Sports editor Jaralynn Tammi Morellano says softball could not make it onto the scoreboard.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane softball team suffered a tough 6-0 loss to the Charlotte 49ers on Friday, April 4. This was the first game of a fun American Athletic Conference (AAC) weekend at the Collins Family Softball complex. This utter shutout for Tulsa was the first time the team has been held scoreless during all of its conference matches this season, its first shutout since March 2.
This defeat dropped the Golden Hurricane’s overall record to 18-19 with a 6-7 record in AAC play. This put the team in the bottom half of the conference standings, the team standing tall in the top half since the start of the season. This is the fourth game in a row that Charlotte has beat Tulsa in the overall series against both schools. The match was a duel between pitches in the early parts of the game, both teams scoring naught through the first three innings. Charlotte would put an end to this dry spell with a solo home run in the top of the fourth innings to finally put itself on the board. The 49ers would continue to be the only ones to put points on the board in the fifth inning, its win being closer to being secured when it added another run to its stats. Tulsa would continue to stay silent, and with no one stopping its momentum, Charlotte would gain a whopping four runs in the sixth inning to catapult its lead. Though Tulsa managed to keep the 49ers scoreless in the seventh inning, it would not help itself to keep the match from ending.
This game proved to be an offensive struggle for the Golden Hurricane, the team failing to find any momentum at the plate. Across the seven innings, Tulsa would manage a meager amount of three hits. Senior shortstop Maci Cole led the team with a pair of singles, while the third hit was brought about by freshman left fielder Whitney Holcomb. Celeste Wood did not record any hits, however, she managed multiple plate visits for the Golden Hurricane. Wood contributed to the offense by walking twice and getting hit by a pitch once.
Starting pitcher Maura Moore had a rough game, the junior allowing four earned runs on eight hits during her 5.2 innings of pitching. The right-hand pitcher walked three and struck out four while surrendering the solo shot made in the fourth and the run in the fifth. She was relieved by Alexa Hopkins in the sixth inning, but Charlotte’s momentum was too strong. The 49ers were able to hold its ground and seal the deal.
This was the first match of a multi-game series, however, inclement weather ended up postponing the second match planned for the following Saturday. Tulsa Athletics announced that updates regarding the game’s status would be announced via the program’s website and social media channels. Both teams continued to wait out the weather for the remainder of the weekend. Following this match, the Golden Hurricane will move on to prepare for its upcoming match against South Florida. This match will be a three-game series hosted by the Bulls running from Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13.
