Friday, May 18
Norman, Okla.
3:30 PM
Tulsa
vs
Missouri
Photo by: Ben Solomon
Tulsa Set to Open NCAA Norman Regional on Friday
5/17/2018 9:00:00 AM | Softball
Tournament Central | Notes
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa softball team will open play at the NCAA Norman Regional against Missouri with the first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 18 at Marita Hynes Field. The game can be seen on ESPN3.
The Golden Hurricane (33-23) earned the American Athletic Conference's automatic bid for the third straight season by beating the league's top three seeds in consecutive days last weekend in Tampa, Fla. Tulsa will be making its 10th NCAA regional appearance, all under head coach John Bargfeldt, and the squad will be in search of its first-ever regional title. This is the third consecutive season that TU has been sent to the Norman Regional and the seventh time overall.
The squad is led by senior pitcher Emily Watson, who was named the American Championship's Most Outstanding Player for the second straight year and picked up USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week honors on Tuesday. The Edmond, Okla., native has recorded at least 10 strikeouts in five of her last six starts, including a 15-strikeout performance in the semifinals of the American Championship. With 300 Ks entering the regional, she is the first pitcher in program history to record at least 300 strikeouts in back-to-back seasons (348 in 2017).
Meanwhile, the TU offense starts with leadoff hitter and first-team all-conference selection Julia Hollingsworth. The junior is hitting .394 with seven doubles, a TU-record seven triples, three homers and 18 RBIs this season to go along with a conference-leading 53 runs scored. Hollingsworth will enter the regional on an eight-game hitting streak and she reached base and scored in the top of the first inning in all three of Tulsa's American Championship games.
She is backed in the lineup by fellow junior Morgan Neal, who was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team, and second-team all-conference pick Shelby Estocado. Neal hit .348 with 12 doubles, two triples, a homer and 33 RBIs, while Estocado is enjoying her best offensive season by hitting .354 with team highs of 13 doubles, seven homers and 41 RBIs.
The Tigers (28-27) are making their 12th straight regional appearance and will be seeking their 12th trip to a Super Regional. Under the direction of interim head coach Gina Fogue, Mizzou finished the year with the second-toughest schedule in Division I. The Tigers are led on offense by Amanda Sanchez's .371 batting average and the Southeastern Conference All-Defensive Team honoree posted 10 doubles, 10 homers and 31 RBIs.
In addition, Cayla Kessinger (.320, 10 HR, 19 RBI), Rylee Pierce (.335, 8 HR, 23 RBI) and Kolby Romaine (.336, 6 HR, 25 RBI) all earned second-team All-SEC honors. In the circle, the pitching staff is anchored by Lauren Rice, who is 11-14 with 83 strikeouts in 138 innings pitched.
Mizzou has won all five previous meetings against the Golden Hurricane, with the last matchup coming in 1999.
The winner of Friday's game will advance to face either No. 4 overall seed Oklahoma or Boston University at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.
Schedule
Friday, May 18
3:30 p.m. — Tulsa vs. Missouri — Video/Stats
Notes
Tulsa Headed to NCAA Norman Regional This Weekend
• Fresh off its third-straight American Athletic Conference Tournament title, Tulsa will make the short drive to Norman, Okla., for the NCAA Norman Regional this weekend. The Hurricane will open against Missouri (28-27) at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 18.
• The Golden Hurricane and Tigers are joined in the regional by Boston University and No. 4 overall seed Oklahoma.
• This is the third consecutive season that Tulsa has been sent to the Norman Regional. TU has played in the Norman Regional in seven of its 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Trending
• Emily Watson has recorded at least 10 strikeouts in five of her last six starts, including tying a season high and setting an American Athletic Conference Championship record with 15 Ks against Houston (May 11).
• Julia Hollingsworth will enter the NCAA Norman Regional with an eight-game hitting streak. The junior had a team-high 18-game hitting streak earlier this season, along with a 20-game reached base streak. Hollingsworth reached base and scored to start all three games in the American Athletic Conference Championship.
• Tulsa has reached an NCAA Regional in seven of the last eight seasons (2011-14, 2016-18).
• Tulsa has won at least 30 games in 17 consecutive seasons, including all 13 campaigns under head coach John Bargfeldt.
TU in the NCAA Tournament
• Tulsa will be seeking its first regional title and trip to a Super Regional this weekend. The Hurricane is 11-18 all-time in nine previous regional appearances.
