Friday, March 31
Collins Family Softball Complex
5 PM
Tulsa
15-16, 0
9
vs
7
Memphis
5-28, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Memphis
0
4
0
0
1
2
0
7
13
1
Tulsa
2
1
3
0
0
3
X
9
14
1
Photo by: Mario Terrana
Tulsa Smashes Three Home Runs in 9-7 Win Over Memphis
3/31/2023 9:15:00 PM | Softball
Box Score (PDF)
TULSA, Okla. – The University of Tulsa softball team battled the elements and Memphis in a tough 9-7 win to open the American Athletic Conference season at Collins Family Softball Complex on Friday evening.
Winds reached between 30 and 50 miles per hour during the game, adding an extra challenge for fielders and opportunities for baserunners. Tulsa improved to 15-16, 1-0 in The American with the win. Memphis fell to 5-28 and have lost its first four conference games.
The Golden Hurricane used the wind to its advantage, scoring four runs off the long ball. Kailyn Bearpaw hit a two-run home run, and Haley Morgan and Rylee Keith both recorded solo homers. Memphis added a two-run home run as well.
Bearpaw led the way with four RBI and a two-hit afternoon. Claira Skaggs and Imani Edwards both recorded a trio of hits and each had a triple. Edwards came around to score twice. Eight different Hurricane came around to score runs in the win.
Junior Kylee Nash got the nod in the circle and ended with no decision. She did add a pair of RBI with a double in the third inning. From the mound, she pitched five innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits and four walks. She also struck out a batter.
Maura Moore (9-6) entered in relief in the sixth and eventually emerged with the win. She Allowed a pair of runs on three hits in her two innings of work. Mik Hoschak and Rylee Dugar split the time in the circle for Memphis. Hoschak got the start and pitched 2.1 innings, but it was Dugar who was tagged with the loss.
In a back-and-forth affair, it was a five-run sixth with three homers that made the difference. The Tigers took the lead 7-6 with a two-run home run in the top of the frame. Keith and Morgan responded with solo blasts of their own to put Tulsa up 8-7 for good.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tigers helped set the tone for an offensive game early, doubling with one away. However, with runners on the corner, Abby Jones made a diving play on a hard-hit grounder and flipped it to Edwards at second for the out, keeping the Tigers off the board.
Bearpaw took advantage of the strong winds in the bottom of the frame, hitting a towering home run to center, which also brought in Edwards, who had had walked with two outs.
Trailing 2-0, Memphis got to work in the top of the second. The Tigers put together five hits in order to take a 4-2 lead. After the first to batters reached and moved into scoring position, a single through the right side brought one in. Two more scored on a sharply hit ground ball to bounced off the outstretched glove of Jones and into the outfield. A bases loaded single gave the Tigers their fourth run of the inning before the second out was recorded.
The Hurricane got a run back in the bottom of the frame. With two on and two out, Morgan singled up the middle. Celeste Wood looked to hold up at third, but when the center fielder was unable to cleanly field the ball, she raced home for a run to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Edwards opened a big bottom of the fourth with a triple before scoring off Bearpaw's single up the middle, tying the game at four. Tara Hall pinch ran and moved to second when Claira Skaggs singled through the right side. Nash was able to pick herself up, smashing a two-run double to the gap in right center, scoring both Skaggs and Hall to put Tulsa back up 6-4.
Memphis got a run back in the fifth to make it 6-5 on a not-so-common 8-4 fielder's choice after a shallow fly ball dropped in front of Morgan in center and she was able to get the force out at second. Skaggs threatened to get the run back in the bottom of the frame as she tripled to right to lead the inning, but she was out at the plate trying to turn it into an inside the park home run.
In the sixth, the Tigers took the lead one last time. A leadoff single put the tying runner on base, and Madi Berner brought her home with a two-run home run to center field, giving the Tigers a late 7-6 lead.
The lead lasted only as long as the next three outs. After the home run, Maura Moore entered the circle, putting Rylee Keith behind the plate as well. Keith led the next inning and with the first pitch she saw, tied the game on a solo home run to right. After a ground out, Morgan put Tulsa up for good as she smashed a missile of a home run to left over the street that separates the softball and soccer stadiums.
Bearpaw picked up her fourth RBI shortly thereafter. Back-to-back singles had MacKenzie Denson standing at third with one away and Bearpaw at the plate. The right fielder hit a deep fly to center. This one stayed in the park but was deep enough to bring in Denson for the ninth and final run of the game.
Moore allowed a single in the seventh with two outs but forced a foul out to end the game.
GAME NOTES
» This was the third season in a row the Golden Hurricane started conference play with a win, beating Houston 9-1 in five innings a year ago and No. 22 UCF 5-1 in 2021 ... all three games were played at Collins Family Softball Complex
» Tulsa outhit the Tigers 14-13, setting a new season high for hits.
» The 27 combined hits is also a high mark for the season.
» TU hit .467 for the game, which is well above the previous best this season, .302 against Texas Tech on Feb. 11.
» Both teams were efficient in bringing runners home from third with less than two outs ... the Tigers had six opportunities and capitalized four times (.667), while Tulsa was a perfect 3-for-3.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday for the second game of the series. First pitch at the Collins Family Softball Complex is set for 2 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
TULSA, Okla. – The University of Tulsa softball team battled the elements and Memphis in a tough 9-7 win to open the American Athletic Conference season at Collins Family Softball Complex on Friday evening.
Winds reached between 30 and 50 miles per hour during the game, adding an extra challenge for fielders and opportunities for baserunners. Tulsa improved to 15-16, 1-0 in The American with the win. Memphis fell to 5-28 and have lost its first four conference games.
