NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Tulsa Softball Team fell in a 10-inning contest to Oklahoma 6-4 on Sunday evening to force a winner-take-all rubber match tomorrow at 12 p.m. at Marita Hynes Field to decide who will represent the NCAA Norman Regional in the Super Regionals. The Hurricane (41-16 Overall) held two run leads twice in the game, including a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 10
th before two OU home runs ended it.
Tulsa opened up the game with a one run first inning, beginning with a
Maggie Withee single to left center field before
Tori Stafford walked and
Haley Meinen reached on an error to load the bases.
Maggie Withee made it across for the first run of the day after an errant throw back to Oklahoma's Paige Parker.
The Hurricane added one more run on
Shelby Estocado's sixth long ball of the year in the top of the second inning to go ahead 2-0. Estocado's homer moved the junior into a tie for ninth on Tulsa's career home run list with 19 as the Hurricane ran Parker out of the game in the shortest start of her career.
Oklahoma answered in bottom of the fifth with their first of three home runs, this one from Nicole Pendley to cut the lead to one.
Emily Watson responded later in the inning after a single put one runner on with one down, bouncing back from a 3-0 count for one of her three strikeouts to lessen the threat.
The Sooners broke through in the sixth as Sydney Romero singled up the middle to tie it at 2-2 before the Hurricane made a few key defensive plays to leave a runner stranded at third as they game would go to extras for the second time this season in the matchup.
Tulsa struck first in the top of the 10
th inning with another
Maggie Withee to left center with one out, TU's first hit since the top of the third inning.
Tori Stafford broke through the Oklahoma shift one batter later with a single to the vacant left field that drove in
Maggie Withee all the way from first base to go ahead 3-2.
Maddie Withee picked up another key RBI for Tulsa with two outs as Stafford eventually slid around the tag at home to put the Hurricane ahead 4-2.
A leadoff single in the bottom half set the tone for the inning before Caleigh Clifton tied it at 4-4 with a home run to left field. Another homerun followed, this from Romero, a two-run home run almost identical to the last to left field to end it.
The rubber match to decide who will head to the Auburn Super Regional is slated for tomorrow at 1 p.m.ET/noon CT.
Courtesy www.tulsahurricane.com