Tulsa one win from Norman regional championship

With just one more victory, Tulsa softball will earn its first ever NCAA tournament regional championship.

The Golden Hurricane defeated North Dakota State, 2-1, in the winners bracket Saturday at Marita Hynes Field. Tulsa ace

carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth inning en route to allowing just three hits in addition to 10 strikeouts.

Tulsa — who defeated Arkansas, 5-4, on Friday — needed a comeback effort to advance. NDSU opened the sixth with a pair of doubles, left fielder

scoring second baseman to lead 1-0. Entering the seventh inning, NDSU pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic had given up just one hit.

But Tulsa surged in the final frame. Third baseman

reached base on a fielding error and was drove in three batters later with a single by her sister, left fielder for the tie. The winning run arrived shortly after when an NDSU throwing error advanced designated player across home plate.

“That’s a big win for them and you want them to celebrate,” Tulsa coach

said. “But I also wanted to let them know there is a time limit on it.”

Tulsa moves on to the regional final at 4 p.m. Sunday, its opponent yet to be determined.

NDSU’S ANDERSON HAS SMALL-TOWN ROOTS

The NDSU player who belted a two-run homer Friday against Oklahoma left-hander ending her scoreless streak at 38 consecutive innings, graduated from a southeastern Minnesota high school of just 120 students.

But don’t equate sophomore first baseman

small-town roots with small-time talent. She set seven different state records at Byron High School and batted .607 as a senior. Anderson received only nine total at bats as a true freshman in Fargo, N.D., but has flourished in year two with the program. Anderson’s long ball to stun the Sooners was her 13th home run on the year.

“There was a lot of learning and a lot of growing,” Anderson told the Inforum newspaper last week. “I’m from a small town and I didn’t play a lot of highlevel competition. It’s been a blast.”

Following the postponement of Friday’s game due to lightning and thunderstorms, NDSU defeated OU 3-2 in nine innings on Saturday.

TULSA APPRECIATES PLAYING CLOSE TO HOME

NDSU softball players and coaches traveled almost 800 miles by air to play in the NCAA softball tournament Norman regional. That had Watson and Meinen counting their blessings with so many familiar faces in the stands this weekend.

The drive from Tulsa’s campus to the OU Softball Complex is just about two hours.

“My parents, my aunt, and my sister are here, she painted her hair blue — my dog was painted blue,” Meinen said. “To be able to do that in front of my own family, especially not having to fly and deal with time change, it’s really nice.”

Tulsa’s roster includes four Oklahoma natives, like Watson, a former Deer Creek standout.

“My brother is graduating (Saturday),” Watson said. “We’ll have even more family here.”

FLORIDA 2, OKLAHOMA STATE 0

Overall No. 1 seed Florida held Oklahoma State to two hits as the Gators won 2-0 on Saturday to advance to Sunday’s regional championship.

The Gators scored both runs on single in the bottom of the fourth inning.

had the only hit for the Cowgirls. OSU starter pitched four innings in the loss.

OKLAHOMA STATE 5, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 0

pitched a two-hit shutout as OSU eliminated Florida International with a 5-0 victory Saturday.

gave the Cowgirls a lead with a RBI single in the third inning. The Cowgirls added three more runs in the fourth inning.

OSU will play Florida at 11 a.m. Sunday and, if OSU wins, in another game at 1:30 p.m. OSU needs to win both games to advance to the super regional.

FROM STAFF REPORTS