• TU has reached a winner-take-all final game of a regional three times, dropping games to Oklahoma in the 2011 and 2017 Norman Regionals along with a setback to Baylor in the 2014 Waco Regional.
• All 10 of Tulsa's NCAA Tournament appearances have come under head coach John Bargfeldt, who needs just three wins to reach 500 for his career at TU.
Tulsa vs. The Regional Field
• Tulsa and Oklahoma have faced each other 53 times, with OU holding a 43-10 edge in the series. TU's last win over the Sooners came in 2011 at the Norman Regional.
• Missouri has won all five meetings against the Golden Hurricane. The teams met three times during TU's inaugural campaign in 1993 and last met in 1999.
• TU and Boston University have never met on the diamond.
TU Claims Third Straight American Athletic Conference Title
• Tulsa claimed its third straight American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship by defeating the top three seeds (Wichita State, Houston, USF; all earned at-large NCAA regional bids) in consecutive days last weekend in Tampa, Fla.
• Playing as the visiting team, TU scored in the top of the first in each game and averaged almost five runs per game to support Emily Watson, who earned Most Outstanding Player honors after she went 3-0 with a 0.33 ERA and a tournament-record 36 strikeouts in 21 innings.
• Watson also set a tournament single-game record with 15 strikeouts in Tulsa's semifinal win over Houston.
•Julia Hollingsworth led the offense by hitting .571 (4-of-7) with two triples, a homer and three RBIs. She slugged 1.571 and, with four walks, posted a .750 on-base percentage.
Ahead Early
• Tulsa has gotten off to a quick start with runs in the first inning in 25 of its 56 games.
• The Hurricane has outscored its opponents 43-17 in the first inning and has only allowed its opponent to score in the first inning of 13 games during the campaign.
• TU has capitalized on the early lead this spring, going 20-5 when scoring in the first inning. The Hurricane also is 26-7 when the team scores first.
• The early run support has been a big part of the team's success as TU is 26-3 when leading after four innings, 23-1 when leading after five innings and 20-1 when leading after six innings.
Hurricane Honors in The American
• A league-high six Tulsa student-athletes were named either first or second-team all-conference this season. The picks were highlighted by Julia Hollingsworth's first-team selection, while Rylie Spell was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year.
• Spell also was named second-team all-conference and she was joined on the second team by Shelby Estocado, Emily Watson, Haley Meinen and Mikayla Whitten.
• Watson was named The American Championship's Most Oustanding Player and she was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Julia Hollingsworth, Haley Meinen and Morgan Neal.
• Emily Watson has been named The American Pitcher of the Week four times this season (13 times in her career), including on April 2 after she went 2-0 with a save and 23 strikeouts in 15 innings during the sweep of ECU. The senior also earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week honors for her efforts against the Pirates.
Career Numbers Update
• Emily Watson ranks in the program's all-time top 10 in several categories, including ERA (2nd, 1.68), opposing batting average (2nd, .205), strikeouts (2nd, 897), shutouts (2nd, 31), wins (2nd, 73), games started (2nd, 107), complete-games (2nd, 75), innings pitched (3rd, 684.0), appearances (5th, 125) and saves (6th, 5).
• Shelby Estocado ranks fourth in program history with 30 homers, including seven round-trippers this season. She also is fifth with 128 RBIs and ranks seventh with 324 total bases.
• Julia Hollingsworth owns the program record with a .459 on-base percentage, while her career .369 batting average ranks second. She ranks sixth with 41 stolen bases and her 10 triples also rank second. Hollingsworth tied a single-game record with a pair of triples in Tulsa's win over Nicholls State (March 3) and she owns the single-season triples record with seven this season.
Look Who's Back
• Tulsa returns 13 letterwinners, including six position starters, the designated player and three pitchers, from last year's team which went 41-17 and won its first American Athletic Conference regular-season title with a 15-3 league mark.
• The TU offense will bring back all of its home runs, 79.3-percent of its extra-base hits, 76-percent of its runs scored, 74.3-percent of its RBIs and 71.1-percent of its hits from last year's squad.
• The lineup will see the return of NFCA All-Region picks Julia Hollingsworth (OF) and Haley Meinen (DP), while the pitching staff will see the return of second-team NFCA All-American Emily Watson.
It's Elementary, Watson
• The Golden Hurricane pitching staff is anchored by NFCA All-American Emily Watson. The senior nearly set a program single-season record with 348 strikeouts, while her 14 shutouts set a new program standard and led the nation last season.
