WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State dropped the series finale with Tulsa on Sunday, falling 14-5 at Wilkins Stadium.
Wichita State (18-14, 9-6) has now dropped back-to-back conference series for the first time since 2019.
Addison Barnard and
Krystin Nelson combined to drive in all five of Wichita State's runs. Barnard homered twice to go with three RBI, moving her career total to 83 and into a tie for 13th on the NCAA all-time home run list. Nelson was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
Bailey Urban broke out of a slump, going 3-for-4.
Wichita State threw three pitchers on the day, and all three struggled.
Chloe Barber (5-4) earned the start, but made it only 2.1 innings, allowing four runs on three hits and five walks.
Lauren Howell surrendered three runs on four hits and a walk in just 1.2 innings.
Alison Cooper finished the final 3.0 innings. Tulsa knocked Cooper around for seven runs, three unearned, on seven hits and three more walks. In total, Wichita State issued nine free passes on the day.
The bottom of the order for Wichita State got the scoring started in the second inning.
Caroline Tallent led off with her eighth hit by pitch of the season and then moved to second on a
Lainee Brown sac bunt. A
Siera Hoekstra single put runners on the corners for Nelson who immediately turned them into runs. Nelson roped a double down the right field line, scoring both runs.
Tulsa had a response in the top of the third. A leadoff walk kickstarted a four-run frame for the Golden Hurricane. A bloop RBI double cut the Shockers' lead to 2-1. Two batters later, a three-run home run put the Hurricane on top, 4-2.
Barnard's leadoff solo homer in the home half of the third briefly cut the deficit to 4-3, only to see Tulsa come right back with a two-run homer in the fourth and a solo shot in the fifth to make it 7-3.
The Hurricane added another run in the sixth, making it 8-3 for the visitors.
Tulsa added six more in the top of the seventh and Barnard hit her second home run in the bottom half to finish the game.
Up Next
Wichita State welcomes top-ranked Oklahoma to Wilkins Stadium on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. first pitch on ESPN+.
