Thursday, April 6
Tampa, FL
3 PM
Tulsa
16-18, 0
0
at
7
South Florida
22-18, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Tulsa
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
2
South Florida
1
0
3
0
0
3
X
7
9
0
Golden Hurricane Shutout in Opener at South Florida
4/6/2023 6:00:00 PM | Softball
Box Score (PDF)
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tulsa softball team was held off the score column for just the third time this season in a 7-0 loss to South Florida in the opener of the three-game series on Thursday afternoon.
Tulsa dropped to 16-18, 2-2 in The American with the loss, while South Florida improved to 23-18, 4-3 in conference play. The win snapped a three-game skid in The American for South Florida.
Maura Moore (10-7) had the start in the circle for Tulsa and took the loss. She threw 5.0 innings and was responsible for six runs, all earned, on nine hits while walking two and striking out a pair.
Riley Grant came on in relief with two on and nobody out in the sixth. She was charged with one run and one hit, and the freshman struck out a batter.
At the plate, Tulsa was held to just four hits. Leading hitter Haley Morgan only had one at-bat as she was removed from the game after crashing into the wall in center nearly making a spectacular robbery of a home run.
Imani Edwards singled in the fourth to break up the no-hit bid. Kylee Nash, Celeste Wood and Rylee Keith all singled in the fifth, but Tulsa could not capitalize.
Gabriella Nori (4-6) was credited with the win, tossing a complete game shutout with five strikeouts. Kathy Garcia and Vivian Ponn both homered and drove in three runs for the Bulls.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The hosts jumped out to a lead in the first inning. After sending Tulsa down in order, a one-out single and back-to-back walks loaded the bags. Ponn drove in her first run on a ground out before Tulsa got the third out to end the inning.
Both teams went down one-two-three in the second. After the ninth straight Hurricane was retired, ending the top of the third, the Bulls added to their lead. South Florida led the inning with two singles and a sacrifice bunt to put them in scoring position. After a ground out made it 2-0 with two outs, Ponn homered to center to give the Bulls a 4-0 lead.
Tulsa's best chance came in the fifth inning. Nash, Wood and Keith all singled with one out to load the bases. Keith's line drive to left looked as if it might be destined for the woods behind the fence, but instead hit off the top of the wall. Tara Hall, who was pinch running, was forced to wait to see if the ball would be caught and had to settle for third base. Nori settled down for the Bulls and got the next two batters to pop out and foul out, leaving three on.
In the bottom of the sixth, a single and then a throwing error put two Bulls in scoring position and Grant came in to pitch the remainder of the game. She fanned her first batter and got the second to pop out. However, the third hit a home run to right, giving South Florida the 7-0 lead, which would serve as the final.
GAME NOTES
» Tulsa moves to .500 in conference play while the Bulls get above the all-even record ... South Florida had been swept a weekend ago by Wichita State.
» The Hurricane was outhit 10-4 by South Florida
» This was only the third time this season Tulsa has been shutout and first since falling to Jacksonville State 1-0 on Feb. 17.
» TU went hitless in leadoff opportunities this afternoon while South Florida's leadoff batter got on base in three of six innings.
Tulsa and South Florida will face off again on Friday afternoon for game two of the three game series. First pitch for Friday's action is set for 3 p.m. and will air on ESPN+. The finale of the series is set for 10 in the morning on Saturday.
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tulsa softball team was held off the score column for just the third time this season in a 7-0 loss to South Florida in the opener of the three-game series on Thursday afternoon.
Tulsa dropped to 16-18, 2-2 in The American with the loss, while South Florida improved to 23-18, 4-3 in conference play. The win snapped a three-game skid in The American for South Florida.
Maura Moore (10-7) had the start in the circle for Tulsa and took the loss. She threw 5.0 innings and was responsible for six runs, all earned, on nine hits while walking two and striking out a pair.
Riley Grant came on in relief with two on and nobody out in the sixth. She was charged with one run and one hit, and the freshman struck out a batter.
At the plate, Tulsa was held to just four hits. Leading hitter Haley Morgan only had one at-bat as she was removed from the game after crashing into the wall in center nearly making a spectacular robbery of a home run.
Imani Edwards singled in the fourth to break up the no-hit bid. Kylee Nash, Celeste Wood and Rylee Keith all singled in the fifth, but Tulsa could not capitalize.
Gabriella Nori (4-6) was credited with the win, tossing a complete game shutout with five strikeouts. Kathy Garcia and Vivian Ponn both homered and drove in three runs for the Bulls.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The hosts jumped out to a lead in the first inning. After sending Tulsa down in order, a one-out single and back-to-back walks loaded the bags. Ponn drove in her first run on a ground out before Tulsa got the third out to end the inning.
Both teams went down one-two-three in the second. After the ninth straight Hurricane was retired, ending the top of the third, the Bulls added to their lead. South Florida led the inning with two singles and a sacrifice bunt to put them in scoring position. After a ground out made it 2-0 with two outs, Ponn homered to center to give the Bulls a 4-0 lead.
Tulsa's best chance came in the fifth inning. Nash, Wood and Keith all singled with one out to load the bases. Keith's line drive to left looked as if it might be destined for the woods behind the fence, but instead hit off the top of the wall. Tara Hall, who was pinch running, was forced to wait to see if the ball would be caught and had to settle for third base. Nori settled down for the Bulls and got the next two batters to pop out and foul out, leaving three on.
In the bottom of the sixth, a single and then a throwing error put two Bulls in scoring position and Grant came in to pitch the remainder of the game. She fanned her first batter and got the second to pop out. However, the third hit a home run to right, giving South Florida the 7-0 lead, which would serve as the final.
GAME NOTES
» Tulsa moves to .500 in conference play while the Bulls get above the all-even record ... South Florida had been swept a weekend ago by Wichita State.
» The Hurricane was outhit 10-4 by South Florida
» This was only the third time this season Tulsa has been shutout and first since falling to Jacksonville State 1-0 on Feb. 17.
» TU went hitless in leadoff opportunities this afternoon while South Florida's leadoff batter got on base in three of six innings.
Tulsa and South Florida will face off again on Friday afternoon for game two of the three game series. First pitch for Friday's action is set for 3 p.m. and will air on ESPN+. The finale of the series is set for 10 in the morning on Saturday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gabriella Nori (4-6)
L: Moore, Maura (10-7)
Batting:
2B: Jordyn Kadlub 1
HR: Kathy Garcia 1 ; Vivian Ponn 1
RBI: Kathy Garcia 3 ; Marissa Trivelpiece 1 ; Vivian Ponn 3
SH: Meghan Sheehan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Emilee Hanlon 1 ; Kathy Garcia 3 ; Vivian Ponn 1 ; Allana Consolazio 1 ; Megan Pierro 1
CS: Emilee Hanlon 1
HBP: Vivian Ponn 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballP
/ SoftballIF
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