Moore Throws Second Shutout of Weekend as Golden Hurricane Sweeps ECU with 2-0 Win

Sunday, May 7

Greenville, NC

10 AM

Tulsa

23-27, 9-9

East Carolina

27-27, 3-15

Tulsa

East Carolina

Photo by: Bill Powell

Moore Throws Second Shutout of Weekend as Golden Hurricane Sweeps ECU with 2-0 Win

5/7/2023 1:47:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – For the second time this weekend, sophomore pitcher Maura Moore shut East Carolina down as Tulsa beat the Pirates 2-0 to complete the series sweep Sunday afternoon in the regular season finale at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.

Tulsa finishes the regular season with a 23-27 record, 9-9 in The American. ECU falls to .500, 27-27, and 3-15 in league play. The Golden Hurricane has earned the No. 4 seed for the conference tournament, while ECU finishes sixth in conference play.

Moore picked up her 13th win and 13th complete game of the season, tossing her seventh shutout in the process. The hurler allowed just two hits and struck out five batters. She carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning of Sunday's contest.

Fellow pitcher Kylee Nash wasn't used in the circle, but helped her teammate out at the plate, delivering the game's only runs on a two-RBI single up the middle in the fifth inning. Haley Morgan was walked three times as the Pirates tried to stay away from the center fielder who had hurt them all weekend. Imani Edwards and Emma Vickrey both had two-hit days and Kailyn Bearpaw doubled for an extra-base hit.

Both teams struggled with leaving runners on base Sunday. Tulsa left 11 runners on, while ECU left six on. Each team left eh bases loaded once, with TU leaving the full in the first and the Pirates in the fifth.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Hurricane had at least one base runner in every frame except the seventh inning and were the more threatening team in the early innings. In the first, the Hurricane loaded the bases, but a strikeout ended the threat. The second saw Tulsa put two on with two out. Again, the Pirates found a way to escape with no damage. Tulsa got a runner to third again in the third thanks to a double from Bearpaw and a wild pitch, but again ECU shut the inning down with no damage.

The breakthrough happened in the fifth. Edwards singled to left to lead off the inning. Bearpaw drew a walk on four straight pitches and was lifted for Kennedy Cramer, who stayed in for defensive purposes in right. Claira Skaggs laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position for Nash, serving as the designated player on Sunday. Nash got ahead in the count 2-0 and drilled a single up the middle, bringing in Edwards and Kramer to give Tulsa the 2-0 lead.

The Pirates threatened in the bottom of the fifth, the final time they'd test Moore. A leadoff single, hit batter and a walk loaded the bases with two outs. But Moore settled down and got a lineout to short to end the threat. She set the final six ECU batters down in order, including striking out the side in the seventh to secure the win and the sweep.

NOTES

» Tulsa improves to 40-13 against ECU and 20-9 in road games against the Pirates... TU has won 10 straight in the series.
» This was Tulsa's second road sweep of the series after taking care of Houston earlier in conference play.
» Imani Edwards picked up her 16th multi-hit game of the season and second in a row, which places her second on the team behind Haley Morgan's 17.
» Haley Morgan's three walks ties a career high and sets a season high.
» Moore allowed just two hits in both games against ECU this weekend, giving up no runs and striking out eight.
» TU outhit the Pirates 7-2 on Sunday and 24-9 over the weekend.

Next up for the Golden Hurricane is the conference tournament in Tampa, Fla., on the campus of South Florida. The first round will begin May 11. As the No. 4 seed, Tulsa will take on the No. 5 Houston Cougars with the. Game time to be announced. The first round of games will air on ESPN+.