Tulsa Softball Beats Oklahoma in Pitchers Duel

Aimee Creger and Keilani Ricketts combined to allow only five hits.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:17 pm

By: News On 6

Tulsa Softball Beats Oklahoma in Pitchers Duel

Originally Published: Mar 23, 2011 8:32 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Okla. – Aimee Creger and Keilani Ricketts battled through a pitchers duel, but Creger and the Tulsa softball team took down Oklahoma 1-0 Wednesday.

Creger and Ricketts both had outstanding days. They both pitched complete games and gave up a total of just five hits. Unfortunately for Ricketts, she allowed the game’s only extra-base hit, and it turned out to be a big one.

Kelly Chapman led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a double to the gap in right center field. Caitlin Everett then advanced her with a sacrifice bunt to give Tulsa (22-7) a runner on third base with only one out. Chapman scored on a wild pitch in the next at-bat, and that was all Creger needed.

Creger dominated the OU (22-8) hitters from the first pitch. She struck out the first five batters she faced and retired the first 11 consecutive batters. She had a no-hitter after five innings until OU delivered two hits in the sixth.

Those two hits gave the Sooners their only true scoring threat of the night. Chana’e Jones and Brianna Turang delivered single, and Turang stole a base to put runners on second and third with two outs. But Brittany Williams flew out to center to end the threat.

Tulsa now has won nine straight games and 13 of its last 14. The Hurricane has not allowed more than three runs in any of those contests.

Wednesday marked the third time this season that OU has been shut out, but was the first since Feb. 25 against UCLA. Since that loss, the Sooners had won 15 of their last 17 games.

The win ended Tulsa’s nine-game home stand, and the Golden Hurricane will go on the road to face East Carolina in a three-game series beginning at noon Saturday. Oklahoma will return to Norman to host Nebraska at 2 p.m. Saturday.