Wednesday, March 26
Tulsa, Okla.
5:00 p.m.
Tulsa
17-16
6
vs
11
Central Arkansas
15-18
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Central Arkansas
5
2
0
0
0
0
4
11
14
0
Tulsa
0
0
0
1
4
1
0
6
7
0
Photo by: Bill Powell
Softball Drops Midweek to Central Arkansas
3/26/2025 9:26:00 PM | Softball
TULSA, Okla. – The Golden Hurricane softball team couldn't complete the comeback after falling behind early in an 11-6 loss to Central Arkansas on Wednesday evening in the Collins Family Softball Complex.
Tulsa (17-16) allowed the Bears (15-18) to get ahead 7-0 in the first two innings. The Hurricane scored six runs spread out among the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to make it a one-run ballgame into the final frame. But there, Central Arkansas tacked on four more to secure the win.
Maci Cole and Paige Knight each recorded a double on Wednesday, and Cole scored twice and Knight once. Knight also drove in a pair of runs. Aliya Scarborough also drove in two, while Whitney Holcomb drove in a run as well. Annika Dill and Faith Russell each walked twice.
Maura Moore (12-7) got the start but only went 0.2 innings before getting pulled in the loss. She was tagged for five runs, all earned, on four hits. Brinly Maples allowed 10 hits and six runs in her six innings of work. She struck out six batters. Abby Hayes and Alexa Hopkins also made appearances in the game.
For the Bears, Bail Runner (6-9) got the start and win after spinning four innings. She allowed four runs on three hits with four walks and a strikeout. Ma Layfield was responsible for the other two TU runs. Julia Petty entered in the sixth in a one-run game and left with her first save of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Central Arkansas jumped on Tulsa for five first innings runs. The Bears got started with a one-out triple before loading the bases on an infield single and a walk. UCA took a 2-0 lead with a single up the middle. A groundout brought in a third run. Another single to center scored the fourth run of the inning and ended Moore's night. The first batter Maples faced hit the second triple of the inning, scoring the fifth and final run of the frame.
The Bears tacked on another pair of runs in the second. A leadoff single was rewarded with a Mya January two-run home run to left to give UCA a 7-0 lead. From there, the Bears were held without another run into the seventh frame.
A combination of good pitching and stellar defense kept Tulsa off the board until the fourth inning. TU scored its first run without a single hit in the inning. Amber Turner was hit by a pitch with one away. After a walk to Annika Dill, she and Turner both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Holcomb drove in the run with a sacrifice fly to center to cut the deficit to 7-1.
Tulsa made its big push in the fifth after setting the Bears down in order in the top of the frame. Faith Russell singled, and Maci Cole doubled to left to get both into scoring position. Celeste Wood drew a walk on a wild pitch that brought in Russell and chased the UCA starter from the game.
Knight hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Cole and cut further into the deficit, 7-3. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, back-to-back walks loaded the bases and brought in the pinch-hitting Scarborough. She hit a double to right center and scored Dill and Wood to make the score 7-5 in favor of the Bears after five.
Cole was hit by a pitch to give Tulsa a runner with two away. Knight then laced a double to right field, just evading the glove of a diving right fielder. Cole raced away from first to bring Tulsa within a run, 7-6. UCA changed pitchers again and got a soft liner back to Julia Petty in the circle to end the threat.
After going four scoreless innings, the Bears gave themselves breathing room in the final at-bats, doing almost everything with two outs. With a runner on first, the Bears drew a walk, and then a single down the right field line scored a pair to make it 9-6 UCA. Back-to-back hard-hit singles loaded the bases again and Tulsa brought in Hayes to pitch. The Bears scored the 10th and 11th runs on a hit batter and a walk before Hopkins entered the circle to get the final out.
In its final attempts, Tulsa got consecutive singles to open the bottom of the seventh. The next two batters went down before Russell earned a full count walk to load the bases. However, a popup to the shortstop ended TU's final attempts and Central Arkansas left with the 11-6 win.
Tulsa was outhit 14-7 in the loss, but despite the high number of runs, it was a relatively clean game defensively with neither team committing an error. TU left 11 on compared to UCA's nine. All seven of Tulsa's hits came from different batters.
UP NEXT
The Golden Hurricane hosts North Texas at the Collins Family Softball Complex for a weekend the American Athletic Conference series. First pitch for Friday's opener is set for 5 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
Tulsa (17-16) allowed the Bears (15-18) to get ahead 7-0 in the first two innings. The Hurricane scored six runs spread out among the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to make it a one-run ballgame into the final frame. But there, Central Arkansas tacked on four more to secure the win.
Maci Cole and Paige Knight each recorded a double on Wednesday, and Cole scored twice and Knight once. Knight also drove in a pair of runs. Aliya Scarborough also drove in two, while Whitney Holcomb drove in a run as well. Annika Dill and Faith Russell each walked twice.
