Thursday, May 9
Houston, Texas
2:05 PM
Tulsa
vs
ECU
Photo by: Bill Powell
Tulsa Eyes Fourth Straight American Tournament Title This Week
5/7/2019 2:57:00 PM | Softball
Weekly Notes
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa softball team will head south to Houston this week where it will look to secure its fourth straight American Athletic Conference Championship and automatic bid to an NCAA Regional.
The Golden Hurricane (35-17) enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face seventh-seeded ECU (22-31) on Thursday, May 9. Due to the threat of rain on Thursday, games have been moved up and will not have a set start time. The TU-ECU contest will start approximately 37 minutes following game two of the tournament, which features Wichita State and UCF. The contest can be seen on the American Digital Network.
Tulsa took two-of-three games against the Pirates in Greenville, N.C., and won all seven of its three-game series against league opponents this spring.
The winner of Thursday's game will advance to face either UConn or Houston on Friday. That semifinal matchup is currently scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Tulsa has won the last three conference tournament titles and it has advanced to the championship game in all four seasons as a member of The American.
Notes
Tulsa Heads to Houston for 2019 American Athletic Conference Championship
• Tulsa will head to the Lone Star State for the American Athletic Conference Championship this week in Houston. TU will play as the No. 2 seed and open against seventh-seeded ECU on Thursday, May 9. The game will start approximately 37 minutes following game 2.
• Tulsa took 2-of-3 games against the Pirates in Greenville, April 12-14.
• TU won all seven conference series this season, including 2-of-3 over league champion USF.
TU Success Under Coach Bargfeldt
• Now in his 14th 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.
• Bargfeldt will enter the weekend with a career 533-267-1 record, all at Tulsa. Bargfeldt reached win No. 500 after defeating Iowa and Bucknell on Feb. 9.
• 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 14 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.
TU in the Conference Tournament
• Tulsa will be seeking its fouth straight conference tournament title after winning it all in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The Golden Hurricane has advanced to the title game in four of the last five years, dating back to its time in Conference USA
• Overall, Tulsa has claimed seven conference tournament titles (2006, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), all under head coach John Bargfeldt. TU owns a 10-1 record (four appearances) in The American Championship.
• This is the second time that Tulsa has been the No. 2 seed in The American Championship. In 2015, the second-seeded Hurricane fell in the championship game to No. 1 seed UCF.
Tulsa's Conference Honors
• Three players collected four American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors this season. Morgan Neal claimed back-to-back laurels (March 18 & 25), while Alexis Perry (April 22) and Julia Hollingsworth (May 6) also earned the conference's top weekly honor.
• Meanwhile, Samantha Pochop was named the league's Pitcher of the Week on March 18. She went 2-0 during the week of March 11-17 with a no-hitter against Nebraska, which was the 22nd no-no in TU history and the first seven-inning no-hitter since 2014.
Tulsa in the Polls
• TU enters the week receiving votes in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll (14 votes) and the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll (3 votes).
• Tulsa ended the 2018 campaign receiving votes in both polls and also started the 2019 season by receiving votes in both polls.
• TU has an RPI ranking of No. 26, which is the best ranking among schools in The American.
Fresh Faces
• Tulsa has received a boost from its newcomers this season, led by freshman Chenise Delce, who ranks second among league rookies in ERA and batting average.
• Delce leads the TU pitching staff with a 1.58 ERA and a 14-5 record. She leads the staff in innings pitched (123.2) and ranks second with 106 strikeouts.
• In addition, junior transfer Kassidy Scott owns a 2.98 ERA, 8-6 record and five saves, while fellow transfer Alexis Perry has made 43 starts and ranks second on the team with 27 RBIs.
• Perry was named The American Player of the Week on April 22 after she hit .545 with two doubles, a grand slam and six RBIs in four games.
Odds and Ends
• Julia Hollingsworth enters the week leading The American, and ranked 30th in the nation, with a .425 batting average. No other conference player is hitting better than .395 this season.
