Tulsa
Tennessee State
Tulsa in Mississippi for the Bulldog Kickoff Classic this Weekend
2/13/2020 12:19:00 PM | Softball
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa softball team will be back in action Feb. 14-16 for five games in three days at the Bulldog Kickoff Classic in Starkville, Miss. The Hurricane will face Tennessee State, North Alabama, and host Mississippi State.
Tulsa (4-0) is coming off a sweep in the Mercer Invitational that gave 1st-year head coach Crissy Strimple her first career wins. She became the first head coach in school history to win her first 4 games in her inaugural season.
Sophomore Chenise Delce was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll for her efforts last weekend, as she went 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA and 11 strikeouts. She not only was dominant in the circle but she hit .571 (8-14) from the plate, including 3 home runs.
Senior Kassidy Scott and Junior Samantha Pochop paced the Hurricane pitching staff each picking up a win and a save on the weekend. The two combined for 13.1 innings with 21 strikeouts during the invitational.
Alexis Perry led the offense by hitting .500 (6-for-12) with two home runs, four runs scored and nine RBIs. The senior is ranked fourth in the country in RBIs per game with 2.5, and she leads the conference with her 9 RBIs.
Tournament Schedule
Friday
12:30 p.m. — Tulsa vs. Tennessee State - Stats
3:00 p.m. — Tulsa at Mississippi State - Stats
Saturday
10 a.m. — Tulsa vs. North Alabama - Stats
3:00 p.m. — #1 vs. #4 - Stats
5:30 p.m. -- #2 vs. #3 - Stats
Sunday
11 a.m. — Consolation - Stats
1:30 p.m. — Championship - Stats
Notes
Hurricane Start Season Hot
• Tulsa swept through the Mercer Invitational, Feb. 7-9, defeating Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky, Mercer and Dayton finishing the tournament with a 4-0 record.
• TU scored 5 or more runs in each contest, averaging 10 hits over the 4 games ... Tulsa hit a home run in every contest ... Chenise Delce led the Hurricane with 3 homers.
• The Hurricane started the tournament with a 10-2 run-rule over Tennessee Tech ... Aubree Seaney led Tulsa with 4 RBIs, including a 2-run home run ... Tulsa then defeated Eastern Kentucky 5-2 behind Alexis Perry's 3-run, 7th inning homer.
• To close out the weekend, Tulsa defeated Mercer 5-1 as Perry knocked a 1st inning, 3-run blast ... Samantha Pochop and Sara Llamas-Howell combined for a 4-hit shutout against Dayton, 8-0.
• The 4 wins is the most for a first-year head coach, Crissy Strimple, among the 6 head coaches in school history.
Pitching Dominant in Opening Weekend
• The Hurricane pitching staff boasted a 1.35 ERA in the Mercer Invitational ... Tulsa's ERA is the lowest in the conference ... it also ranks 33rd nationally.
• TU has the 15th highest strikeout-to-walk ratio in the nation with a 5.33 rate ... the ratio is the best in the American Athletic Conference.
• Pochop threw 6.1 innings picking up a win and save in the tournament ... she ranks 8th in the nation in strikeouts per 7 innings with a 13.1 clip.
Hitting Ranked Nationally
• After a strong opening weekend, Tulsa batters rank among the top 20 nationally in several hitting categories.
• Chenise Delce had 8 hits in 14 at bats (571 avg.) ... Delce ranks 7th in home runs with 3 ... she is 13th in total bases with 18 and 14th in slugging percentage with a 1.286 clip.
• Alexis Perry hit .500 with 6 hits in 12 attempts ... she ranks 4th in the nation in RBIs per game with 2.25 ... Perry recorded 9 RBIs including 2 home runs in the invitational.
• In her first action as a Hurricane, Kylie Norwood put in 3 hits in 13 at bats ... she is No. 17 nationally with 1.5 runs per game after scoring 6 times last weekend.
Tulsa Picked to Finish Third in The American
• Tulsa was picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference, as selected by the league's head coaches.
• TU received 34 votes placing behind conference favorite, USF, who had 48 votes and Wichita State with 39 votes.
• The Hurricane last season finished just one game behind league-champion USF and had a chance to win the conference title on the final day of the regular-season.
1st Year Head Coach Crissy Strimple
• Strimple this past weekend led Tulsa to a 4-0 start to the 2020 season ... she became the first head coach in Tulsa history to boast a 4-0 record in their inaugural season.
• Strimple spent the previous 14 years with Tulsa as a player and coach ... she spent the last 12 on the coach staff, including 8 years as the associate head coach.
• The Hurricane has amassed 464 wins, five regular-season conference titles, six conference tournament crowns and 10 NCAA Regional appearances in Strimple's time in the dugout.
• Since joining the coaching staff in 2008, the TU offense has set eight separate single-season school records, including batting average, hits, runs, RBI, home runs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
• After a two year stint at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Strimple played third base for Tulsa ... she led the team with 10 home runs as a senior and was the team's Offensive Player of the Year in both her junior and senior seasons.
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