April 10, 2009

Box Score | Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

TULSA, Okla. - The University of Tulsa softball team swept a doubleheader from UAB as Senior Kailey Yarmer hit a walk-off double and junior Jackie Lawrence struck out 10 batters to win game two, 3-2, and the Golden Hurricane scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to win game one, 4-2, Friday afternoon at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex.

With the two wins, Tulsa (25-14, 9-4 C-USA) won its third Conference USA series of the season, and has won three league series in a row at home, dating back to 2008. Sophomore Jordan Kinard (8-5) earned the win in the first game, pitching 7.0 innings and allowing three hits and one earned run, five walks and she struck out eight. Lawrence (11-4) recorded her 11th win of the season after throwing 7.0 innings and allowing no earned runs or walks to match up to her 10 strikeouts.

UAB falls to 12-26 overall and 4-13 in C-USA play. Game one starter Amber Torres got the loss and falls to 4-5 on the season, while the Blazers' pitcher in the second game, Lindsey Croft, falls to 6-14 this season.

"It was good to get a sweep to assure that we take the series," Tulsa Head Coach John Bargfeldt said. "Jackie's performance in the second game was outstanding. She had that one inning where we put her in a little bit of trouble, and she lost her focus a little bit. She was really mad at herself that she lost her focus mentally. But from that inning on, there were not a whole lot of threats on her, and she made a lot of great pitches for the rest of the game. That's what we needed. We needed to hold them right there. Again, we were seeing another pitcher for the first time and we needed a chance to see her a couple of times. It seemed like the at-bats got better as the game went on. It was a good comeback win."

In the bottom of the seventh inning, junior designated player Lauren Lindsay, who scored both the tying and winning runs, opened the frame with a single past the first baseman. Sophomore Kelly Chapman came on to pinch hit and bunted Lindsay to second base. Then Yarmer sent a rocket shot to dead center that went over the center fielder's head and allowed Lindsay to motor home from second base to give TU the 3-2 walk-off win.

UAB put up two runs in the third inning, when, with two outs and a runner on first, UAB got three singles in a row to push two runs across. The first was a bunt single, the second was an RBI single up the middle and the final base hit also went up the middle into center field to plate the second run.

The Golden Hurricane answered slowly, scoring one in each of the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game. After junior first baseman Vanessa Vice singled to open the fourth, senior left fielder Brooke Smart hit into a fielder's choice, and was followed by a single through the left side by junior catcher Christian Timmons. Freshman center fielder Jessica Stoelke walked on four pitches to load the bases, and senior third baseman Stephanie Chomicki hit a long pop up down the right field line that was caught in foul territory. All three runners tagged and advanced a base, and Smart scored from second to make the score 2-1.

Lindsay led off the fifth inning with a four-pitch walk and advanced to second on an infield single by sophomore designated player Lauren Menke. A ground out by Yarmer advanced both runners, and Vice hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Lindsay.

Besides the two-run third inning, Lawrence was dominant for her second outing in a row, allowing just three other hits - the only base runners of the game for the Blazers outside of the third inning. She retired the side in order four times, and struck out nine hitters in the final four innings, facing only 14 batters in that span.

Down 2-1 in the first game, Tulsa got three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 4-2 lead and put away the Blazers. Timmons got the stanza started with her second home run of the season, a solo bomb to center field to tie the game at 2-2. Stoelke singled into left center field, Chomicki reached on an error by the first baseman and freshman second baseman Skylar Swanson walked to load the bases.

UAB put in reliever Sara Sweptson to try to minimize the damage, but Tulsa was not finished for the inning. Sweptson threw a pitch in the dirt that the catcher could not stop and went all the way to the backstop allowing all three runners to advance, and the speedy Stoelke to score. Lindsay, who was at the plate for the wild pitch then hit into an RBI ground out that scored Chomicki and gave TU a 4-2 lead.

UAB's runs came in the third and sixth innings. In the third, left fielder Caley Walden doubled with one out, and following two walks, scored on a single by first baseman Laura Callaway. The hit was a bloop single just past the dirt at second base that Swanson could not reach because she was playing in, and Lindsay couldn't get to, despite charging hard from her right field position. Lindsay picked up the ball and threw in to Yarmer at second base, who then quickly turned and threw a strike to Timmons at home to nab Catherine Douglass trying to score from second on the play.

In the sixth, Callaway hit a hard grounder to Chomicki at third, but the ball bounced up over her shoulder and down the left field line. Smart picked up the ball and fired to first base, but the ball sailed down the right field line, and Lindsay, trying to get the runner at third, threw high, allowing Callaway to score on the same play.

The Golden Hurricane and the Blazers tangle again Saturday, with the series finale slated to start at noon. Live stats and live video and audio will be available on www.TulsaHurricane.com. Tickets for TU softball home games are $6 for adults and $4 for youth high school and younger, and can be purchased in person at the TU Athletics Ticket Office, by calling (918) 631-GoTU, or on the web by visiting www.TulsaHurricane.com.