• Morgan Neal's 15 doubles rank second in the league. That is a new personal career high for a season after she finished with a dozen two-baggers last season.
• Kassidy Scott leads the league with five saves, which also ranks 12th in the nation. Her five saves are the most for a TU pitcher since Caitlin Sill had six in 2015.
• Tulsa is undefeated this season when holding a lead after four innings (26-0). Additionally, the team is 32-5 when it is leading or tied after the fourth inning.
Tulsa Picked to Finish Fourth in The American
• Tulsa was picked to finish fourth in the American Athletic Conference, as selected by the league's head coaches.
• TU earned 29 points in the poll, to sit behind USF, Wichita State and Houston. Those teams finished first, third and second in the 2018 regular-season, respectively, and the Golden Hurricane topped all three on its way to The American Tournament title last May.
Career Numbers Update
• Julia Hollingsworth ranks among the top 10 in TU history in several offensive categories including on-base percentage (1st; .467), triples (1st; 15), batting average (2nd; .379), runs scored (4th; 172), stolen base percentage (4th; .847), stolen bases (4th; 50), walks (4th; 104), slugging percentage (5th; .539), hits (5th; 245) and total bases (6th; 349).
• Catcher Rylie Spell ranks fifth in career fielding percentage at .991. The reigning American Defensive Player of the Year also ranks among the program's top 10 in most caught stealing (4th; 41), putouts (5th; 1,063) and chances (5th; 1,157).
• Additionally, senior Tori Stafford ranks seventh in putouts with 1,036 and she ranks eighth with a .988 fielding percentage.
• Morgan Neal ranks eighth with 208 career hits and ninth on the career RBI list with 109.
Look Who's Back
• Tulsa returns seven starters and three pitchers from last year's team, which went 34-25 overall and finished sixth in The American with a 10-11 mark before winning the league tournament.
• Leading the way is senior outfielder Julia Hollingsworth, who is a two-time American Athletic Conference first-team selection and two-time NFCA All-Region pick.
• Seniors Rylie Spell (2018 AAC Defensive Player of the Year), Haley Meinen (2nd-team all-conference), Morgan Neal (3-year starter) and Tori Stafford (3-year starter), along with Hollingsworth, give the Hurricane an experienced nucleus for 2019.
Shoes to Fill
• While Tulsa returns 10 letterwinners from last year's team, it will have to make up for the graduation of Emily Watson, Shelby Estocado and Shannon Hughes this season.
• One of the best pitchers in program history, Watson left her name all over the TU record book and was selected No. 8 overall in the 2018 NPF Draft by the Beijing Eagles. She was an NFCA Second-Team All-American in 2017 and owns five TU single-season records.
• Watson went 24-12 with a 1.60 ERA and 306 strikeouts in 235.2 innings last season. She was a second-team all-conference and second-team NFCA All-Region pick, while she was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2017 and 2018 American Championship.
• Estocado started all 59 games for TU last season and led the team with 22 extra-base hits (13 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR) and 43 RBIs. She also led the team in slugging percentage (.565) and was second on the squad in stolen bases.
• Meanwhile, Hughes started all 117 games of her two-year career at shortstop for the Hurricane and recorded a .935 fielding percentage with 154 putouts and 146 assists.
2018 Review
• Tulsa went 34-25 last season and 10-11 in American Athletic Conference play to finish sixth in the league. The Hurricane then won the conference tournament to secure its seventh NCAA Regional appearance in the last eight years.
• TU garnered a league-high six all-conference selections, led by first-team outfielder Julia Hollingsworth and Defensive Player of the Year Rylie Spell. Hollingsworth and pitcher Emily Watson also were NFCA All-Region honorees.
• In the Norman Regional, Tulsa opened with a 9-1 run-rule victory over Missouri that featured a grand slam and a total of five RBIs from Spell. The Hurricane season came to an end following losses to No. 4 overall seed Oklahoma and Missouri.
Up Next
• The NCAA selection show is set for Sunday, May 12 at 8 p.m. (CT) on ESPNU. The Golden Hurricane will be looking to earn a spot in its fourth straight NCAA Regional with either an automatic bid by winning the conference tournament, or an at-large bid.
