Feb. 11, 2011

Box Score | Box Score

AUSTIN, Texas - The Tulsa softball team split the first day of the 2011 season, defeating Northern Illinois, 3-2, and falling to No. 15 Texas, 6-1, at the Texas Classic at McCombs Field.

Tulsa (1-1) used three runs in the top of the fifth inning, and held off NIU's two-run charge in the bottom of the inning to claim a, 3-2, win Friday afternoon.

Freshman pitcher Aimee Creger (1-0) struck out 12 batters in her complete-game collegiate debut. Sophomore Caitlin Everett, freshman Jill Barrett and senior Lauren Menke each drove in runs for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa scored three runs on five hits, while Northern Illinois (0-1) scored two runs on five hits. Morgan Bittner (0-1) took the loss for the Huskies.

Friday evening, Tulsa struck first with a solo home run by freshman designated player Haley Henshaw, but Texas responded with five runs in the bottom of the frame. The Longhorns (2-0) added one more run in the sixth on their way to a, 6-1, win. Senior Jordan Kinard (0-1) took the loss for TU, while Rachel Fox (1-0) earned the win for Texas.

Freshman second baseman Shelby Blanton went 3-for-5 in the two games, while sophomore Keri Leach added a double and a triple. Four different Hurricane players drove in a run Friday.

The Golden Hurricane plays Louisville at 11 a.m. Saturday in the final game of round-robin pool play before bracket play begins.

Due to the results of the games thus far, the Hurricane will turn around and play the Cardinals again at 4 p.m. in the tournament semifinals. The championship and third-place games will be played Sunday.

"Haley (Henshaw) obviously had a big at-bat for us that put us up 1-0," Tulsa Head Coach John Bargfeldt said. "We're still too aggressive at the plate. I'm hoping as we play more, we'll become more comfortable, especially the younger players. I was pleased with how well we played defensively. This was just one of those games where we didn't have enough offense generated. Jordan (Kinard) did a great job two times through the lineup. The third time through the lineup, she started to fall behind on the batters, and they did a good job of taking advantage."

Tulsa had runners at third base twice in the second inning, but could not push a run across the plate. After going down in order in the second and third innings, Henshaw led off the fifth inning with a home run to right center field to give TU a 1-0 lead.

Texas, however, came back with five runs in the bottom of the fifth, powered by a pair of two-run homers. After a fly out to lead off the inning, the Longhorns got a pair of doubles from second baseman Raygan Feight, and an RBI double from pinch-hitter Kim Bruins. Right fielder Taylor Hoagland followed with a two-run home run, giving Texas a 3-1 lead.

Third baseman Nadia Taylor got a two-out single, and catcher Amy Hooks hit a two-run homer to left center to extend the lead to, 5-1.

The Longhorns added one more unearned run off of Tulsa reliever Lacey Middlebrooks in the sixth inning.

Leach, Bowen and Blanton also had hits for the Golden Hurricane. Leach led off the second inning with a triple, but was caught at the plate on Bowen's infield single to third base. Blanton followed Henshaw's home run in the fifth inning with a base hit to second base, but was picked off at second base.

Tulsa 3, Northern Illinois 2

Tulsa defeated Northern Illinois, 3-2, Friday afternoon with three runs in the top of the fifth inning, and a 12-strikeout performance by freshman Aimee Creger.

Read the full recap here.

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