• Watson also set single-season records with 30 wins, 36 starts, 29 complete games and 246.2 innings pitched.
• The senior was announced as one of 50 players across the nation on the "Watch List" for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award and she was one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
• In addition, Watson became the second-ever TU player to be selected in the NPF Draft when the Beijing Shougang Eagles took her at No. 8 overall on April 23.
• So far in 2018, she has compiled a 23-11 record with a 1.55 ERA and 300 strikeouts in 225.2 innings pitched.
Tulsa Picked to Repeat as American Athletic Conference Champs
• Tulsa garnered six first-place votes and the squad was picked to repeat as American Athletic Conference champions by the league's coaches.
• TU earned 48 points in the poll, while Houston picked up a pair of first-place nods and 44 points to rank second.
• The duo was followed by USF, UCF, Wichita State, Memphis, UConn and ECU.
• Last season, TU won both the regular-season and tournament titles, sweeping those championships for the first time since 2014 when the Hurricane accomplished the feat in its final season as a member of Conference USA.
The Schedule
• Tulsa's 2018 schedule saw the team play 10 games against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
• The schedule also had the Hurricane matched-up with teams that started the season either ranked or receiving votes. Texas A&M is 14th in the NFCA Coaches Poll, while TU also faced defending national champion Oklahoma (April 17) and Oklahoma State (March 21, April 4).
• Meanwhile, McNeese State (Feb. 9-10), Texas State (Feb. 24) and St. Francis (Pa.) (March 17) also started the season receiving votes.
TU Success Under Coach Bargfeldt
• Now in his 13th season at Tulsa, head coach John Bargfeldt is the program's longest-tenured head coach and has the most wins and highest winning percentage in school history.
• Prior to Bargfeldt's arrival, the program had just four winning seasons in 13 years and did not win a conference title or appear in an NCAA Regional.
• Since his hiring prior to the 2006 season, the Golden Hurricane has had a winning record in all 13 campaigns with six regular-season and seven conference tournament titles. In addition, TU has advanced to 10 NCAA Regionals, including a spot in the postseason for seven of the last eight years.
Up Next
• Tulsa will face either Boston University or No. 4 overall seed Oklahoma on Saturday. A win in Friday's regional opener would put TU against either the Terriers or Sooners at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, while a loss on Friday would have the Golden Hurricane playing again at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa softball team will open play at the NCAA Norman Regional against Missouri with the first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 18 at Marita Hynes Field. The game can be seen on ESPN3.
The Golden Hurricane (33-23) earned the American Athletic Conference's automatic bid for the third straight season by beating the league's top three seeds in consecutive days last weekend in Tampa, Fla. Tulsa will be making its 10th NCAA regional appearance, all under head coach John Bargfeldt, and the squad will be in search of its first-ever regional title. This is the third consecutive season that TU has been sent to the Norman Regional and the seventh time overall.
The squad is led by senior pitcher Emily Watson, who was named the American Championship's Most Outstanding Player for the second straight year and picked up USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week honors on Tuesday. The Edmond, Okla., native has recorded at least 10 strikeouts in five of her last six starts, including a 15-strikeout performance in the semifinals of the American Championship. With 300 Ks entering the regional, she is the first pitcher in program history to record at least 300 strikeouts in back-to-back seasons (348 in 2017).
Meanwhile, the TU offense starts with leadoff hitter and first-team all-conference selection Julia Hollingsworth. The junior is hitting .394 with seven doubles, a TU-record seven triples, three homers and 18 RBIs this season to go along with a conference-leading 53 runs scored. Hollingsworth will enter the regional on an eight-game hitting streak and she reached base and scored in the top of the first inning in all three of Tulsa's American Championship games.
She is backed in the lineup by fellow junior Morgan Neal, who was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team, and second-team all-conference pick Shelby Estocado. Neal hit .348 with 12 doubles, two triples, a homer and 33 RBIs, while Estocado is enjoying her best offensive season by hitting .354 with team highs of 13 doubles, seven homers and 41 RBIs.
The Tigers (28-27) are making their 12th straight regional appearance and will be seeking their 12th trip to a Super Regional. Under the direction of interim head coach Gina Fogue, Mizzou finished the year with the second-toughest schedule in Division I. The Tigers are led on offense by Amanda Sanchez's .371 batting average and the Southeastern Conference All-Defensive Team honoree posted 10 doubles, 10 homers and 31 RBIs.