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa softball team will head south to Houston this week where it will look to secure its fourth straight American Athletic Conference Championship and automatic bid to an NCAA Regional.
The Golden Hurricane (35-17) enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face seventh-seeded ECU (22-31) on Thursday, May 9. Due to the threat of rain on Thursday, games have been moved up and will not have a set start time. The TU-ECU contest will start approximately 37 minutes following game two of the tournament, which features Wichita State and UCF. The contest can be seen on the American Digital Network.
Tulsa took two-of-three games against the Pirates in Greenville, N.C., and won all seven of its three-game series against league opponents this spring.
The winner of Thursday's game will advance to face either UConn or Houston on Friday. That semifinal matchup is currently scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Tulsa has won the last three conference tournament titles and it has advanced to the championship game in all four seasons as a member of The American.
Notes
Tulsa Heads to Houston for 2019 American Athletic Conference Championship
• Tulsa will head to the Lone Star State for the American Athletic Conference Championship this week in Houston. TU will play as the No. 2 seed and open against seventh-seeded ECU on Thursday, May 9. The game will start approximately 37 minutes following game 2.
• Tulsa took 2-of-3 games against the Pirates in Greenville, April 12-14.
• TU won all seven conference series this season, including 2-of-3 over league champion USF.
TU Success Under Coach Bargfeldt
• Now in his 14th 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.
• Bargfeldt will enter the weekend with a career 533-267-1 record, all at Tulsa. Bargfeldt reached win No. 500 after defeating Iowa and Bucknell on Feb. 9.
• 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 14 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.
TU in the Conference Tournament
• Tulsa will be seeking its fouth straight conference tournament title after winning it all in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The Golden Hurricane has advanced to the title game in four of the last five years, dating back to its time in Conference USA
• Overall, Tulsa has claimed seven conference tournament titles (2006, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), all under head coach John Bargfeldt. TU owns a 10-1 record (four appearances) in The American Championship.
• This is the second time that Tulsa has been the No. 2 seed in The American Championship. In 2015, the second-seeded Hurricane fell in the championship game to No. 1 seed UCF.
Tulsa's Conference Honors
• Three players collected four American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors this season. Morgan Neal claimed back-to-back laurels (March 18 & 25), while Alexis Perry (April 22) and Julia Hollingsworth (May 6) also earned the conference's top weekly honor.
• Meanwhile, Samantha Pochop was named the league's Pitcher of the Week on March 18. She went 2-0 during the week of March 11-17 with a no-hitter against Nebraska, which was the 22nd no-no in TU history and the first seven-inning no-hitter since 2014.
Tulsa in the Polls
• TU enters the week receiving votes in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll (14 votes) and the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll (3 votes).
• Tulsa ended the 2018 campaign receiving votes in both polls and also started the 2019 season by receiving votes in both polls.
• TU has an RPI ranking of No. 26, which is the best ranking among schools in The American.
Fresh Faces
• Tulsa has received a boost from its newcomers this season, led by freshman Chenise Delce, who ranks second among league rookies in ERA and batting average.
• Delce leads the TU pitching staff with a 1.58 ERA and a 14-5 record. She leads the staff in innings pitched (123.2) and ranks second with 106 strikeouts.
• In addition, junior transfer Kassidy Scott owns a 2.98 ERA, 8-6 record and five saves, while fellow transfer Alexis Perry has made 43 starts and ranks second on the team with 27 RBIs.
• Perry was named The American Player of the Week on April 22 after she hit .545 with two doubles, a grand slam and six RBIs in four games.
Odds and Ends
• Julia Hollingsworth enters the week leading The American, and ranked 30th in the nation, with a .425 batting average. No other conference player is hitting better than .395 this season.
• Morgan Neal's 15 doubles rank second in the league. That is a new personal career high for a season after she finished with a dozen two-baggers last season.
