Tulsa Set to Host Home Opener as Part of Hurricane Invitational

Friday, February 27

Tulsa, Okla.

12 p.m.

Tulsa

South Dakota State

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Claira Skaggs slides into home against Army

Tulsa Set to Host Home Opener as Part of Hurricane Invitational

2/26/2026 4:48:00 PM | Softball

TULSA, Okla. — After a strong showing last weekend, Tulsa is home for the first time this season as part of the Hurricane Invitational beginning on Friday at the Collins Family Softball Complex.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday vs. South Dakota State – 12 PM
Friday vs. No. 4/9 Nebraska – 5 PM (ESPN+)
Saturday vs. South Dakota State – 1:30 PM
Saturday vs. Southeast Missouri State – 4 PM
Sunday vs. Southeast Missouri State – 1 PM

QUICK HITS

Tulsa is home for the first time this season for the Hurricane Invitational after starting the season in Louisiana followed by two weekends in Texas.
Maura Moore was brilliant last weekend in the circle. The graduate student earned American Conference Player of the Week, for the second time in her career, after going 3-0 in 18.1 innings, striking out 24, and pitching to a 1.15 ERA against Tarleton, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and Pitt at the Texan Classic.
Tulsa went 4-1 last weekend at the Texan Classic. The team won a pair of one-run games over host Tarleton State on Thursday, came back from down 5-0 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday, and on Saturday got a terrific performance out of Moore in which she struck out 11 and didn't allow an earned run in a 3-1 win against Pitt.
The Golden Hurricane have been tough to strike out on offense. They have the fewest Ks in the American Conference with just 48 while they are fourth in the league in walks with 54.
Five Tulsa players are currently hitting over .300 on the season. Faith Russell leads the team with a .364 batting average while getting on base at a .533 rate thanks to her 11 walks. Maci Cole (.333), Aliya Scarborough (.320), Amber Turner (.311), and Annika Dill (.300) are also hitting above .300.
Maci Cole had the defensive play of the weekend last Thursday. Her diving stop and throw to the plate against Tarleton State came in at No. 8 on Sportscenter Top 10 Plays on Friday morning's show.
TULSA vs. THE CORNHUSKERS
This is the 12th meeting all-time between the programs and the first since 2022.
Nebraska will play in Tulsa for the first time since the 2010 season.
Tulsa is 3-1 all-time at home against Nebraska, including a three-game sweep of the Huskers in 2010.
Each of the last five meetings have been in Lawrence, Kansas, with Nebraska holding a 3-2 advantgae in those games.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Tulsa has 25 doubles this season through 14 games, third most in the American Conference.
Last season, Tulsa only had 51 in 54 games.
Sophomore Amber Turner leads the way with five, last season she only had four in 145 at bats.
Maci Cole is second with four, while Annika Dill and Daeya Moses each have three.

PATIENT AT THE PLATE
The Golden Hurricane are patient at the plate, working 54 walks, while being hit by a pitch 13 times.
The team is 44th in the country in hit by pitches and second in the league, South Florida leads the American with 18.
Maci Cole's 12 walks are tied for third in the league while Faith Russell is right behind her with 11.
Daeya Moses has shown to be paitent at the plate as well, working seven walks and.
Annika Dill is eighth in the American Conference with three hit by pitches.
Tulsa has also been difficult to strikeout, only doing so 48 times.
Florida Atlantic is the only other team in the American to walk more than they have struckout at the plate.

MAGNIFICENT MAURA
Maura Moore has been magnificent this season. Through three weekends she has 3 wins, 4 complete games, 43.0 innings in the circle, 45 strike outs, and pitched to a 2.28 ERA.
She enters the weekend second in the American in strikeouts, fourth in ERA, and tied for the league lead in complete games.
Moore earned American Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday, February 23. It was the second time in her career earning the award. She went 3-0, with wins over Tarleton State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and Pitt, pitching 18.1 innings with 24 strikeouts and a miniscule 1.15 ERA.
Moore also leads the conference with a 3.75 strikeout to walk ratio.
Moore has made plenty of history this season. Last weekend she became the 10th pitcher in program history to throw 500 innings. She is fourth in school history with 95 starts, trailing only Aimee Creger (110), Emily Watson (109), and Jenny Magill (101).
She was busy last season, throwing 152.0 innings, almost half of Tulsa's for the season and the only Tulsa pitcher to throw over 100.0. She finished fourth in The American for innings pitched and 83rd nationally. She led the conference in games started (32), second for complete games (11), ranking 14th and 106th in the NCAA, respectively.

