Thursday, March 28
Collins Family Softball Complex
3:30 p.m.
Tulsa
vs
UAB
Photo by: Bill Powell
Tulsa Softball Hosts UAB
3/27/2024 5:38:00 PM | Softball
TULSA, Okla. – The University of Tulsa softball team welcomes UAB to the Collins Family Softball Complex for a three-game series starting Thursday afternoon.
The series will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday because of Easter Weekend. First pitch in Thursday's opener is set for 3:30 p.m. with fans encouraged to attend the Women's Basketball WBIT Quarterfinal afterward at 6:30 in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Friday's game two will begin play at 5 p.m. and the Sunday finale will start at 11:30 in the morning. All three games will air on ESPN+. TU fans can subscribe to ESPN+ to watch Golden Hurricane basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball. ESPN+ is offered for $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year. To subscribe, fans can go to plus.espn.com. Fans will be able to access ESPN+ content only after subscribing.
The Hurricane (19-11, 5-4 AAC) and UAB (14-17, 5-4 AAC) have met for 32 previous games with Tulsa holding a 19-13 record against the Blazers. The team split a pair of games in 2022 with Tulsa taking the last matchup in a thrilling 13-12 12-inning game. Celeste Wood set a TU record with 8 RBI in the comeback win.
After knocking off No. 4/6 Oklahoma State to start last week, Tulsa struggled to score against North Texas over the weekend. Despite strong pitching, the Hurricane dropped all three games in walk-off fashion to fall to 5-4 early in The American play.
Tulsa is batting .316 as a team heading into Thursday's ballgame. MacKenzie Denson leads the way with a .412 batting average. Imani Edwards (.387), Claira Skaggs (.381) and Abby Jones (.333) are all batting above .300 this season, while Haley Morgan hits .297, just under the mark. Skaggs' 12 doubles leads a Tulsa team who has 55 two-baggers on the season, which ranks third in the conference and 13th nationally. Individually, Skaggs ranks 11th in the NCAA, while Jones is 40th with 10 doubles.
Maura Moore, Kylee Nash and Anneca Anderson split time in the circle for Tulsa this season, and all three have an ERA below 3.00. Nash leads the trio with a 2.01 ERA in 48.2 innings of work. Moore has tossed 76.2 innings with a team-leading 61 strikeouts. Anderson is the hardest to hit off, as opponents bat just .194 against her. In her previous two appearances, Anderson has allowed just two hits and one run in 13.1 innings. In the last 14.0 innings, Moore had given up just one run.
UAB enters the series three games under .500 but brings a two-game winning streak and 5-4 conference record to the Collins Family Softball Complex. The Blazers, much like Tulsa, dropped game one against South Florida before bouncing back to win games two and three.
The Blazers have three batters hitting above .300, led by Bella Wiggins, who is batting .358 with six doubles, six triples and a pair of home runs. She's driven in 13 and scored a team-high 23 times. Lindsay Smith leads the team with seven doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI.
In the circle, the trio of Leigha Kirby, Caitlin Russell and Olivia Valbak see the most action, combining for 162.2 of the team's 199.1 innings this season. Kirby has a team-low 3.60 ERA and has tossed 70.0 innings with 34 strikeouts.
After the weekend series, the Golden Hurricane will host Missouri State on Wednesday before a weekend series at Wichita State, a preview of the home site for this season's conference tournament. First pitch against the Bears on Wednesday is set for 5 p.m. and will stream on the TulsaHurricane.com website.
The series will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday because of Easter Weekend. First pitch in Thursday's opener is set for 3:30 p.m. with fans encouraged to attend the Women's Basketball WBIT Quarterfinal afterward at 6:30 in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Friday's game two will begin play at 5 p.m. and the Sunday finale will start at 11:30 in the morning. All three games will air on ESPN+. TU fans can subscribe to ESPN+ to watch Golden Hurricane basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball. ESPN+ is offered for $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year. To subscribe, fans can go to plus.espn.com. Fans will be able to access ESPN+ content only after subscribing.
The Hurricane (19-11, 5-4 AAC) and UAB (14-17, 5-4 AAC) have met for 32 previous games with Tulsa holding a 19-13 record against the Blazers. The team split a pair of games in 2022 with Tulsa taking the last matchup in a thrilling 13-12 12-inning game. Celeste Wood set a TU record with 8 RBI in the comeback win.
After knocking off No. 4/6 Oklahoma State to start last week, Tulsa struggled to score against North Texas over the weekend. Despite strong pitching, the Hurricane dropped all three games in walk-off fashion to fall to 5-4 early in The American play.
Tulsa is batting .316 as a team heading into Thursday's ballgame. MacKenzie Denson leads the way with a .412 batting average. Imani Edwards (.387), Claira Skaggs (.381) and Abby Jones (.333) are all batting above .300 this season, while Haley Morgan hits .297, just under the mark. Skaggs' 12 doubles leads a Tulsa team who has 55 two-baggers on the season, which ranks third in the conference and 13th nationally. Individually, Skaggs ranks 11th in the NCAA, while Jones is 40th with 10 doubles.
Maura Moore, Kylee Nash and Anneca Anderson split time in the circle for Tulsa this season, and all three have an ERA below 3.00. Nash leads the trio with a 2.01 ERA in 48.2 innings of work. Moore has tossed 76.2 innings with a team-leading 61 strikeouts. Anderson is the hardest to hit off, as opponents bat just .194 against her. In her previous two appearances, Anderson has allowed just two hits and one run in 13.1 innings. In the last 14.0 innings, Moore had given up just one run.
UAB enters the series three games under .500 but brings a two-game winning streak and 5-4 conference record to the Collins Family Softball Complex. The Blazers, much like Tulsa, dropped game one against South Florida before bouncing back to win games two and three.
The Blazers have three batters hitting above .300, led by Bella Wiggins, who is batting .358 with six doubles, six triples and a pair of home runs. She's driven in 13 and scored a team-high 23 times. Lindsay Smith leads the team with seven doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI.
In the circle, the trio of Leigha Kirby, Caitlin Russell and Olivia Valbak see the most action, combining for 162.2 of the team's 199.1 innings this season. Kirby has a team-low 3.60 ERA and has tossed 70.0 innings with 34 strikeouts.
After the weekend series, the Golden Hurricane will host Missouri State on Wednesday before a weekend series at Wichita State, a preview of the home site for this season's conference tournament. First pitch against the Bears on Wednesday is set for 5 p.m. and will stream on the TulsaHurricane.com website.
Players Mentioned
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