Friday, March 7
Tulsa, Okla.
5:00 p.m.
Tulsa
11-10, 1-0
7
vs
3
Memphis
11-12, 0-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Memphis
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
3
8
2
Tulsa
1
0
4
0
1
1
X
7
7
3
Wood Homers and Drives in Four in Tulsa Win on Friday
3/7/2025 8:57:00 PM | Softball
TULSA, Okla. – First baseman Celeste Wood had a three-hit day at the plate, driving home four and collecting her fourth home run of the season as the Golden Hurricane softball team opened The American play with a 7-3 win over the Memphis Tigers Friday night in the Collins Family Softball Complex.
Tulsa moved to 11-10 (1-0 The American) on the season taking down the Tigers, who drop to 11-12 (0-1 The American) in 2025.
Wood singled home runs in the first and third innings, smashed a solo shot over the wall in right in the fifth and drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth for her four RBIs. Paige Knight drove in two with a third inning double, and Amber Turner followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, both in the four-run third.
Maura Moore (7-4) picked up her seventh win of the season fifth complete game in the win. She spread eight hits and three runs over her seven innings and struck out a season-high eight batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tigers struck first in the opening inning. Kennedy Semien led the game with a double. She was still standing there with two outs after a pair of strikeouts and a walk. Then a single up the middle from Arianna Cox-Cole brought Semien home to make it 1-0. On the play, Annika Dill fired to Cole at third and retired the runner at first who tried to stretch an advance.
The Hurricane tied it in the bottom of the frame. Cole drew a walk and was sacrificed to second. With two outs, Wood drove a hard ball down the left field line that clipped off the underside of the glove of the diving third baseman. Cole came around to level the score.
Moore worked out of jams in the second and third inning. In the second, a hit batter and a sacrifice bunt put a runner on second with one out. She advanced to third on an error but was stranded there. A leadoff double in the third and a wild pitch had a runner 60 feet from home with nobody out. She got a popup to short, a groundout back to herself and then a strikeout looking to escape.
The Hurricane put together five consecutive hits in the fifth to take control. Cole, Faith Russell and Dill singled to pack the bases, and then Wood picked up another RBI with a single to right. Knight recorded the fifth and final hit with a double into the gap in right, scoring Dill and Russell. Amber Turner brought Wood home with a sacrifice fly, giving Tulsa a 5-1 lead after three.
Wood picked up another RBI in the fifth with a solo home run to right center, her team-leading fourth homer of the season. RBI four for Wood came in the next inning. She stepped up with the bases loaded and drew a walk to bring in Brookley Foster and add the seventh tally to Tulsa's score.
After a groundout to lead the seventh, the Tigers got a solo home run from right fielder Neely Taylor to cut the deficit to 7-2. Moore then got a strikeout for the second out. Three consecutive singles brought in the third run of the game. The Tigers then took advantage of an error to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. Moore settled down and struck her out looking to secure the 7-3 TU win.
UP NEXT
Game two of the series was moved up to an 11 a.m. start on Saturday. It was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., but the threat of poor weather necessitated the change. The game will air on ESPN+.
Tulsa moved to 11-10 (1-0 The American) on the season taking down the Tigers, who drop to 11-12 (0-1 The American) in 2025.
Wood singled home runs in the first and third innings, smashed a solo shot over the wall in right in the fifth and drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth for her four RBIs. Paige Knight drove in two with a third inning double, and Amber Turner followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, both in the four-run third.
Maura Moore (7-4) picked up her seventh win of the season fifth complete game in the win. She spread eight hits and three runs over her seven innings and struck out a season-high eight batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tigers struck first in the opening inning. Kennedy Semien led the game with a double. She was still standing there with two outs after a pair of strikeouts and a walk. Then a single up the middle from Arianna Cox-Cole brought Semien home to make it 1-0. On the play, Annika Dill fired to Cole at third and retired the runner at first who tried to stretch an advance.
The Hurricane tied it in the bottom of the frame. Cole drew a walk and was sacrificed to second. With two outs, Wood drove a hard ball down the left field line that clipped off the underside of the glove of the diving third baseman. Cole came around to level the score.
Moore worked out of jams in the second and third inning. In the second, a hit batter and a sacrifice bunt put a runner on second with one out. She advanced to third on an error but was stranded there. A leadoff double in the third and a wild pitch had a runner 60 feet from home with nobody out. She got a popup to short, a groundout back to herself and then a strikeout looking to escape.
The Hurricane put together five consecutive hits in the fifth to take control. Cole, Faith Russell and Dill singled to pack the bases, and then Wood picked up another RBI with a single to right. Knight recorded the fifth and final hit with a double into the gap in right, scoring Dill and Russell. Amber Turner brought Wood home with a sacrifice fly, giving Tulsa a 5-1 lead after three.
Wood picked up another RBI in the fifth with a solo home run to right center, her team-leading fourth homer of the season. RBI four for Wood came in the next inning. She stepped up with the bases loaded and drew a walk to bring in Brookley Foster and add the seventh tally to Tulsa's score.
After a groundout to lead the seventh, the Tigers got a solo home run from right fielder Neely Taylor to cut the deficit to 7-2. Moore then got a strikeout for the second out. Three consecutive singles brought in the third run of the game. The Tigers then took advantage of an error to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. Moore settled down and struck her out looking to secure the 7-3 TU win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| Memphis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| Tulsa | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | X | 7 | 7 | 3 |
UP NEXT
Game two of the series was moved up to an 11 a.m. start on Saturday. It was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., but the threat of poor weather necessitated the change. The game will air on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Moore, Maura (7-5)
L: BROWN, Taniyah (4-4)
Batting:
2B: SEMIEN, Kennedy 1 ; TAYLOR, Neely 1
HR: TAYLOR, Neely 1
RBI: TAYLOR, Neely 1 ; COX-COLE, Arianna 1 ; BROWN, Mia 1
SH: BROWN, Faith 1 ; CLEMENT, Kayla 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SEMIEN, Kennedy 1 ; TAYLOR, Neely 1 ; MORRIS, Presley 1
SB: DURBIN, Shelby 1
HBP: DAVIS, Ariel 1 ; BROWN, Faith 1
Batting:
2B: Knight, Paige 1
HR: Wood, Celeste 1
RBI: Wood, Celeste 4 ; Knight, Paige 2 ; Turner, Amber 1
SH: Russell , Faith 1
SF: Turner, Amber 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cole, Maci 2 ; Russell , Faith 1 ; Dill, Annika 1 ; Wood, Celeste 2 ; Foster, Brookley 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
4
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
C/UT
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballSoftball | Tulsa vs Drake
Friday, February 28
Softball | Tulsa vs UMKC
Friday, February 28
SB | South Dakota State Postgame
Tuesday, February 25
Softball | Tulsa vs South Dakota State
Tuesday, February 25