The Golden Hurricane used the wind to its advantage, scoring four runs off the long ball. Kailyn Bearpaw hit a two-run home run, and Haley Morgan and Rylee Keith both recorded solo homers. Memphis added a two-run home run as well.
Bearpaw led the way with four RBI and a two-hit afternoon. Claira Skaggs and Imani Edwards both recorded a trio of hits and each had a triple. Edwards came around to score twice. Eight different Hurricane came around to score runs in the win.
Junior Kylee Nash got the nod in the circle and ended with no decision. She did add a pair of RBI with a double in the third inning. From the mound, she pitched five innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits and four walks. She also struck out a batter.
Maura Moore (9-6) entered in relief in the sixth and eventually emerged with the win. She Allowed a pair of runs on three hits in her two innings of work. Mik Hoschak and Rylee Dugar split the time in the circle for Memphis. Hoschak got the start and pitched 2.1 innings, but it was Dugar who was tagged with the loss.
In a back-and-forth affair, it was a five-run sixth with three homers that made the difference. The Tigers took the lead 7-6 with a two-run home run in the top of the frame. Keith and Morgan responded with solo blasts of their own to put Tulsa up 8-7 for good.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tigers helped set the tone for an offensive game early, doubling with one away. However, with runners on the corner, Abby Jones made a diving play on a hard-hit grounder and flipped it to Edwards at second for the out, keeping the Tigers off the board.
Bearpaw took advantage of the strong winds in the bottom of the frame, hitting a towering home run to center, which also brought in Edwards, who had had walked with two outs.
Trailing 2-0, Memphis got to work in the top of the second. The Tigers put together five hits in order to take a 4-2 lead. After the first to batters reached and moved into scoring position, a single through the right side brought one in. Two more scored on a sharply hit ground ball to bounced off the outstretched glove of Jones and into the outfield. A bases loaded single gave the Tigers their fourth run of the inning before the second out was recorded.
The Hurricane got a run back in the bottom of the frame. With two on and two out, Morgan singled up the middle. Celeste Wood looked to hold up at third, but when the center fielder was unable to cleanly field the ball, she raced home for a run to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Edwards opened a big bottom of the fourth with a triple before scoring off Bearpaw's single up the middle, tying the game at four. Tara Hall pinch ran and moved to second when Claira Skaggs singled through the right side. Nash was able to pick herself up, smashing a two-run double to the gap in right center, scoring both Skaggs and Hall to put Tulsa back up 6-4.
Memphis got a run back in the fifth to make it 6-5 on a not-so-common 8-4 fielder's choice after a shallow fly ball dropped in front of Morgan in center and she was able to get the force out at second. Skaggs threatened to get the run back in the bottom of the frame as she tripled to right to lead the inning, but she was out at the plate trying to turn it into an inside the park home run.
In the sixth, the Tigers took the lead one last time. A leadoff single put the tying runner on base, and Madi Berner brought her home with a two-run home run to center field, giving the Tigers a late 7-6 lead.
The lead lasted only as long as the next three outs. After the home run, Maura Moore entered the circle, putting Rylee Keith behind the plate as well. Keith led the next inning and with the first pitch she saw, tied the game on a solo home run to right. After a ground out, Morgan put Tulsa up for good as she smashed a missile of a home run to left over the street that separates the softball and soccer stadiums.
Bearpaw picked up her fourth RBI shortly thereafter. Back-to-back singles had MacKenzie Denson standing at third with one away and Bearpaw at the plate. The right fielder hit a deep fly to center. This one stayed in the park but was deep enough to bring in Denson for the ninth and final run of the game.
Moore allowed a single in the seventh with two outs but forced a foul out to end the game.
GAME NOTES
» This was the third season in a row the Golden Hurricane started conference play with a win, beating Houston 9-1 in five innings a year ago and No. 22 UCF 5-1 in 2021 ... all three games were played at Collins Family Softball Complex
» Tulsa outhit the Tigers 14-13, setting a new season high for hits.
» The 27 combined hits is also a high mark for the season.
» TU hit .467 for the game, which is well above the previous best this season, .302 against Texas Tech on Feb. 11.
» Both teams were efficient in bringing runners home from third with less than two outs ... the Tigers had six opportunities and capitalized four times (.667), while Tulsa was a perfect 3-for-3.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday for the second game of the series. First pitch at the Collins Family Softball Complex is set for 2 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Moore, Maura (9-6)
L: Dugar, Rylee (1-9)
Batting:
2B: Hargis, Linsey 1
HR: Berner, Madison 1
RBI: Ibison, Sam 2 ; Berner, Madison 3 ; Ponder, Emma 1 ; Bates, LaNya 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ibison, Sam 1 ; Lee, Kendall 1 ; Berner, Madison 1 ; Taylor, Neely 1 ; Zavala, Aliana 2 ; Ponder, Emma 1
Batting:
2B: Nash, Kylee 1
3B: Edwards, Imani 1 ; Skaggs, Claira 1
HR: Morgan, Haley 1 ; Bearpaw, Kailyn 1 ; Keith, Rylee 1
RBI: Morgan, Haley 1 ; Bearpaw, Kailyn 4 ; Nash, Kylee 2 ; Keith, Rylee 1
SF: Bearpaw, Kailyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Morgan, Haley 1 ; Denson, MacKenzie 1 ; Edwards, Imani 2 ; Bearpaw, Kailyn 1 ; Hall, Tara 1 ; Skaggs, Claira 1 ; Wood, Celeste 1 ; Keith, Rylee 1
SB: Morgan, Haley 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
IF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
IF
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