Saturday, May 13
Tampa, Fla.
10 AM
Tulsa
26-28
1
vs
9
UCF
39-19
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Tulsa
0
0
1
0
0
1
3
2
UCF
1
3
0
2
3
9
13
1
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference
Tulsa Falls to #2 UCF 9-1 in the Final of the 2023 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship
5/13/2023 2:23:00 PM | Softball
Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats (PDF) | Photo Gallery
TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 4 seed University of Tulsa had its 2023 season come to an end in the finals of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, falling 9-1 in five innings to the No. 2 UCF Knights on Saturday at the USF Softball Stadium.
Tulsa finishes the season with a 25-28 record and went 9-9 in conference play. The Hurricane entered Saturday on a five-game winning streak that included upsetting No. 20 Wichita State in the tournament semifinal to get to the title game. UCF moves to 39-19 on the season and will await its regional placement.
Pitcher Maura Moore, right fielder Kailyn Bearpaw, third baseman Claira Skaggs and shortstop Imani Edwards were named to The American All-Tournament Team for their performances over the weekend. Bearpaw was a tough out, batting .750 with six hits, a walk and a pair of RBI. Skaggs and Edwards both had a number of highlight plays defensively, and Skaggs drove in the winning run against Wichita State. Moore was dominant in the circle, tossing complete games in the wins against Houston and Wichita State. She threw 17 innings in the tournament with four strikeouts.
Moore (15-13) had the start in Saturday's championship. She allowed four runs, three earned, and struck out a pair. Kylee Nash took over in the circle from the third inning on, finishing Moore's fantastic weekend. Nash also struck out two.
Haley Morgan, Bearpaw and Skaggs delivered Tulsa's three hits in the championship. Morgan doubled and scored in the third inning. Bearpaw singled in the second and Skaggs singled to lead off the fifth.
Sarah Willis, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, tossed a complete game to help UCF win the conference title. She allowed three hits and walked a batter while striking out six. At the plate, three Knights finished with two RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UCF jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. The first batter was sent down looking, but back-to-back hits put runners on second and third. Moore forced a groundout for the second out, but the ball slipped out of Celeste Wood's glove on the transition to throw home, allowing a run to score.
Bearpaw delivered TU's first hit of the game with a single to center to lead off the second. Tara Hall pinch ran and moved to third on a sac bunt and groundout. After a walk put runners on the corner, a strikeout stranded Hall 60 feet from home.
The Knights added to its lead in the second. Two singles and a sacrifice bunt had UCF threatening again with just one out. After a strikeout for the second out, a triple down the right filed line scored two. The next batter followed with a single up the middle and Tulsa found itself down 4-0.
Morgan doubled with an out in the third to get Tulsa's offense going. A two-out error from the first baseman allowed Edwards to reach. As Morgan did on Friday, she rounded third on a ball that stayed in the infield and headed for home. Again, she made a spectacular slide to get around the catcher and score a run to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Nash took over in the circle for the third inning, allowing a double but getting out of the frame with no damage. The Knights pulled away in the fourth inning, loading the bases and putting two across to take a 6-1 lead. A two-run homer in the fifth with nobody out increased the lead to 8-1. UCF won the game and the championship with a bases loaded single up the middle with two outs.
NOTES
» Tulsa moves to 13-5 in American Athletic Conference Championship games and 28-13 all-time in conference tournament play.
» The Golden Hurricane is now 3-2 in The American championship games and 1-2 against the Knights in the finals.
» Tulsa's all-time series lead now stands at 28-27 and the teams are 1-1 against each other in neutral site games.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Gabriella Nori, P, South Florida
Jordyn Kadlub, OF, South Florida
Kailyn Bearpaw, OF, Tulsa
Imani Edwards, IF, Tulsa
Claira Skaggs, IF, Tulsa
Maura Moore, P, Tulsa
Aubrey Evans, DP, UCF
Chloe Evans, OF, UCF
Jada Cody, IF, UCF
Kennedy Searcy, OF, UCF
Jasmine Williams, IF, UCF
Sarah Willis, P, UCF
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Sarah Willis, P, UCF
2023 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship
May 11-13 | USF Softball Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
Thursday, May 11 – First Round
Game 1: No. 4 Tulsa – 3, No. 5 Houston – 2
Game 2: No. 2 UCF – 7, No. 7 Memphis – 4
Game 3: No. 3 South Florida – 7, No. 6 East Carolina – 0
Friday, May 12 – Semifinals
Game 4: No. 1 Wichita State – 1, No. 4 Tulsa – 2 (8)
Game 5: No. 2 UCF – 2, No. 3 South Florida – 0
Saturday, May 13 – Championship Game
Game 6: No. 4 Tulsa – 1, No. 2 UCF – 9 (5)
TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 4 seed University of Tulsa had its 2023 season come to an end in the finals of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, falling 9-1 in five innings to the No. 2 UCF Knights on Saturday at the USF Softball Stadium.
