GREENVILLE, N.C. – Top-seeded Tulsa won the 2017 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship with a 1-0 win over Houston Saturday afternoon at the East Carolina Softball Complex.
The Golden Hurricane had four players named to the all-tournament team, including second baseman Morgan Neal, first baseman Tori Stafford, and third baseman Maggie Withee. Tulsa pitcher Emily Watson was named Most Outstanding Player after going a perfect 2-0 over the weekend with a 0.00 earned run average and 22 strikeouts in 14 innings of action.
Watson picked up the win for Tulsa (39-15) and improved to 28-4 on the year. Stafford led the offense for the Hurricane, going 1-for-3 with an RBI. She drove in the only run of the game when her RBI double plated Julia Hollingsworth in the bottom of the first inning.
Sophomore Savannah Heebner took the loss for the Cougars, falling to 15-11 while allowing only four hits. Heebner led the Cougars at the plate producing a multi-hit game (2-for-3) while two other Cougars recorded hits in the contest.
Tulsa will learn its NCAA Tournament seeding on Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern. The selection show will air live on ESPN2.
2017 American Softball All-Tournament Team
Kacie Oshiro, East Carolina
Meredith Burroughs, East Carolina
Lindsey Stickrod, Memphis
Molly Smith, Memphis
Savannah Heebner, Houston
Sarah Barker, Houston
Maya Thomas, Houston
Kaylin Crumpton, Houston
Maggie Withee, Tulsa
Tori Stafford, Tulsa
Morgan Neal, Tulsa
Emily Watson, Tulsa (Most Outstanding Player)