TULSA, Okla. -- The Wichita State softball team (31-25) took game one of Wednesday's doubleheader at Tulsa (31-22) but the Golden Hurricane responded in game two to split the pair of games at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Game One: Shockers 5, Tulsa 2
Tulsa starter Jackie Lawrence (12-9) struggled with control early on, issuing a leadoff walk to Katie McGeeney before the senior moved to second on a passed ball. Britnee Barnett reached on an infield single and then stole second to give the Shockers runners at second and third with one out, but WSU could not capitalize, as Cynthia Verhulst went down looking before catcher Heather Gerritse ended the first on a ground out, stranding two with no score.

Senior starter Ashly Bright (20-15) got out of a one-out bases loaded jam in the first, fending off Tulsa's first threat to score with a pair of strikeouts to keep the game scoreless after one.

WSU put up the first run of the day in the second after Jamie Hull drew a leadoff walk and made a heads up play to score from second on a two-out infield single by Kiersten Dixon that gave the Shockers a 1-0 lead.

The Shocker offense kept up the attack in the third with back-to-back singles by Barnett and Verhulst to put runners on the corners with one out. It resulted in two more WSU runs a batter later when Gerritse put down a squeeze bunt to score Barnett, but Tulsa first baseman Sara Dyer made a bad throw that got past catcher Christian Timmons, allowing the senior to give the Shockers a 2-0 lead. A bad throw by center fielder Vanessa Vice to third to get Caley Roberts at third went wide, allowing Roberts, pinch-running for Verhulst to score an unearned run to give Wichita State a 3-0 edge

An RBI single by Gerritse in the fifth gave the Shockers a 4-0 advantage. Bright retired eight straight before giving up a one-out single to Stephanie Chomicki in the fifth, and Tulsa cut the lead in half one batter later as leadoff hitter Lindsay Lauren blasted a pitch over the fence in right center, slicing the WSU lead to 4-2 after five.

A blooping RBI single by Barnett down the right line plated WSU's fifth run of the day in the seventh, scoring Kara L'Huillier from second after the sophomore reached on an error to lead off the inning.

Tulsa rallied in the seventh with a one-out single by Christian Timmons, but Bright got Dyer to pop up to end the game, making the catch after the ball bounced off her glove twice on a tricky fly ball near home plate due to the heavy winds.

Lawrence , pitching 5.0 innings, giving up four runs on five hits while walking five and striking out four. Katie Lee worked the final 2.0 innings for Tulsa giving up one run on two hits while striking out three.

Bright picked up the win, her 20th of the season, working all seven innings with six hits and two runs while walking two and striking out nine. Britnee Barnett finished the game 3-for-3 at the plate, including an RBI and a run scored. Heather Gerritse went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI as well.

 

Game Two: Tulsa 5, Shockers 2
Tulsa got on the board quickly in game two, as Timmons took a pitch from Shocker starter Brianna Smet to the center field fence, before bouncing off centerfielder Kiersten Dixon's glove at the wall for the home run.

Smet got out of trouble in the second with runners on first and second with a pair of fielders choice plays at third, keeping Tulsa off the board in the second, and the Shockers within striking distance down 1-0 through two.

WSU used a two-out rally in the fourth to load the bases after singles by Barnett and Gerrtise and Verhulst taking a pitch to the side, but Tulsa starter Jordan Kinard (13-5) got Lauren Coleman to strike out swinging to end the Shocker threat.

Jamie Stanclift ripped her first home run of the season in the fifth, tying the game 1-1, on a ball that bounced out of the yard off the top of the fence in left centerfield.

Stanclift's run brought on Jamie Hull from the bullpen, ending Smet's day with one run on five hits in four innings of work.

WSU took its first lead of the game in the sixth, as Verhulst led the inning of with a walk, and turned baserunning duties over to Caley Roberts who scored on a pair of errors to give the Shockers a 2-1 edge.

Tulsa tied the game on a RBI double by leadoff hitter Lauren Lindsay, bringing home Stephanie Chomicki to even the score 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth. After Hull walked Timmons, Sara Dyer hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning, but the damage was done sending the tied game to the seventh.

Wichita State sent the top of the order to the plate in the seventh, but left Barnett in scoring position after a two-out double, as Verhulst went down on strikes to end the Shocker seventh and the threat.

Vanessa Vice drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the frame and moved to second on a flaring single by Kailey Yarmer before Jackie Lawrence won the game with a walkoff three-run shot over the fence in center to salvage a split in the series.

Hull took the loss for the Shockers, moving to 0-2 on the season. The freshman worked the final 2.1 innings, giving up three hits and four runs while walking three and striking out one. Kinard got the win for Tulsa, working all seven innings, surrendering two runs on four hits while walking four and striking out 12.