at USF Softball Stadium.
The Golden Hurricane (31-23) will advance to play either No. 2 Houston or No. 7 ECU in the semifinals at 1 p.m. (CT) on Friday, May 11.
Hollingsworth, a first-team all-conference pick, tied a career high with her three RBIs to back Watson, who improved to 21-11 in the circle after she yielded just an unearned run on five hits and two walks in her seven innings. The senior's 13 Ks tied UCF's Shelby Turner (2016) for the most in a conference tournament game.
Shelby Estocado, Rylie Spell and Mikayla Whitten, who all were named second-team all-conference on Wednesday, also recorded hits in the victory.
Hollingsworth staked Tulsa out to a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth. The junior got the scoring started by taking the second pitch of the game over the wall in right for her third homer of the season.
In the top of the fifth, the junior struck again with a two-out, two-RBI triple to the gap in right-center field that extended the TU lead to 3-0. The three-bagger was her sixth of the season to tie Caitlin Everett's single-season school-record from 2012.
However, the Shockers broke through in the bottom of the inning with an unearned run. An error to start the frame was followed by a single to center and an infield hit pushed the run across. With the tying runs on base, Watson buckled down and produced three straight swinging strikeouts, including one against The American Player of the Year Mackenzie Wright, to end the inning and preserve a 3-1 advantage.
The score stood at 3-1 headed to the bottom of the seventh and a single to start the frame brought the tying run to the plate. Watson struck out the next two batters that she faced to bring up Wright, who reached via a walk. With the winning run now at the plate, Watson needed just four pitches to strike out a WSU pinch hitter and end the contest.
For Watson, it marked the fourth consecutive game that she has produced double-digit strikeouts and followed a 14-K performance in the regular-season finale on Sunday.
On Friday, TU will try to advance to its league tournament title game for the fourth time in the last five years. The Hurricane swept ECU, while Houston took 2-of-3 against TU in the Bayou City during the regular-season.
TAMPA, Fla. — Julia Hollingsworth went 2-for-4 with a triple, homer and three RBIs, while Emily Watson tied an American Athletic Conference Championship record with 13 strikeouts to lead sixth-seeded Tulsa to a 3-1 win over third-seeded Wichita State in Thursday's quarterfinals at USF Softball Stadium.
The Golden Hurricane (31-23) will advance to play either No. 2 Houston or No. 7 ECU in the semifinals at 1 p.m. (CT) on Friday, May 11.
Hollingsworth, a first-team all-conference pick, tied a career high with her three RBIs to back Watson, who improved to 21-11 in the circle after she yielded just an unearned run on five hits and two walks in her seven innings. The senior's 13 Ks tied UCF's Shelby Turner (2016) for the most in a conference tournament game.
Shelby Estocado, Rylie Spell and Mikayla Whitten, who all were named second-team all-conference on Wednesday, also recorded hits in the victory.
Hollingsworth staked Tulsa out to a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth. The junior got the scoring started by taking the second pitch of the game over the wall in right for her third homer of the season.
In the top of the fifth, the junior struck again with a two-out, two-RBI triple to the gap in right-center field that extended the TU lead to 3-0. The three-bagger was her sixth of the season to tie Caitlin Everett's single-season school-record from 2012.
However, the Shockers broke through in the bottom of the inning with an unearned run. An error to start the frame was followed by a single to center and an infield hit pushed the run across. With the tying runs on base, Watson buckled down and produced three straight swinging strikeouts, including one against The American Player of the Year Mackenzie Wright, to end the inning and preserve a 3-1 advantage.
The score stood at 3-1 headed to the bottom of the seventh and a single to start the frame brought the tying run to the plate. Watson struck out the next two batters that she faced to bring up Wright, who reached via a walk. With the winning run now at the plate, Watson needed just four pitches to strike out a WSU pinch hitter and end the contest.
For Watson, it marked the fourth consecutive game that she has produced double-digit strikeouts and followed a 14-K performance in the regular-season finale on Sunday.
On Friday, TU will try to advance to its league tournament title game for the fourth time in the last five years. The Hurricane swept ECU, while Houston took 2-of-3 against TU in the Bayou City during the regular-season.
#ForOurCity
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Watson, Emily (21-11)
L: Lange, Bailey (18-12)
Batting:
3B: Hollingsworth, Julia 1
HR: Hollingsworth, Julia 1
RBI: Hollingsworth, Julia 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Hollingsworth, Julia 1 ; Spell, Rylie 1 ; Whitten, Mikayla 1
Batting:
RBI: Luellen, Paige 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nickerson, Bailee 1
CS: Lange, Bailey 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF/OF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF/OF
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