April 24, 2009
TULSA, Okla. -
The Conference USA second-place University of Tulsa softball team travels to El Paso, Texas, for a league series against UTEP that begins with a doubleheader Saturday at 3 p.m. CDT, and concludes with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m. CDT at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex.
The road trip to El Paso is the Golden Hurricane's first of two in the next three weeks, as UTEP will play host to the 2009 Conference USA Softball Championship Presented by Helen of Troy. Tulsa, which has a chance to solidify its seeding for the league tournament this weekend, is currently 29-15 overall and 10-4 in C-USA play, after splitting its doubleheader Tuesday against Kansas, losing 6-3 and winning 4-0, and sweeping two games at Indiana on Saturday, 3-0 and 7-5. Live stats of all three games will be available via Gametracker, and live video will also be available at www.TulsaHurricane.com.
The Hurricane enters the week with a team .288 batting average, with 201 runs scored, 338 hits, 186 RBI and 32 home runs. The team also carries a .363 on-base percentage and a .430 slugging percentage. The pitching staff has put together a 2.65 ERA with 10 shutouts and has given up 234 hits, 129 runs - 109 earned - 116 walks and 275 strikeouts in 288.1 innings.
UTEP (24-23-1, 7-10-1 C-USA) is hitting .291 as a team, with 236 runs scored, 385 hits, 220 RBI and 56 home runs. The Miners carry a .372 team on-base percentage and a .481 team slugging percentage. The pitching staff has a 3.99 ERA with two shutouts and has allowed 368 hits, 247 runs - 182 earned - 165 walks and 273 strikeouts in 319.1 innings.
Individually, Tulsa is led by junior right fielder Lauren Lindsay with a .369 batting average (52-for-141) with 26 RBI, 33 runs scored, eight home runs, 13 doubles, a .631 slugging percentage and a .461 on-base percentage. Senior left fielder Brooke Smart hits .373 (44-for-118) with 24 RBI, 26 runs scored, six doubles and four homers. Senior shortstop Kailey Yarmer has a .347 batting average (35-for-101) with 18 RBI, 21 runs scored, six doubles and six homers. Freshman second baseman Skylar Swanson is Tulsa's leading run-producer with 29 RBI, and also has four homers and four doubles.
In the circle, Junior
Jackie Lawrence is 13-4 with a 1.45 ERA and five shutouts, allowing 78 hits and 37 runs - 25 earned - with 48 walks and 118 strikeouts in 120.1 innings with a .181 opp. batting avg. Sophomore
Jordan Kinard is 10-6 with a 3.28 ERA with two shutouts, and has allowed 76 hits, 50 runs - 47 earned - walked 51 and struck out 110 in 100.1 innings. Senior
Katie Lee 6-5 with a 3.81 ERA in 14 appearances with 12 starts. She has allowed 80 hits, 42 runs - 37 earned - with 17 walks and 47 strikeouts in 68.0 innings.
UTEP is led in hitting by catcher Camilla Carrera, who has a .430 batting average (64-for-149) with 37 RBI, 42 runs scored, 17 doubles, one triple, 12 homers, a .799 slugging percentage and a .514 on-base percentage. Left fielder Chelsea Troupe hits .413 (57-for-138) with 37 runs scored, eight homers, 14 doubles and 30 RBI. The Miner pitching staff is led by Staci Townsend, who sports a 15-14 record in 40 appearances with 31 starts, and has a 3.20 ERA, allowing 207 hits, 121 runs, 93 of which are earned, 70 walks and has struck out 198 in 203.2 innings. Kelly Curran has a 8-7 record in 26 appearances and 14 starts, with a 5.55 ERA, allowing 142 hits, 101 runs, 74 of which are earned, 62 walks and 60 strikeouts in 93.1 innings.
Tulsa and UTEP have played 16 times; Tulsa leads, 13-3. The series dates to 2004, and the two schools met for two years in the Western Athletic Conference before both moved to Conference USA in 2006. The Golden Hurricane swept the season series at home last year before UTEP defeated TU in the C-USA tournament. TU won two of three meetings in 2007 and one of two in 2006. The Hurricane won the first seven meetings of the series, sweeping the games in 2006 and 2007. Tulsa is 8-1 against UTEP at home, 5-1 in El Paso, and 0-1 at neutral sites.
Tickets for Tulsa softball home 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.
