TULSA, UCF AND HOUSTON SHINE IN WEEK 1
Tulsa, UCF and Houston, all of whom are receiving votes in the major national softball polls as of Feb. 11, enjoyed strong starts to the 2020 softball season last weekend. UCF posted a 5-1 record at the Black and Gold Tournament, defeating Indiana twice and earning wins over Duke, Clemson and St. John’s at the UCF Softball Stadium. Houston posted a 4-1 mark at the Houston Invitational that featured wins over UMass Lowell, Valparaiso, Fordham and Northwestern State at the Cougar Softball Stadium. Tulsa rolled through the competition at the Mercer Invitational in Macon, Georgia, with the Golden Hurricane sweeping past Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky, Mercer and Dayton.
HULON MAKES HISTORY IN THE AMERICAN
Houston freshman pitcher Logan Hulon tossed a no-hitter in her first career appearance for the Cougars against Valparaiso on Feb. 7, becoming the first pitcher in American Athletic Conference history to throw a no-hitter in her collegiate debut. Hulon was just the fourth freshman in American history to spin a no-hitter in her rookie season, joining Maryssa Becker from Louisville (March 19, 2014 against Western Kentucky), Katie Koshes from UConn (combined no-hitter on March 29, 2017 against Bryant) and Georgina Corrick of USF (March 18, 2018 against North Florida). Hulon walked three batters and struck out eight on 85 pitches to keep Valparaiso off the scoreboard.
OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER ON DISPLAY
Four different teams from The American posted batting averages of .340 and above during opening weekend, with each team ranking in the top 50 of Division I softball. Wichita State hit a blistering .369, Tulsa added a .354 clip, Houston turned in a .346 combined average and UCF batted .342 to start the season. Three teams (Houston, .623/Wichita State, .588/Tulsa, .584) slugged in excess of .580, and Tulsa, Wichita State and Houston tied for tops in the conference with seven team home runs apiece.
TULSA AND UCF START STRONG IN THE CIRCLE
Both Tulsa and UCF were the only American teams to finish the first weekend of 2020 with sub-2.00 team ERAs, with the Golden Hurricane pacing the conference at 1.35 and the Knights right behind at 1.70. Perhaps not surprisingly, UCF (.180) and Tulsa (.194) were joined by Houston (.197) as the top three pitching staffs in batting average against
A NUMBER OF RANKED FOES AWAIT IN WEEK 2
Teams from The American will face a total of 10 foes that are either ranked or receiving votes in the major national softball top-25 polls this week. Top matchups include No. RV UCF welcoming No. 1 Washington to the UCF Softball Stadium on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (ET), USF colliding with No. 3/2 UCLA on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. (ET) during the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational and No. RV Houston welcoming No. 21 Oregon for two games at the Cougar Softball Stadium as part of the Houston Classic.