In addition, Cayla Kessinger (.320, 10 HR, 19 RBI), Rylee Pierce (.335, 8 HR, 23 RBI) and Kolby Romaine (.336, 6 HR, 25 RBI) all earned second-team All-SEC honors. In the circle, the pitching staff is anchored by Lauren Rice, who is 11-14 with 83 strikeouts in 138 innings pitched.
Mizzou has won all five previous meetings against the Golden Hurricane, with the last matchup coming in 1999.
The winner of Friday's game will advance to face either No. 4 overall seed Oklahoma or Boston University at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.
Schedule
Friday, May 18
3:30 p.m. — Tulsa vs. Missouri — Video/Stats
Notes
Tulsa Headed to NCAA Norman Regional This Weekend
• Fresh off its third-straight American Athletic Conference Tournament title, Tulsa will make the short drive to Norman, Okla., for the NCAA Norman Regional this weekend. The Hurricane will open against Missouri (28-27) at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 18.
• The Golden Hurricane and Tigers are joined in the regional by Boston University and No. 4 overall seed Oklahoma.
• This is the third consecutive season that Tulsa has been sent to the Norman Regional. TU has played in the Norman Regional in seven of its 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Trending
• Emily Watson has recorded at least 10 strikeouts in five of her last six starts, including tying a season high and setting an American Athletic Conference Championship record with 15 Ks against Houston (May 11).
• Julia Hollingsworth will enter the NCAA Norman Regional with an eight-game hitting streak. The junior had a team-high 18-game hitting streak earlier this season, along with a 20-game reached base streak. Hollingsworth reached base and scored to start all three games in the American Athletic Conference Championship.
• Tulsa has reached an NCAA Regional in seven of the last eight seasons (2011-14, 2016-18).
• Tulsa has won at least 30 games in 17 consecutive seasons, including all 13 campaigns under head coach John Bargfeldt.
TU in the NCAA Tournament
• Tulsa will be seeking its first regional title and trip to a Super Regional this weekend. The Hurricane is 11-18 all-time in nine previous regional appearances.
• TU has reached a winner-take-all final game of a regional three times, dropping games to Oklahoma in the 2011 and 2017 Norman Regionals along with a setback to Baylor in the 2014 Waco Regional.
• All 10 of Tulsa's NCAA Tournament appearances have come under head coach John Bargfeldt, who needs just three wins to reach 500 for his career at TU.
Tulsa vs. The Regional Field
• Tulsa and Oklahoma have faced each other 53 times, with OU holding a 43-10 edge in the series. TU's last win over the Sooners came in 2011 at the Norman Regional.
• Missouri has won all five meetings against the Golden Hurricane. The teams met three times during TU's inaugural campaign in 1993 and last met in 1999.
• TU and Boston University have never met on the diamond.
TU Claims Third Straight American Athletic Conference Title
• Tulsa claimed its third straight American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship by defeating the top three seeds (Wichita State, Houston, USF; all earned at-large NCAA regional bids) in consecutive days last weekend in Tampa, Fla.
• Playing as the visiting team, TU scored in the top of the first in each game and averaged almost five runs per game to support Emily Watson, who earned Most Outstanding Player honors after she went 3-0 with a 0.33 ERA and a tournament-record 36 strikeouts in 21 innings.
• Watson also set a tournament single-game record with 15 strikeouts in Tulsa's semifinal win over Houston.
•Julia Hollingsworth led the offense by hitting .571 (4-of-7) with two triples, a homer and three RBIs. She slugged 1.571 and, with four walks, posted a .750 on-base percentage.
Ahead Early
• Tulsa has gotten off to a quick start with runs in the first inning in 25 of its 56 games.
• The Hurricane has outscored its opponents 43-17 in the first inning and has only allowed its opponent to score in the first inning of 13 games during the campaign.
• TU has capitalized on the early lead this spring, going 20-5 when scoring in the first inning. The Hurricane also is 26-7 when the team scores first.
• The early run support has been a big part of the team's success as TU is 26-3 when leading after four innings, 23-1 when leading after five innings and 20-1 when leading after six innings.
Hurricane Honors in The American
• A league-high six Tulsa student-athletes were named either first or second-team all-conference this season. The picks were highlighted by Julia Hollingsworth's first-team selection, while Rylie Spell was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year.
• Spell also was named second-team all-conference and she was joined on the second team by Shelby Estocado, Emily Watson, Haley Meinen and Mikayla Whitten.
