Friday, February 10
Arlington, Texas
12:00 PM
Tulsa
vs
Texas Tech
Photo by: @spillmanphoto
Tulsa Softball Opens Season Friday
2/9/2023 6:05:00 PM | Softball
Notes (PDF)
ARLINGTON, Texas –– The Tulsa softball team opens the 2023 season, the 31st for the Golden Hurricane, at the UT Arlington Tournament this weekend.
Tulsa opens tournament action against the Big XII's Texas Tech Red Raiders with a 12 noon game on Friday, followed by a 6 p.m. contest against host UT Arlington. On Saturday, the schedule is the same for the Hurricane. First pitch for Game 1 of the day against Texas Tech is 12 p.m., followed by UTA at 3 p.m.
Tulsa and Texas Tech close out the weekend on Sunday with a 10 a.m. contest.
"This is the time of year in which our players are excited. We've had about five weeks of good preparations. We feel sharp going into Friday," said Tulsa's fourth-year head coach Crissy Strimple. "We're excited to get started."
The Hurricane leads the Tech series 9-3 after losing both contests to the Red Raiders last season. The Hurricane has a 12-8 series advantage against the Mavericks, while winning the last six games.
"Texas Tech is a team we played twice last year. We're familiar with them and although they have a new coaching staff, they'll be familiar with us as well," said Strimple.
Tulsa comes into the season with another young team, but seven of the eight fielding positions are returners. The Hurricane returns 12 letterwinners and welcome nine newcomers to the squad, including four transfers and five from the high school ranks.
"Last year, we were a very young team. Still young, but a lot of those girls received much-needed reps and experience at this level a year ago. We're excited about our returners. I like the steps they've taken to get themselves ready for what's upcoming. We've also had some freshmen and transfers come in who have pushed our returners for starting positions. It's been great competition," Strimple said.
Three-year letterwinners Haley Morgan and Abby Jones were ranked first and third on the team a year ago in batting with .315 and .301 averages, respectively. Morgan will handle the center field position, while Jones settled in at second base a year ago and expects to be there in 2023.
A trio of sophomores –– Celeste Wood, Kailyn Bearpaw and Claira Skaggs –– showed last year that their futures are extremely bright. Wood began her collegiate career with a bang last season, hitting .375 on the opening weekend with six hits, nine RBI and an .813 slugging percentage through the first five games. She had the game-winning double to score two runs in the bottom of the 12th inning for a 13-12 win over UAB in the fourth game of the season.
Wood saw most of her 47 starts at shortstop and ended the year with a .275 batting average and team-high 34 RBI, while Bearpaw batted .256 with 14 RBI as Tulsa's permanent right fielder. Skaggs held down third base for the Hurricane.
Imani Edwards played left field, shortstop and third base while hitting at a .256 clip with 16 RBI as a junior. Rylee Keith was behind the plate in 43 games for the Hurricane last year and had 222 putouts.
The all-important pitching position has one returnee inn the likes of junior Kylee Nash, who had a 4.17 ERA in 19 appearances.
Strimple added three pitchers in the off-season, including NJCAA All-American Maura Moore. At Crowder College a year ago, Moore posted a 12-3 record and had three saves, while totaling a 1.50 ERA with 189 strikeouts and just 32 walks in 140 innings. St. Louis transfer Kaiya Luneskas and freshman Riley Grant from Ardmore's Plainview High School will also be on the mound this year for the Hurricane.
After the opening weekend, Tulsa will play at the Southern Miss and South Alabama tournaments the next two weekends before opening the home season on March 3 against Tarleton State as part of the Tulsa/OSU Invitational.
ARLINGTON, Texas –– The Tulsa softball team opens the 2023 season, the 31st for the Golden Hurricane, at the UT Arlington Tournament this weekend.
Tulsa opens tournament action against the Big XII's Texas Tech Red Raiders with a 12 noon game on Friday, followed by a 6 p.m. contest against host UT Arlington. On Saturday, the schedule is the same for the Hurricane. First pitch for Game 1 of the day against Texas Tech is 12 p.m., followed by UTA at 3 p.m.
Tulsa and Texas Tech close out the weekend on Sunday with a 10 a.m. contest.
"This is the time of year in which our players are excited. We've had about five weeks of good preparations. We feel sharp going into Friday," said Tulsa's fourth-year head coach Crissy Strimple. "We're excited to get started."
The Hurricane leads the Tech series 9-3 after losing both contests to the Red Raiders last season. The Hurricane has a 12-8 series advantage against the Mavericks, while winning the last six games.
"Texas Tech is a team we played twice last year. We're familiar with them and although they have a new coaching staff, they'll be familiar with us as well," said Strimple.
Tulsa comes into the season with another young team, but seven of the eight fielding positions are returners. The Hurricane returns 12 letterwinners and welcome nine newcomers to the squad, including four transfers and five from the high school ranks.
"Last year, we were a very young team. Still young, but a lot of those girls received much-needed reps and experience at this level a year ago. We're excited about our returners. I like the steps they've taken to get themselves ready for what's upcoming. We've also had some freshmen and transfers come in who have pushed our returners for starting positions. It's been great competition," Strimple said.
Three-year letterwinners Haley Morgan and Abby Jones were ranked first and third on the team a year ago in batting with .315 and .301 averages, respectively. Morgan will handle the center field position, while Jones settled in at second base a year ago and expects to be there in 2023.
A trio of sophomores –– Celeste Wood, Kailyn Bearpaw and Claira Skaggs –– showed last year that their futures are extremely bright. Wood began her collegiate career with a bang last season, hitting .375 on the opening weekend with six hits, nine RBI and an .813 slugging percentage through the first five games. She had the game-winning double to score two runs in the bottom of the 12th inning for a 13-12 win over UAB in the fourth game of the season.
Wood saw most of her 47 starts at shortstop and ended the year with a .275 batting average and team-high 34 RBI, while Bearpaw batted .256 with 14 RBI as Tulsa's permanent right fielder. Skaggs held down third base for the Hurricane.
Imani Edwards played left field, shortstop and third base while hitting at a .256 clip with 16 RBI as a junior. Rylee Keith was behind the plate in 43 games for the Hurricane last year and had 222 putouts.
The all-important pitching position has one returnee inn the likes of junior Kylee Nash, who had a 4.17 ERA in 19 appearances.
Strimple added three pitchers in the off-season, including NJCAA All-American Maura Moore. At Crowder College a year ago, Moore posted a 12-3 record and had three saves, while totaling a 1.50 ERA with 189 strikeouts and just 32 walks in 140 innings. St. Louis transfer Kaiya Luneskas and freshman Riley Grant from Ardmore's Plainview High School will also be on the mound this year for the Hurricane.
After the opening weekend, Tulsa will play at the Southern Miss and South Alabama tournaments the next two weekends before opening the home season on March 3 against Tarleton State as part of the Tulsa/OSU Invitational.
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
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