Thursday, May 12
Greeneville, N.C.
8:00 AM
Tulsa
vs
Houston
Tulsa Takes on Houston in First Round of American Athletic Conference Softball Championship
5/11/2022 5:56:00 PM | Softball
Gamenotes (PDF) | Tournament Central
GREENVILLE, N.C. – In a rematch of last season's opening round, the University of Tulsa softball team will face Houston to start the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship in Greenville, N.C. on Thursday morning.
Due to expected inclement weather later in the day, first pitch has been set for 8 a.m. at ECU Softball Stadium on the campus of East Carolina. The game will air on ESPN+.
The Golden Hurricane finished the regular season with an 18-29-1 record, 7-9-1 in The American. Houston recorded a 26-26-1, 8-9-1 record. Tulsa earned the five seed for the championship, while Houston is the fourth.
The two teams split their earlier season meeting 1-1-1. Tulsa took game one with a commanding 9-1 win in five innings. The second game was full of fireworks as Tulsa fell 13-11 to the Cougars. The finale was a pitcher's duel as senior Samantha Pochop had another brilliant outing. Imani Edwards hit a late home run to tie the game, and the teams reached the agreed upon drop dead time with Claira Skaggs standing at second in the bottom of the ninth, ending the game in a tie.
The Hurricane holds a 29-23-1 advantage over the Cougars all-time and are a perfect 6-0 in neutral site meetings. This includes the 8-2 win in the opening round of the AAC Championship last season.
This is the seventh American Athletic Conference Softball Championship TU has participated in. Tulsa is 11-3 in conference tournament games as a member of The American and are 26-10 all-time in conference tournaments.
Tulsa enters with some momentum after sweeping East Carolina in the finale to the regular season. MaKayla Jackson, Claira Skaggs and Kailyn Bearpaw all homered in consecutive games. It was Jackson's first home run of her season and second of her career. For Skaggs and Bearpaw, it was the first home runs of their careers. Skagg's hit a solo shot in the 8-0 win on Saturday and Bearpaw launched a grand slam that proved the difference in Sunday's 7-6 win.
Haley Morgan finished the season as the team's batting leader, hitting .317 with five home runs, 21 RBIs and a .479 batting average. Freshman Celeste Wood led the team with 33 RBIs and had a .457 slugging percentage. Kylie Norwood and Abby Jones were a force in conference play, hitting .377 and .333 respectively and combining for five home runs and 21 RBIs.
Pochop ended the regular season with a 3.65 ERA and a 12-14 record. The senior fanned a career-high 156 batters and is now two strikeouts shy of breaking into the top five on Tulsa's career strikeouts leaderboard.
Houston does enter on a bit of a skid, having lost eight of its past nine in conference play. However, the Cougars did finish the season on a two-game winning streak with a pair of wins in a doubleheader with Texas A&M.
Becca Schulte leads the Cougars from the plate. The graduate student leads the team with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs.
In the circle, Hannah Todd and Kenna Wilkey lead the staff. The two each have seven complete games and two saves, alongside similar innings pitched (120.1 to 125.1). Todd has the team's best ERA (2.56), while WIlkey has struck out 110 batters.
The winner of tomorrow's matchup will move on to face the top-seeded No. 19 UCF Knights in the semifinals. First pitch for the Friday game is set for noon on ESPN+.
GREENVILLE, N.C. – In a rematch of last season's opening round, the University of Tulsa softball team will face Houston to start the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship in Greenville, N.C. on Thursday morning.
Due to expected inclement weather later in the day, first pitch has been set for 8 a.m. at ECU Softball Stadium on the campus of East Carolina. The game will air on ESPN+.
The Golden Hurricane finished the regular season with an 18-29-1 record, 7-9-1 in The American. Houston recorded a 26-26-1, 8-9-1 record. Tulsa earned the five seed for the championship, while Houston is the fourth.
The two teams split their earlier season meeting 1-1-1. Tulsa took game one with a commanding 9-1 win in five innings. The second game was full of fireworks as Tulsa fell 13-11 to the Cougars. The finale was a pitcher's duel as senior Samantha Pochop had another brilliant outing. Imani Edwards hit a late home run to tie the game, and the teams reached the agreed upon drop dead time with Claira Skaggs standing at second in the bottom of the ninth, ending the game in a tie.
The Hurricane holds a 29-23-1 advantage over the Cougars all-time and are a perfect 6-0 in neutral site meetings. This includes the 8-2 win in the opening round of the AAC Championship last season.
This is the seventh American Athletic Conference Softball Championship TU has participated in. Tulsa is 11-3 in conference tournament games as a member of The American and are 26-10 all-time in conference tournaments.
Tulsa enters with some momentum after sweeping East Carolina in the finale to the regular season. MaKayla Jackson, Claira Skaggs and Kailyn Bearpaw all homered in consecutive games. It was Jackson's first home run of her season and second of her career. For Skaggs and Bearpaw, it was the first home runs of their careers. Skagg's hit a solo shot in the 8-0 win on Saturday and Bearpaw launched a grand slam that proved the difference in Sunday's 7-6 win.
Haley Morgan finished the season as the team's batting leader, hitting .317 with five home runs, 21 RBIs and a .479 batting average. Freshman Celeste Wood led the team with 33 RBIs and had a .457 slugging percentage. Kylie Norwood and Abby Jones were a force in conference play, hitting .377 and .333 respectively and combining for five home runs and 21 RBIs.
Pochop ended the regular season with a 3.65 ERA and a 12-14 record. The senior fanned a career-high 156 batters and is now two strikeouts shy of breaking into the top five on Tulsa's career strikeouts leaderboard.
Houston does enter on a bit of a skid, having lost eight of its past nine in conference play. However, the Cougars did finish the season on a two-game winning streak with a pair of wins in a doubleheader with Texas A&M.
Becca Schulte leads the Cougars from the plate. The graduate student leads the team with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs.
In the circle, Hannah Todd and Kenna Wilkey lead the staff. The two each have seven complete games and two saves, alongside similar innings pitched (120.1 to 125.1). Todd has the team's best ERA (2.56), while WIlkey has struck out 110 batters.
The winner of tomorrow's matchup will move on to face the top-seeded No. 19 UCF Knights in the semifinals. First pitch for the Friday game is set for noon on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
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