April 9, 2009
TULSA, Okla. -
The University of Tulsa softball team returns from a five-game road swing to take on Conference USA rival UAB Friday and Saturday at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex, beginning with a doubleheader at 3 p.m. Friday and concluding with a single game Saturday at noon.
Live stats of the series will be available on www.TulsaHurricane.com, and live audio and video will be available to subscribers of the TulsaHurricane All-Access package. The game will be radio broadcast in the Tulsa area on 88.7 FM HD3. This weekend at the Donna J. Hardesty Complex is Youth Weekend. Kids can obtain free admission into the softball games this weekend by wearing their favorite youth jersey.
Tulsa is currently 23-14 overall and 7-4 in C-USA play, after splitting a doubleheader at Wichita State on Wednesday, winning 8-0 and losing 4-2, and winning one of three games at East Carolina over the weekend (1-3, 1-2, and 2-1).
The Hurricane enters the weekend with a team .280 batting average, with 164 runs scored, 275 hits, 151 RBI and 27 home runs. The team also carries a .355 on-base percentage and a .423 slugging percentage. The pitching staff has put together a 2.74 ERA with eight shutouts and has given up 195 hits, 109 runs - 94 earned - 92 walks and 224 strikeouts in 240.1 innings.
UAB (12-24, 4-11 C-USA) is hitting .266 as a team, with 146 runs scored, 247 hits, 132 RBI and 28 home runs. The Blazers carry a .339 team OBP and a .407 team slugging percentage. The pitching staff has a 4.60 ERA with three shutouts and has allowed 294 hits, 219 runs - 155 earned - 159 walks and 145 strikeouts in 235.2 innings.
Individually, Tulsa is led by junior right fielder Lauren Lindsay with a .385 batting average (45-for-117) with 25 RBI, 26 runs scored, eight home runs, 10 doubles, a .675 slugging percentage and a .471 on-base percentage. Senior left fielder Brooke Smart hits .357 (35-for-98) with 19 RBI, 19 runs scored, four doubles and three homers. Freshman second baseman Skylar Swanson has a .302 BA (26-for-86), with 23 RBI, and has 12 runs scored, three doubles, a triple and three homers.
In the circle, Junior
Jackie Lawrence is 10-4 with a 1.78 ERA and three shutouts, allowing 63 hits and 35 runs - 25 earned - with 45 walks and 90 strikeouts in 98.1 innings with a .178 opponent batting average. Senior
Katie Lee is 6-5 with a 3.74 ERA and has thrown a pair of no-hitters. She has allowed 74 hits, 38 runs - 34 earned - with 13 walks and 44 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. Sophomore
Jordan Kinard is 7-5 with a 3.13 ERA with two shutouts, and has allowed 58 hits, 36 runs - 35 earned - walked 34 and struck out 90 in 78.1 innings.
UAB is led in hitting by center fielder Martina Landrum, who has a .374 batting average (40-for-107) with eight RBI, 26 runs scored, seven doubles, a .477 slugging percentage, 15 walks and a .460 on-base percentage. Shortstop Catherine Douglass hits .321 (34-for-106) with 24 RBI, 20 runs scored, two doubles, two triples and five homers. The Blazer pitching staff is led by Lindsey Croft, who sports a 6-13 record in 24 appearances with 21 starts, and has a 3.46 ERA, allowing 149 hits, 99 runs, 65 of which are earned, 81 walks and has struck out 91 in 131.2 innings.
Tulsa and UAB have played 12 times; the series is tied, 6-6. The regular series dates to 2006 when TU began playing in Conference USA. The two teams have met four times outside of conference play: twice in 2003 (split - L, 3-1; W, 4-2), once in 2004 (L, 3-1) and once in pre-conference play in 2007 (W, 3-1). In the eight games in C-USA, the series is tied 4-4, with UAB winning two of three games in 2006 and 2008, and Tulsa winning the only two games played in 2007. The Golden Hurricane leads games played in Tulsa, 2-1, trails games played in Birmingham, 2-4, and leads 2-1 at neutral sites.
Tickets for Tulsa softball games are $6 for adults and $4 for youth high school aged and younger. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Tulsa Athletics Ticket Office in person, by calling (918) 631-GoTU or on the web by visiting www.TulsaHurricane.com.
In eight years as a member of Conference USA, Tulsa athletic teams have won a league-best 48 conference championships.
Follow Tulsa Athletics all season by downloading the full TU athletics schedule to your Outlook or iCal calendars.
Purchase your season football tickets today online or by calling 918.631.GoTU. Family of four can see all six home games for under $200.
Since the opening of the Donald W. Reynolds Center in 1998, Tulsa’s athletic facilities have undergone a major facelift. New facilities include the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, the Collins Family Softball Complex, the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium, the J. Bird Sr. Shell Nest, the Jack Zink Indoor Rowing Center, the Case Athletic Complex and major renovation to H.A. Chapman Stadium.
TU is 75th among national doctoral universities in U. S. News & World Report's 2012 edition of America's Best Colleges. TU's 2011 freshman class had a mean cumulative grade point average of 3.8, and 74 percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. Their average ACT was 28.
The Golden Hurricane Club, as the primary fundraising arm of TU Athletics, works to provide every TU student-athlete with the opportunity to realize a world-class athletic and academic experience.
Get an inside look at all Tulsa Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Fans can Tweet with first-year Head Coach Danny Manning @CoachDManning.
