Sunday, April 13
Tampa, Fla.
12:00 p.m.
Tulsa
18-24, 6-12
3
at
6
South Florida
33-12-1, 12-5-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Tulsa
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
3
6
2
South Florida
3
0
3
0
0
0
X
6
12
1
Photo by: Joshua Rogers
South Florida Completes Sweep Over Tulsa Softball
4/13/2025 4:01:00 PM | Softball
TAMPA, Fla. – The Golden Hurricane softball team fell behind early and fell 6-3 in the series finale at South Florida on Sunday afternoon inside USF Softball Stadium.
Tulsa (18-24, 6-12 The American) had its best offensive output of the weekend, but it wasn't' enough to avoid the team's eighth straight loss. South Florida (33-12-1, 12-5-1 The American) picked up its first series sweep of the conference season. Tulsa was outhit 12-6 on Sunday and, after having a clean weekend defensively to this point, committed two errors in the finale to USF's one. The Bulls stranded nine on base while Tulsa left three on.
Maura Moore ( 12-12) got the start and was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs on four hits with a strikeout in her one inning of work. Brinly Maples threw the second inning and part of the third, giving up three runs on three hits and a pair of walks. Alexa Hopkins spun the remaining 3.1 innings Sunday. She kept the Bulls off the board the remainder of the way to give the Hurricane a chance, allowing five hits and walking two with a strikeout.
The Hurricane did all of its scoring in the fifth inning and it was two of the top hitters who got the job done. Maci Cole had a multi-hit game to get her hitting streak to 14 games. She doubled home Tallulah Pascucci and Elle Rouse in the fifth, just missing a home run to right. Cole would score on a single from Celeste Wood, marking Wood's 29th RBI of the season.
Payton Dixon (16-5) and Bell Sardja flipped assignments on Sunday for South Florida as Dixon got the ball to start the game. Dixon threw five innings and allowed all three TU runs on six hits, but none of the runs were earned. She also struck out four. Sardja tossed the final two innings and picked up her seventh save of the season. She struck out a pair and allowed no hits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
South Florida didn't wait for the fourth inning to get going on offense this time. Instead, the Bulls hit for three runs in the opening inning. With a runner at first and two outs, a single and then fielding error allowed the runner from first to score to make it 1-0. The next batter, Alanah Rivera, hit the first home run of the series for either team, scoring two to give the Bulls a 3-0 lead after one.
South Florida doubled its lead in the third inning. A leadoff walk and a double had runners at second and third with one out. On a ball hit back to Maples, the Hurricane got the second out at the plate with a rundown. Hopkins, Amber Turner, Paige Knight and Wood combined to nab the runner attempting to score. But TU couldn't escape the inning unscathed as Camille Ortiz-Martinez cleared the bases with a 3-run homer to jump up 6-0.
Tulsa cut the lead in half in the fifth inning. Aliya Scarborough and Elle Rouse singled back-to-back to open the frame. A double play on a lineout threatened to end the inning, but Pascucci reached on a throwing error from the pitcher to put two on for Cole. The senior shortstop smashed a long fly ball to right that hit the base of the wall and scored both Rouse and Pascucci to make it 6-2. Wood followed with a single up the middle, scoring Cole and making the score 6-3. However, Wood was thrown out attempting to advance to second on the throw home.
Annika Dill led off the top of the sixth with a single, but that would prove to be the final hit of the game for Tulsa as South Florida held on for the 6-3 win.
UP NEXT
Tulsa welcomes Wichita State to the Collins Family Softball Complex for a three-game conference series leading into Easter Weekend. The series will start on Thursday and run through Saturday instead of the usual Friday through Sunday. First pitch for the Thursday contest is set for 5:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
Tulsa (18-24, 6-12 The American) had its best offensive output of the weekend, but it wasn't' enough to avoid the team's eighth straight loss. South Florida (33-12-1, 12-5-1 The American) picked up its first series sweep of the conference season. Tulsa was outhit 12-6 on Sunday and, after having a clean weekend defensively to this point, committed two errors in the finale to USF's one. The Bulls stranded nine on base while Tulsa left three on.