• Watson was named The American Championship's Most Oustanding Player and she was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Julia Hollingsworth, Haley Meinen and Morgan Neal.
• Emily Watson has been named The American Pitcher of the Week four times this season (13 times in her career), including on April 2 after she went 2-0 with a save and 23 strikeouts in 15 innings during the sweep of ECU. The senior also earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week honors for her efforts against the Pirates.
Career Numbers Update
• Emily Watson ranks in the program's all-time top 10 in several categories, including ERA (2nd, 1.68), opposing batting average (2nd, .205), strikeouts (2nd, 897), shutouts (2nd, 31), wins (2nd, 73), games started (2nd, 107), complete-games (2nd, 75), innings pitched (3rd, 684.0), appearances (5th, 125) and saves (6th, 5).
• Shelby Estocado ranks fourth in program history with 30 homers, including seven round-trippers this season. She also is fifth with 128 RBIs and ranks seventh with 324 total bases.
• Julia Hollingsworth owns the program record with a .459 on-base percentage, while her career .369 batting average ranks second. She ranks sixth with 41 stolen bases and her 10 triples also rank second. Hollingsworth tied a single-game record with a pair of triples in Tulsa's win over Nicholls State (March 3) and she owns the single-season triples record with seven this season.
Look Who's Back
• Tulsa returns 13 letterwinners, including six position starters, the designated player and three pitchers, from last year's team which went 41-17 and won its first American Athletic Conference regular-season title with a 15-3 league mark.
• The TU offense will bring back all of its home runs, 79.3-percent of its extra-base hits, 76-percent of its runs scored, 74.3-percent of its RBIs and 71.1-percent of its hits from last year's squad.
• The lineup will see the return of NFCA All-Region picks Julia Hollingsworth (OF) and Haley Meinen (DP), while the pitching staff will see the return of second-team NFCA All-American Emily Watson.
It's Elementary, Watson
• The Golden Hurricane pitching staff is anchored by NFCA All-American Emily Watson. The senior nearly set a program single-season record with 348 strikeouts, while her 14 shutouts set a new program standard and led the nation last season.
• Watson also set single-season records with 30 wins, 36 starts, 29 complete games and 246.2 innings pitched.
• The senior was announced as one of 50 players across the nation on the "Watch List" for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award and she was one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
• In addition, Watson became the second-ever TU player to be selected in the NPF Draft when the Beijing Shougang Eagles took her at No. 8 overall on April 23.
• So far in 2018, she has compiled a 23-11 record with a 1.55 ERA and 300 strikeouts in 225.2 innings pitched.
Tulsa Picked to Repeat as American Athletic Conference Champs
• Tulsa garnered six first-place votes and the squad was picked to repeat as American Athletic Conference champions by the league's coaches.
• TU earned 48 points in the poll, while Houston picked up a pair of first-place nods and 44 points to rank second.
• The duo was followed by USF, UCF, Wichita State, Memphis, UConn and ECU.
• Last season, TU won both the regular-season and tournament titles, sweeping those championships for the first time since 2014 when the Hurricane accomplished the feat in its final season as a member of Conference USA.
The Schedule
• Tulsa's 2018 schedule saw the team play 10 games against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
• The schedule also had the Hurricane matched-up with teams that started the season either ranked or receiving votes. Texas A&M is 14th in the NFCA Coaches Poll, while TU also faced defending national champion Oklahoma (April 17) and Oklahoma State (March 21, April 4).
• Meanwhile, McNeese State (Feb. 9-10), Texas State (Feb. 24) and St. Francis (Pa.) (March 17) also started the season receiving votes.
TU Success Under Coach Bargfeldt
• Now in his 13th season at Tulsa, head coach John Bargfeldt is the program's longest-tenured head coach and has the most wins and highest winning percentage in school history.
• Prior to Bargfeldt's arrival, the program had just four winning seasons in 13 years and did not win a conference title or appear in an NCAA Regional.
• Since his hiring prior to the 2006 season, the Golden Hurricane has had a winning record in all 13 campaigns with six regular-season and seven conference tournament titles. In addition, TU has advanced to 10 NCAA Regionals, including a spot in the postseason for seven of the last eight years.
Up Next
• Tulsa will face either Boston University or No. 4 overall seed Oklahoma on Saturday. A win in Friday's regional opener would put TU against either the Terriers or Sooners at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, while a loss on Friday would have the Golden Hurricane playing again at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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