Tulsa Softball Heads to South Alabama Invitational

Thursday, February 23

Mobile, Ala.

5 PM

Tulsa

South Alabama

Tulsa Softball Heads to South Alabama Invitational

2/22/2023 6:42:00 PM | Softball

Notes (PDF)

MOBILE, Ala. –– The University of Tulsa softball team is on its way east to take part in the South Alabama Invitational this weekend at Jaguar Field.

The Golden Hurricane will face the hosts on Thursday afternoon at 5:00, as well as closing the invitational at 5:30 pm on Saturday. In between, TU will take on Furman and Mississippi State on Friday at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and then Louisiana Tech at 10 Saturday morning.

Tulsa brings a 5-5 record into the weekend after going 4-1 at the Golden Eagle Invitational.

NOTES

PREVIEWING SOUTH ALABAMA
•         Tulsa and South Alabama will meet twice this weekend
•         The Hurricane and Jaguars have played each other twice previously with Tulsa winning both games ... the last meeting was in 2019, when Tulsa won 8-3 ... The only other meeting was in 2008 in Mobile, Ala., when TU left with an 8-3 win.
•         South Alabama enters the weekend with a 6-4 record and have won five straight and have only given up one run, unearned in that stretch.
•         This will mark the second straight weekend the Jaguars will host a tournament ... South Alabama held the Mardi Gras Classic a week ago, dropping the opener to Missouri State before winning the final four, including a revenge game over the Lady Bears.

PREVIEWING FURMAN
•         Furman enters the weekend with a 4-5 after going 3-3 in its past six games ... The Paladins hosted the Furman Invitational and went 2-2 with wins over Sacred Heart and Bellarmine before splitting its midweek doubleheader with Gardner-Webb.
•         Riley Ludlam leads the team with a .423 batting average ... She is tied with two others for the team lead with two home runs, and has tallied 13 RBIs.
•         In the circle, Sierra Tufts holds a 3-2 record in five starts, tossing three complete games in 29.1 innings of work ... Tufts has 23 strikeouts to 12 walks with 14 earned runs.
•         Tulsa and Furman have never met on the diamond.

PREVIEWING MISSISSIPPI STATE
•         The Bulldogs bring a 6-4 record to Mobile after competing in a loaded TaxAct Clearwater Invitational last weekend ... MSU boasted wins over Indiana, Arizona and AAC member South Florida, with losses to Michigan and The American's UCF.
•         Macy Graf is batting .536 to pace the Bulldogs, with 15 hits and 12 runs, which is a team high ... Chloe Malau'ulu doesn't have an eye-catching average, batting just .286, but she makes up for it in efficient production, driving in a team-high 12 runs with a double, two triples and a pair of home runs.
•         In the circle, the Bulldogs have a trio of pitchers who each have over 15 innings of work ... They've combined for 63 strikeouts this season.
•         Tulsa and Mississippi State have only met once since 2005, a 2-1 Tulsa win in Starkville, Miss. ... However, the Bulldogs own a 3-2 series lead overall ... the two are 1-1 in neutral field games.

PREVIEWING LOUISIANA TECH
•         The Lady Techsters are a familiar opponent for the Golden Hurricane as the two meet for the 21st time this weekend ... Tulsa leads the all-time series 14-6 after the teams split a pair of games last season at the LA Tech Invitational ... Tulsa won the first meeting 8-7, but Tech got revenge in the finale with a come-from-behind 3-2 win where the Lady Techsters scored in the sixth and seventh.
•         LA Tech boasts a 7-3 record heading into the invitational and are coming off a close 3-1 loss to #15 LSU on Tuesday ... Tech played five games over last weekend, winning 4-of-5 with the lone loss a shutout against St. Thomas.
•         Kylie Neel leads the team with 12 RBI this season ... three Lady Techsters bat above .300 with Sierra Sacco leading the way batting .364
•         In the circle, appearances are split mostly evenly among four pitchers with a fifth pitcher, Allie Floyd, throwing 18.2 innings to pace the team ... Floyd boasts a 1.50 ERA and a 1-0 record in her five appearances with two starts ... As a team, La Tech has only struck out 26 batters.