Tulsa finishes the season with a 25-28 record and went 9-9 in conference play. The Hurricane entered Saturday on a five-game winning streak that included upsetting No. 20 Wichita State in the tournament semifinal to get to the title game. UCF moves to 39-19 on the season and will await its regional placement.
Pitcher Maura Moore, right fielder Kailyn Bearpaw, third baseman Claira Skaggs and shortstop Imani Edwards were named to The American All-Tournament Team for their performances over the weekend. Bearpaw was a tough out, batting .750 with six hits, a walk and a pair of RBI. Skaggs and Edwards both had a number of highlight plays defensively, and Skaggs drove in the winning run against Wichita State. Moore was dominant in the circle, tossing complete games in the wins against Houston and Wichita State. She threw 17 innings in the tournament with four strikeouts.
Moore (15-13) had the start in Saturday's championship. She allowed four runs, three earned, and struck out a pair. Kylee Nash took over in the circle from the third inning on, finishing Moore's fantastic weekend. Nash also struck out two.
Haley Morgan, Bearpaw and Skaggs delivered Tulsa's three hits in the championship. Morgan doubled and scored in the third inning. Bearpaw singled in the second and Skaggs singled to lead off the fifth.
Sarah Willis, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, tossed a complete game to help UCF win the conference title. She allowed three hits and walked a batter while striking out six. At the plate, three Knights finished with two RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UCF jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. The first batter was sent down looking, but back-to-back hits put runners on second and third. Moore forced a groundout for the second out, but the ball slipped out of Celeste Wood's glove on the transition to throw home, allowing a run to score.
Bearpaw delivered TU's first hit of the game with a single to center to lead off the second. Tara Hall pinch ran and moved to third on a sac bunt and groundout. After a walk put runners on the corner, a strikeout stranded Hall 60 feet from home.
The Knights added to its lead in the second. Two singles and a sacrifice bunt had UCF threatening again with just one out. After a strikeout for the second out, a triple down the right filed line scored two. The next batter followed with a single up the middle and Tulsa found itself down 4-0.
Morgan doubled with an out in the third to get Tulsa's offense going. A two-out error from the first baseman allowed Edwards to reach. As Morgan did on Friday, she rounded third on a ball that stayed in the infield and headed for home. Again, she made a spectacular slide to get around the catcher and score a run to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Nash took over in the circle for the third inning, allowing a double but getting out of the frame with no damage. The Knights pulled away in the fourth inning, loading the bases and putting two across to take a 6-1 lead. A two-run homer in the fifth with nobody out increased the lead to 8-1. UCF won the game and the championship with a bases loaded single up the middle with two outs.
NOTES
» Tulsa moves to 13-5 in American Athletic Conference Championship games and 28-13 all-time in conference tournament play.
» The Golden Hurricane is now 3-2 in The American championship games and 1-2 against the Knights in the finals.
» Tulsa's all-time series lead now stands at 28-27 and the teams are 1-1 against each other in neutral site games.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Gabriella Nori, P, South Florida
Jordyn Kadlub, OF, South Florida
Kailyn Bearpaw, OF, Tulsa
Imani Edwards, IF, Tulsa
Claira Skaggs, IF, Tulsa
Maura Moore, P, Tulsa
Aubrey Evans, DP, UCF
Chloe Evans, OF, UCF
Jada Cody, IF, UCF
Kennedy Searcy, OF, UCF
Jasmine Williams, IF, UCF
Sarah Willis, P, UCF
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Sarah Willis, P, UCF
2023 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship
May 11-13 | USF Softball Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
Thursday, May 11 – First Round
Game 1: No. 4 Tulsa – 3, No. 5 Houston – 2
Game 2: No. 2 UCF – 7, No. 7 Memphis – 4
Game 3: No. 3 South Florida – 7, No. 6 East Carolina – 0
Friday, May 12 – Semifinals
Game 4: No. 1 Wichita State – 1, No. 4 Tulsa – 2 (8)
Game 5: No. 2 UCF – 2, No. 3 South Florida – 0
Saturday, May 13 – Championship Game
Game 6: No. 4 Tulsa – 1, No. 2 UCF – 9 (5)
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: S. Willis (18-3)
L: Moore, Maura (15-13)
Batting:
2B: Morgan, Haley 1
SH: Skaggs, Claira 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Morgan, Haley 1
Batting:
2B: A. Evans 1 ; J. Williams 1
3B: K. Searcy 1
HR: J. Williams 1
RBI: K. Searcy 2 ; J. Cody 1 ; A. Evans 2 ; J. Williams 2
SH: S. Willis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: K. Searcy 1 ; J. Cody 1 ; S. Doherty 1 ; J. Williams 2 ; M. Macario 2 ; N. Lewis 1 ; J. Rowe 1
SB: J. Rowe 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
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IF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
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P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
IF
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