Golden Hurricane falls to Wichita State in conference tournament quarterfinals

WICHITA, Kan. — In a back-and-forth affair with four lead changes, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane softball team came up short in an 11-9 loss to Wichita State in the quarterfinal round of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship on Thursday afternoon.

Tulsa finishes the season 30-23. Wichita State improved to 27-21.

The Hurricane scored six runs in the fifth inning to go up four on the tournament’s hosts, but Wichita State countered with a seven-run bottom frame to snatch the lead back. Despite a resilient effort that saw Tulsa outhit the Shockers 11-8, TU could not overcome the late setback.

Maura Moore got the start after her effort on Thursday. She pitched an inning and allowed three runs on three hits with a strikeout. Anneca Anderson took over in relief and tossed the next three innings. She was tagged for a trio of runs, two earned, but allowed only two hits and struck out a pair. Anderson walked five in that time frame.

Kylee Nash (9-6) came on in the fifth and was tagged with the loss. She allowed five runs, but none were earned as a pair of errors came back to haunt the Golden Hurricane. Alexa Hopkins pitched the final 1.2 innings, striking out two and giving up just one hit.

At the plate, five different Hurricane picked up RBI. Haley Morgan homered and drove in two. She walked three times, stole two bags and scored twice. Maci Cole also had a long ball late to cut into the deficit. The catcher finished with a pair of hits and scored twice. Imani Edwards had two hits and drove in a run. Kailyn Bearpaw plated two with a fifth inning single and had two hits. Anderson pitched and hit, driving in two after smashing a double off the wall in center.