SOFTBALL TO SPACE
Graduate student Maci Cole has accomplished a lot since she has stepped foot on the TU campus. Last season, Cole worked on a mechanical engineering project, which is part of a NASA initiative.
During an 18-game hitting streak last season, Cole slashed .472/.569/.962 with six doubles, a triple, six home runs and 17 driven in.
Prior to the 2026 season, Cole was named to the D1 Softball Top 100 Mid-Major Players List.
This season she leads the Golden Hurricane in hits (16), runs (13), home runs (3), and extra base hits (7). She is second in batting average (.333)

BACK IN BUSINESS
The Golden Hurricane return 12 players from last season's roster.
Graduate student shortstop Maci Cole headlines the returners after earning First Team All-Conference honors.
Cole led the Golden Hurricane offense with a .316 batting average, 49 hits, 10 home runs, .594 slugging percentage, .454 on-base percentage, and 35 walks. She was also second on the team with 27 RBI.
Claira Skaggs was red-hot last year despite being limited to just 19 games in 2025 due to injury.
Skaggs was raking with a .365 batting average and 19 hits while slugging .615 and getting on base at a .469 clip. Despite missing so much time, Skaggs finished third on the team with 3 home runs while driving in 16 runs.
Annika Dill, Faith Russell, Elle Rouse, and Amber Turner are back after starting the majority of the 2025 season.
Dill had a strong freshman campaign, recording a slash line of .270/.335/.368 and starting all 54 games. She also was fourth on the Golden Hurricane with 17 RBI.
In the circle, Maura Moore's 4.47 ERA was the team low, while leading the team with 13 wins. She recorded 11 complete games and two shutouts. In 152.0 innings of work, Moore struck out 91 batters. Alexa Hopkins and Brinly Maples picked up the majority of the rest of the innings. Maples finished second on the team with 95.0 innings and struck 51. She won 6 games with 27 appearances in the circle. Hopkins struck out 54 in 80.0 innings, saving 2 games and picking up a pair of wins.
PRESEASON POLL
Tulsa was picked to finished 7th in the American Conference preseason poll.
Florida Atlantic was picked to win the league and received 8 first place votes.
South Florida received 2 first place votes and was picked second, followed by Wichita State, Charlotte, North Texas, East Carolina, Tulsa, UAB, UTSA, and Memphis in that order.

NOTABLE NEWCOMERS
The Golden Hurricane welcome 7 newcomers to the roster ahead of the 2026 season.
The roster features 5 freshmen; Isabella Arroyo, Mackenzy Glenn, Preslee Ray, Malia Cabuyaban, and Makenzie Freeman.
Arroyo and Freeman add depth to the circle. Glenn is expected to impact the outfield, Cabuyaban is an infielder, while Ray can play all over the field including catcher.
Freeman comes in as one of the most decorated pitchers in Arkansas high school history. She was named the 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year and holds the Arkansas Activites Association records for wins (102) and strike outs (1,012). She is the only pitcher in state history to reach 100 wins and fan 1,000 batters. Freeman also holds state records for innings (665.1), shutouts (57), no-hitters (16), and perfect games (8).
Arroyo pitched to a 1.70 ERA and struck out 179 batters as a high school senior.
Glenn starred at Lutheran High School, helping them to 4 state championships. She posted huge numbers, batting .546 with a .614 on-base percentage while also earning 4 Academic All-State honors.
Cabuyaban comes to Tulsa after a strong high school career where she hit .322 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI.
Ray was a .309 hitter in high school and was named the 2022 Norman High Freshman of the Year. She earned All-Region, All-District, and was a VYPE Player to Watch as a senior.
A pair of JUCO transfers also look to make an immediate impact on the Golden Hurricane in outfielder Madison Garcia and infielder Daeya Moses.
Garcia spent 2 seasons at McLennan Community College where they went 114-12 and reached the 2024 NJCAA D1 National Championship.
She recorded 128 hits for a .408 batting average and drove in 79 runs in 116 appearances.
Moses played 2 seasons at Grayson College.
As a sophomore they won 54 games and reached the NJCAA D1 World Series. She hit .337 with 12 home runs and 66 RBI. As a freshman she hit .335 with 17 home runs and 78 RBI as Grayson won 38 games.

UPCOMING MILESTONES
Maci Cole enters the weekend with 97 career hits, needing three for 100 for her Tulsa career.
Claira Skaggs is closing in on 150 hits and 100 RBI. She currently has 142 hits and 93 RBI.
Maura Moore has made 95 starts, closing in being the fourth player in school history with 100. She also has 373 strikeouts, as she looks to be the ninth player with 400 at Tulsa.
Head Coach Crissy Strimple is four wins away from passing James Pinkerton as the second winningest coach in program history.

AROUND THE DIAMOND
Tulsa is outscoring opponents 16-6 in the second inning.
Pinch hitters are 3-for-8 (.375) for the Golden Hurricane this season. Opposing teams are 0-for-9.
Amber Turner is yet to strikeout this season in 45 at bats. Faith Russell has also been terrific at putting the ball in play, only K'ing twice in 33 at bats.
Tulsa has been getting the ball in the air this season, with a 1.3 ratio of fly balls to groundouts.
Tulsa is 1-1 in extra inning games this season.

UP NEXT
Tulsa heads to Central Arkansas on Wednesday before starting American Confernece play at home against UTSA.

Visit www.TulsaHurricane.com for the latest news and information on the softball program. Fans can also follow the team on X, Facebook and Instagram.