With positive performances this week, Tulsa will look to end the season strong.
The Golden Hurricane’s softball team went 2-2 over the last week of March, making some good strides in conference with, ultimately, more still to do as the season nears one month from the end. They played against Oklahoma State on March 25 before travelling to Memphis for a three-day series against the Tigers.
In the Collins Family Softball Complex, the Cowgirls struck first, scoring 2 in the first inning. However, Tulsa responded right back with 2 in the second and another 3 in the third. Oklahoma State would slowly crawl their way back over the next two innings, tying it up 5-5 coming into the sixth. Even still, the Golden Hurricane would capitalize on an error by Faith Russell in order to let Emma Vickrey score, putting the pressure on the Cowgirls. Sadly for the Golden Hurricane, the Cowgirls did not fold, and instead pulled five runs in the seventh inning. Tulsa, in retaliation, was only able to get Mackenzy Glenn a solo home run. Ultimately though, Tulsa had less errors and only one less hit, showing that this game was extremely close and foreshadowing Tulsa’s later success over the weekend.
Tulsa played their first game against Memphis on Friday, March 27. After a quick turnaround and a long distance to travel, it would have been very understandable if the Golden Hurricane came into the series slowly. However, they did anything but. Despite Memphis taking the lead in the first inning by 2, Tulsa came right back and tied it before the Tigers got a bases-loaded walk to bring the score to 3-2, Memphis. Three more innings passed where neither team was able to make much of their opportunities before Tulsa struck with a single in the sixth. From there, Maura Moore led the Tulsa squad from the mound, striking out five of her last six outs and pitching the entire game. As such, Memphis was unable to make any comeback, and Tulsa cemented their victory with another run in the 7th, winning 4-3.
In the Saturday game against Memphis, Tulsa rocked the Tigers. The first two innings were scoreless, before the teams traded two runs each in the third. Amber Turner had two of those runs credited to her with her homer. Still, the Tigers came back in the fourth before Daeya Moses hit her home run of the day to bring two others home. Then, in the sixth, Tulsa went for the kill, scoring nine runs in an ecstatic offensive display that showcased a Claira Skaggs homerun, a two-run single by Maci Cole and a single by Madison Garcia that led in three due to a Memphis error. The Tigers, perhaps dismayed by such an onslaught, were unable to make anything happen in the bottom of the sixth, and so the game was called 14-3 Tulsa.
Sadly, the Golden Hurricane would not be able to complete the sweep on Sunday. Although they opened strong, trading two runs with Memphis in the first and grabbing another four in the second, they would ultimately be unable to produce any more runs the rest of the game, with Mya Clark, the pitcher for the Tigers, holding them back just enough. The Tigers got one back in the third before an explosive four-run inning of their own in the fifth allowed them to regain the lead and, ultimately, win them the game.
Despite disappointing losses to the Cowgirls and the Tigers, the Tulsa softball team has to feel excited about their upcoming prospects. Having scored nine runs in a single inning for the last two weekends, it seems that their offense is clicking at just the right time to make some noise in conference play. They’ll next play rivals Wichita State in Kansas, and although the Shockers sit high up in the conference standings, Tulsa should expect to do well, especially considering the Shockers have lost three of their last four games. The next games the Golden Hurricane will play in Tulsa will be their series against UAB, from April 10-12. With East Carolina and Charlotte remaining for their conference series, Tulsa should be able to make up plenty of ground in the conference standings, and, if they win all those series, possibly leapfrog all of them and catapult into the top spots in the conference.