TULSA FINDS SUCCESS AT GOLDEN EAGLE INVITATIONAL
•         The Golden Hurricane moved to 5-5 on the season after going 4-1 at the Golden Eagle Invitational in Hattiesburg, Miss.
•         In the three day stretch, Tulsa swept SIUE, dropped a tight 1-0 decision to Jacksonville State and beat both Southern Miss and Alcorn State.
•         Imani Edwards and Haley Morgan were both tough outs over the weekend, batting .563 and .467, respectively ... Morgan had a team-high six RBI with a double, triple and two walks while coming around to score seven times ... Edwards, Kennedy Cramer and Claira Skaggs also triple over the course of the five games.
•         Rylee Keith's solo shot against Alcorn State was the first home run of the 2023 season for Tulsa ... Keith was also the first to homer for Tulsa in 2022.
•         In the circle, Kylee Nash and Maura Moore combined to throw 29 innings with 20 strikeouts, seven walks and just three earned runs.

NASH AND MORGAN EARN CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS
•         Junior pitcher Kylie Nash and senior center fielder Haley Morgan both earned The American weekly softball honor roll selections for their performance at the Golden Eagle Invitational.
•         Morgan hit .467 with a double, triple, six RBIs and seven runs in teh five games ... she also had two sacrifice hits and a stolen base.
•         Nash pitched three games and went 2-1 with the lone loss a 1-0 decision ... She held an ERA of just 0.47 and threw a complete game and a combined shutout ... In three games and 15 innings of work, the junior allowed just nine hits and two runs, only one earned.

MAURA MOORE MAKES DOMINANT DEBUT
•         Sophomore transfer Maura Moore led Tulsa to its lone victory of the weekend, striking out nine in a 3-2 win against Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon ... she finished the game giving up only two runs on five hits, one of which was a home run.
•         She threw two complete games in the Maverick Invitational allowing 16 hits but only five runs while striking out 12 and walking two.
•         Kylee Nash also had a strong season opener in the circle, striking out eight Texas Tech batters in 5.2 innings of work ... she finished the weekend with 14 Ks in three appearances.

RETURNING TALENT
•         Tulsa brings a lot of experience to the field this season, losing only one starting position player, first baseman Kylie Norwood, from the 2022 season.
•         In all, Tulsa returns 12 letterwinners and welcomes nine newcomers to the roster
•         Rylee Keith, Abby Jones, Celeste Wood, Claira Skaggs, Kennedy Cramer, Imani Edwards, Haley Morgan and Kailyn Bearpaw all return after playing significant time last season.
•         Morgan led the team with a .315 batting average last season, recording a team-high five homers, and 21 RBIs.
•         Jones was third on the team last season with a .301 batting average ... she settled in as the every day second baseman for the Hurricane.
•         Wood, Bearpaw and Skaggs are returning sophomores who saw a lot of action as Wood switched between left and shortstop while leading the team with 31 RBI ... Bearpaw became a permanent right fielder for Tulsa her freshman season, batting .256 with 16 RBI ... Skaggs held down the third base position.
•         Senior Rylee Keith returns behind the plate where she was for 43 games a season ago, totaling 22 putouts.
•         Kylee Nash is the lone returning pitcher ... She had a 4.17 ERA in 19 appearances.

NEWCOMERS READY TO COMPETE
•         Nine fresh faces will join the Hurricane for this season, four of which come with prior collegiate experience.
•         MacKenzie Denson joins Tulsa from Minneota where she played outfield and often was used as a pinch runner ... Tara Hall hit above .300 in her sophomore campaign at NEO.
•         Maura Moore and Kaiya Luneckas will provide support in the circle this season ... Moore is an NJCCA All-American, posting a 12-3 record at Crowder College a year ago, totalling 189 strikeouts and just 32 walks with a 1.50 ERA in 140 innings of work.
•         Tulsa's five freshmen are Aubry Krivak, Riley Grant, Faith Russell, Gabby Higbee and Emma Vickrey ... Krivak will join Nash, Luneckas and Moore in the circle while Vickrey takes her talents behind the plate to join Keith and Park.