• Kassidy Scott leads the league with five saves, which also ranks 12th in the nation. Her five saves are the most for a TU pitcher since Caitlin Sill had six in 2015.
• Tulsa is undefeated this season when holding a lead after four innings (26-0). Additionally, the team is 32-5 when it is leading or tied after the fourth inning.
Tulsa Picked to Finish Fourth in The American
• Tulsa was picked to finish fourth in the American Athletic Conference, as selected by the league's head coaches.
• TU earned 29 points in the poll, to sit behind USF, Wichita State and Houston. Those teams finished first, third and second in the 2018 regular-season, respectively, and the Golden Hurricane topped all three on its way to The American Tournament title last May.
Career Numbers Update
• Julia Hollingsworth ranks among the top 10 in TU history in several offensive categories including on-base percentage (1st; .467), triples (1st; 15), batting average (2nd; .379), runs scored (4th; 172), stolen base percentage (4th; .847), stolen bases (4th; 50), walks (4th; 104), slugging percentage (5th; .539), hits (5th; 245) and total bases (6th; 349).
• Catcher Rylie Spell ranks fifth in career fielding percentage at .991. The reigning American Defensive Player of the Year also ranks among the program's top 10 in most caught stealing (4th; 41), putouts (5th; 1,063) and chances (5th; 1,157).
• Additionally, senior Tori Stafford ranks seventh in putouts with 1,036 and she ranks eighth with a .988 fielding percentage.
• Morgan Neal ranks eighth with 208 career hits and ninth on the career RBI list with 109.
Look Who's Back
• Tulsa returns seven starters and three pitchers from last year's team, which went 34-25 overall and finished sixth in The American with a 10-11 mark before winning the league tournament.
• Leading the way is senior outfielder Julia Hollingsworth, who is a two-time American Athletic Conference first-team selection and two-time NFCA All-Region pick.
• Seniors Rylie Spell (2018 AAC Defensive Player of the Year), Haley Meinen (2nd-team all-conference), Morgan Neal (3-year starter) and Tori Stafford (3-year starter), along with Hollingsworth, give the Hurricane an experienced nucleus for 2019.
Shoes to Fill
• While Tulsa returns 10 letterwinners from last year's team, it will have to make up for the graduation of Emily Watson, Shelby Estocado and Shannon Hughes this season.
• One of the best pitchers in program history, Watson left her name all over the TU record book and was selected No. 8 overall in the 2018 NPF Draft by the Beijing Eagles. She was an NFCA Second-Team All-American in 2017 and owns five TU single-season records.
• Watson went 24-12 with a 1.60 ERA and 306 strikeouts in 235.2 innings last season. She was a second-team all-conference and second-team NFCA All-Region pick, while she was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2017 and 2018 American Championship.
• Estocado started all 59 games for TU last season and led the team with 22 extra-base hits (13 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR) and 43 RBIs. She also led the team in slugging percentage (.565) and was second on the squad in stolen bases.
• Meanwhile, Hughes started all 117 games of her two-year career at shortstop for the Hurricane and recorded a .935 fielding percentage with 154 putouts and 146 assists.
2018 Review
• Tulsa went 34-25 last season and 10-11 in American Athletic Conference play to finish sixth in the league. The Hurricane then won the conference tournament to secure its seventh NCAA Regional appearance in the last eight years.
• TU garnered a league-high six all-conference selections, led by first-team outfielder Julia Hollingsworth and Defensive Player of the Year Rylie Spell. Hollingsworth and pitcher Emily Watson also were NFCA All-Region honorees.
• In the Norman Regional, Tulsa opened with a 9-1 run-rule victory over Missouri that featured a grand slam and a total of five RBIs from Spell. The Hurricane season came to an end following losses to No. 4 overall seed Oklahoma and Missouri.
Up Next
• The NCAA selection show is set for Sunday, May 12 at 8 p.m. (CT) on ESPNU. The Golden Hurricane will be looking to earn a spot in its fourth straight NCAA Regional with either an automatic bid by winning the conference tournament, or an at-large bid.
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