Maura Moore ( 12-12) got the start and was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs on four hits with a strikeout in her one inning of work. Brinly Maples threw the second inning and part of the third, giving up three runs on three hits and a pair of walks. Alexa Hopkins spun the remaining 3.1 innings Sunday. She kept the Bulls off the board the remainder of the way to give the Hurricane a chance, allowing five hits and walking two with a strikeout.
The Hurricane did all of its scoring in the fifth inning and it was two of the top hitters who got the job done. Maci Cole had a multi-hit game to get her hitting streak to 14 games. She doubled home Tallulah Pascucci and Elle Rouse in the fifth, just missing a home run to right. Cole would score on a single from Celeste Wood, marking Wood's 29th RBI of the season.
Payton Dixon (16-5) and Bell Sardja flipped assignments on Sunday for South Florida as Dixon got the ball to start the game. Dixon threw five innings and allowed all three TU runs on six hits, but none of the runs were earned. She also struck out four. Sardja tossed the final two innings and picked up her seventh save of the season. She struck out a pair and allowed no hits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
South Florida didn't wait for the fourth inning to get going on offense this time. Instead, the Bulls hit for three runs in the opening inning. With a runner at first and two outs, a single and then fielding error allowed the runner from first to score to make it 1-0. The next batter, Alanah Rivera, hit the first home run of the series for either team, scoring two to give the Bulls a 3-0 lead after one.
South Florida doubled its lead in the third inning. A leadoff walk and a double had runners at second and third with one out. On a ball hit back to Maples, the Hurricane got the second out at the plate with a rundown. Hopkins, Amber Turner, Paige Knight and Wood combined to nab the runner attempting to score. But TU couldn't escape the inning unscathed as Camille Ortiz-Martinez cleared the bases with a 3-run homer to jump up 6-0.
Tulsa cut the lead in half in the fifth inning. Aliya Scarborough and Elle Rouse singled back-to-back to open the frame. A double play on a lineout threatened to end the inning, but Pascucci reached on a throwing error from the pitcher to put two on for Cole. The senior shortstop smashed a long fly ball to right that hit the base of the wall and scored both Rouse and Pascucci to make it 6-2. Wood followed with a single up the middle, scoring Cole and making the score 6-3. However, Wood was thrown out attempting to advance to second on the throw home.
Annika Dill led off the top of the sixth with a single, but that would prove to be the final hit of the game for Tulsa as South Florida held on for the 6-3 win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| Tulsa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| USF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 6 | 12 | 1 |
UP NEXT
Tulsa welcomes Wichita State to the Collins Family Softball Complex for a three-game conference series leading into Easter Weekend. The series will start on Thursday and run through Saturday instead of the usual Friday through Sunday. First pitch for the Thursday contest is set for 5:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: DIXON, PAYTON (16-5)
L: Moore, Maura (12-12)
S: SARDJA, BELLE (7)
Batting:
2B: Cole, Maci 1
RBI: Cole, Maci 2 ; Wood, Celeste 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cole, Maci 1 ; Rouse, Elle 1 ; Pascucci, Tallulah 1
SB: Cole, Maci 1
HBP: Cole, Maci 1
Batting:
2B: FOREMAN, JOSIE 1 ; PIERCE, KARHYS 1
HR: RIVERA, ALANAH 1 ; ORTIZ-MARTINEZ 1
RBI: FOREMAN, JOSIE 1 ; RIVERA, ALANAH 2 ; ORTIZ-MARTINEZ 3
SH: GARCIA-SOTO, KATHY 1
Base Running:
RUNS: WILKES, ALEX 1 ; FOREMAN, JOSIE 2 ; RIVERA, ALANAH 2 ; ORTIZ-MARTINEZ 1
SB: ELLIOTT, OLIVIA 1 ; GARCIA-SOTO, KATHY 1
CS: RAWN, GRACE 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
dp/3b
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC/INF
/ Softball
C/UT
/ SoftballIF
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