Wednesday, May 8
Wichita, Kan.
4:00 P.M.
Tulsa
30-22
2
vs
1
South Florida
34-22
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
South Florida
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
5
0
Tulsa
0
0
0
1
1
0
X
2
3
2
Tulsa Drops Bulls 2-1, Advances to Second Round of Conference Championship
5/8/2024 9:00:00 PM | Softball
WICHITA, Kan. – Tulsa's knack for doubles paid off on Wednesday as the fifth-seeded Golden Hurricane took down No. 8 South Florida 2-1 in the first round of the 2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship in Wilkens Stadium on the campus of Wichita State.
The Hurricane improves to 30-22 on the season and will move on to the second round of the championship to face either hosts Wichita State or UTSA. South Florida falls to 34-22. Tulsa is now 14-4 in The American Championship games, the most wins by any American Athletic Conference team in the tournament's history.
The Hurricane recorded 76 doubles in the regular season, ranking 34th in the nation. All three of Tulsa's hits on Wednesday were doubles, with two driving in the pivotal runs. Claira Skaggs picked up her team-leading 15th on the season to drive in the game's first run. Kailyn Bearpaw hit her 11th and Anneca Anderson recorded the first double of her career in what proved to be the game-winning hit. Imani Edwards was Tulsa's lone other baserunner as she drew a leadoff walk in the fourth and would come around to score. Tara Hall pinch ran for Bearpaw after her double and scored the game's winning run.
Maura Moore improved to 12-7 as she got the start and the win. The junior pitcher scattered five hits across six innings, limiting a strong South Florida offense to just one extra-base hit. She walked two and struck out eight. Kylee Nash picked up her fourth save of the season as she came on in the seventh and slammed the door shut. Nash forced a groundout, got a strikeout and ended with a harmless flyout to Haley Morgan in center.
TULSA 2, SOUTH FLORIDA 1
The Hurricane defense worked around leadoff errors in the first and second innings. Defensive plays highlighted the frames. Claira Skaggs made a diving grab at third in the first inning on a line drive, nearly doubling off the runner at first. In the second, Maura Moore and and Maci Cole combined to prevent a run. The pitch got to the backstop and the South Florida runner at third took off for home. Cole played the bounce perfectly and tossed it to a charging Moore, who applied the tag.
South Florida had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the top of the fourth. Consecutive singles and a hit batter loaded the bases with nobody out. Moore induced a ground out to second and Jones chose to go home with the throw, getting the out on a fielder's choice. She then struck the next two out to escape the jam.
Tulsa broke through in the bottom frame. Imani Edwards drew a leadoff walk for the Hurricane's first baserunner of the game. A MacKenzie Denson sacrifice bunt and Haley Morgan groundout moved Edwards to third. Skaggs smashed a double to left center to give the Hurricane a 1-0 lead.
It didn't take long for South Florida to respond. A leadoff walk after a long at-bat in the fifth quickly moved to second on a stolen base. Then, a double just off the glove of a diving Denson leveled the score.
The Hurricane regained the lead a half inning later. Kailyn Bearpaw led the inning with a double and Tara Hall came in to pinch run but was still standing there with two outs. Freshman Anneca Anderson played Wednesday's game in the designated player spot. She proved why as she laced a double off the wall in right, scoring Hall to give TU a 2-1 lead.
Moore allowed a two-out single in the sixth but finished the inning strong. Kylee Nash entered in the seventh and slammed the door with a one, two, three frame to end the game.
» Tulsa improves to 30-22 on the season.
» This is Crissy Strimple's first 30-win season at the helm of the Golden Hurricane.
» Tulsa is 14-4 in The American Championship games.
» TU moves to 14-16 against South Florida all-time and 1-0 in neutral site competition.
» The Hurricane improves to 6-5 in neutral site games this year.
» The Hurricane recorded three doubles, giving Tulsa 79 on the season.
» Claira Skaggs hit her team-leading 15th double of the season.
» Kailyn Bearpaw posted her 11th double of the campaign.
» Anneca Anderson recorded her first career double.
» South Florida stranded eight runners, while Tulsa left two on base.
» Tulsa scored in every inning it had a base runner.
The Golden Hurricane move on to face the winner of the fourth-seeded Wichita State (25-21, 16-11 AAC) and No. 9 UTSA (15-41, 5-22 AAC) on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Tulsa won the series against both teams. Tulsa is 2-1 this season in Wilkens Stadium against the Shockers, winning the opening and rubber match of the series. TU hosted the Roadrunners in the home season finale, winning the first two in five innings before falling in the finale.