Maura Moore (12-7) got the start but only went 0.2 innings before getting pulled in the loss. She was tagged for five runs, all earned, on four hits. Brinly Maples allowed 10 hits and six runs in her six innings of work. She struck out six batters. Abby Hayes and Alexa Hopkins also made appearances in the game.
For the Bears, Bail Runner (6-9) got the start and win after spinning four innings. She allowed four runs on three hits with four walks and a strikeout. Ma Layfield was responsible for the other two TU runs. Julia Petty entered in the sixth in a one-run game and left with her first save of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Central Arkansas jumped on Tulsa for five first innings runs. The Bears got started with a one-out triple before loading the bases on an infield single and a walk. UCA took a 2-0 lead with a single up the middle. A groundout brought in a third run. Another single to center scored the fourth run of the inning and ended Moore's night. The first batter Maples faced hit the second triple of the inning, scoring the fifth and final run of the frame.
The Bears tacked on another pair of runs in the second. A leadoff single was rewarded with a Mya January two-run home run to left to give UCA a 7-0 lead. From there, the Bears were held without another run into the seventh frame.
A combination of good pitching and stellar defense kept Tulsa off the board until the fourth inning. TU scored its first run without a single hit in the inning. Amber Turner was hit by a pitch with one away. After a walk to Annika Dill, she and Turner both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Holcomb drove in the run with a sacrifice fly to center to cut the deficit to 7-1.
Tulsa made its big push in the fifth after setting the Bears down in order in the top of the frame. Faith Russell singled, and Maci Cole doubled to left to get both into scoring position. Celeste Wood drew a walk on a wild pitch that brought in Russell and chased the UCA starter from the game.
Knight hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Cole and cut further into the deficit, 7-3. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, back-to-back walks loaded the bases and brought in the pinch-hitting Scarborough. She hit a double to right center and scored Dill and Wood to make the score 7-5 in favor of the Bears after five.
Cole was hit by a pitch to give Tulsa a runner with two away. Knight then laced a double to right field, just evading the glove of a diving right fielder. Cole raced away from first to bring Tulsa within a run, 7-6. UCA changed pitchers again and got a soft liner back to Julia Petty in the circle to end the threat.
After going four scoreless innings, the Bears gave themselves breathing room in the final at-bats, doing almost everything with two outs. With a runner on first, the Bears drew a walk, and then a single down the right field line scored a pair to make it 9-6 UCA. Back-to-back hard-hit singles loaded the bases again and Tulsa brought in Hayes to pitch. The Bears scored the 10th and 11th runs on a hit batter and a walk before Hopkins entered the circle to get the final out.
In its final attempts, Tulsa got consecutive singles to open the bottom of the seventh. The next two batters went down before Russell earned a full count walk to load the bases. However, a popup to the shortstop ended TU's final attempts and Central Arkansas left with the 11-6 win.
Tulsa was outhit 14-7 in the loss, but despite the high number of runs, it was a relatively clean game defensively with neither team committing an error. TU left 11 on compared to UCA's nine. All seven of Tulsa's hits came from different batters.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| UCA | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 14 | 0 |
| Tulsa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
UP NEXT
The Golden Hurricane hosts North Texas at the Collins Family Softball Complex for a weekend the American Athletic Conference series. First pitch for Friday's opener is set for 5 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: RUNNER, Bail (6-10)
L: Moore, Maura (12-7)
S: PETTY, Julia (1)
Batting:
3B: YOUNG, Madi 1 ; VEACH, Emma 1
HR: JANUARY, Mya 1
RBI: GRAHAM, Addi 1 ; JANUARY, Mya 3 ; HOOD, Lilly 2 ; GRAHAM, Kait 1 ; SMITH, LJ 1 ; VEACH, Emma 1 ; SHUMAN, Aery 2
Base Running:
RUNS: GRIFFIN, Kyl 1 ; YOUNG, Madi 1 ; URIBE, Carme 1 ; GRAHAM, Addi 1 ; JANUARY, Mya 2 ; HOOD, Lilly 1 ; SMITH, LJ 2 ; ROBERTSON, E 1 ; SHUMAN, Aery 1
HBP: GRAHAM, Addi 1 ; JANUARY, Mya 1 ; VESSIER, Aut 1
Batting:
2B: Cole, Maci 1 ; Knight, Paige 1 ; Scarborough, Aliya 1
RBI: Knight, Paige 2 ; Holcomb, Whitney 1 ; Scarborough, Aliya 2
SF: Knight, Paige 1 ; Holcomb, Whitney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Russell , Faith 1 ; Cole, Maci 2 ; Wood, Celeste 1 ; Turner, Amber 1 ; Dill, Annika 1
HBP: Cole, Maci 1 ; Turner, Amber 1 ; Rouse, Elle 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
C/INF
/ SoftballC/UT
/ Softball
IF
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