The Hurricane improves to 30-22 on the season and will move on to the second round of the championship to face either hosts Wichita State or UTSA. South Florida falls to 34-22. Tulsa is now 14-4 in The American Championship games, the most wins by any American Athletic Conference team in the tournament's history.
The Hurricane recorded 76 doubles in the regular season, ranking 34th in the nation. All three of Tulsa's hits on Wednesday were doubles, with two driving in the pivotal runs. Claira Skaggs picked up her team-leading 15th on the season to drive in the game's first run. Kailyn Bearpaw hit her 11th and Anneca Anderson recorded the first double of her career in what proved to be the game-winning hit. Imani Edwards was Tulsa's lone other baserunner as she drew a leadoff walk in the fourth and would come around to score. Tara Hall pinch ran for Bearpaw after her double and scored the game's winning run.
Maura Moore improved to 12-7 as she got the start and the win. The junior pitcher scattered five hits across six innings, limiting a strong South Florida offense to just one extra-base hit. She walked two and struck out eight. Kylee Nash picked up her fourth save of the season as she came on in the seventh and slammed the door shut. Nash forced a groundout, got a strikeout and ended with a harmless flyout to Haley Morgan in center.
TULSA 2, SOUTH FLORIDA 1
The Hurricane defense worked around leadoff errors in the first and second innings. Defensive plays highlighted the frames. Claira Skaggs made a diving grab at third in the first inning on a line drive, nearly doubling off the runner at first. In the second, Maura Moore and and Maci Cole combined to prevent a run. The pitch got to the backstop and the South Florida runner at third took off for home. Cole played the bounce perfectly and tossed it to a charging Moore, who applied the tag.
South Florida had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the top of the fourth. Consecutive singles and a hit batter loaded the bases with nobody out. Moore induced a ground out to second and Jones chose to go home with the throw, getting the out on a fielder's choice. She then struck the next two out to escape the jam.
Tulsa broke through in the bottom frame. Imani Edwards drew a leadoff walk for the Hurricane's first baserunner of the game. A MacKenzie Denson sacrifice bunt and Haley Morgan groundout moved Edwards to third. Skaggs smashed a double to left center to give the Hurricane a 1-0 lead.
It didn't take long for South Florida to respond. A leadoff walk after a long at-bat in the fifth quickly moved to second on a stolen base. Then, a double just off the glove of a diving Denson leveled the score.
The Hurricane regained the lead a half inning later. Kailyn Bearpaw led the inning with a double and Tara Hall came in to pinch run but was still standing there with two outs. Freshman Anneca Anderson played Wednesday's game in the designated player spot. She proved why as she laced a double off the wall in right, scoring Hall to give TU a 2-1 lead.
Moore allowed a two-out single in the sixth but finished the inning strong. Kylee Nash entered in the seventh and slammed the door with a one, two, three frame to end the game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| USF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Tulsa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | X | 2 | 3 | 2 |
» Tulsa improves to 30-22 on the season.
» This is Crissy Strimple's first 30-win season at the helm of the Golden Hurricane.
» Tulsa is 14-4 in The American Championship games.
» TU moves to 14-16 against South Florida all-time and 1-0 in neutral site competition.
» The Hurricane improves to 6-5 in neutral site games this year.
» The Hurricane recorded three doubles, giving Tulsa 79 on the season.
» Claira Skaggs hit her team-leading 15th double of the season.
» Kailyn Bearpaw posted her 11th double of the campaign.
» Anneca Anderson recorded her first career double.
» South Florida stranded eight runners, while Tulsa left two on base.
» Tulsa scored in every inning it had a base runner.
The Golden Hurricane move on to face the winner of the fourth-seeded Wichita State (25-21, 16-11 AAC) and No. 9 UTSA (15-41, 5-22 AAC) on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Tulsa won the series against both teams. Tulsa is 2-1 this season in Wilkens Stadium against the Shockers, winning the opening and rubber match of the series. TU hosted the Roadrunners in the home season finale, winning the first two in five innings before falling in the finale.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Moore, Maura (12-7)
L: DIXON, P. (17-9)
S: Nash, Kylee (4)
Batting:
2B: GALLIGANI, A 1
RBI: GALLIGANI, A 1
SH: BROOKS, D. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: KADLUB, J. 1
SB: ELLIOTT, O. 1 ; KADLUB, J. 1
HBP: RIVERA, A. 1
Batting:
2B: Skaggs, Claira 1 ; Bearpaw, Kailyn 1 ; Anderson, Anneca 1
RBI: Skaggs, Claira 1 ; Anderson, Anneca 1
SH: Denson, MacKenzie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Edwards, Imani 1 ; Hall, Tara 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballIF
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OF
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OF
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P/DP
/ SoftballIF
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