FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2018

Perfect record against top seeds at American Athletic Conference Championship earns Tulsa’s Emily Watson USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week honors

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tulsa’s Emily Watson (Edmond, Okla.) went the distance for her team in the circle, compiling a perfect 3-0 record at the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship over the weekend to earn the Week 14 USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week, USA Softball announced today. Pitching every inning for the Golden Hurricane, Watson dished out a 0.33 ERA with a 3-0 record and was named the AAC Championship Most Outstanding Player for her efforts.

"I'm very honored and humbled to receive this award,” said Watson. “Without my teammates and coaches, this wouldn't be possible. I'm fortunate to have them behind me and always supporting me and we're all just excited to represent Tulsa and The American this weekend at our regional."

Watson started the AAC tournament by tying a tournament record with 13 strikeouts in a 3-1 defeat of the No. 3 seed Wichita State. Watson followed by setting a tournament single-game mark by fanning 15 batters in a 7-3, semifinal win over No. 2 seed Houston. In the Championship Game against No. 1 seed South Florida, Watson tacked on eight more strikeouts to her weekend totals while allowing just three hits in the 4-1 win.

"I'm very happy for Emily to receive this well-deserved honor,” said Tulsa Head Coach, John Bargfeldt. “She would be the first to tell you that her teammates had her back and played well defensively behind her. I can't imagine there is a coach in the country who wouldn't want a pitcher and competitor like Emily. She is someone who wants the ball for all the right reasons, to help her team compete at the highest level."

On the week, Watson fanned 36 batters, an AAC Championship record, and allowed just one earned run and 13 hits in 21 innings in the circle. Watson earned the AAC Championship Most Outstanding Player accolade for the second-consecutive season and closed her career in the AAC Championship with a perfect 6-0 record, a 0.17 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 42 innings of work.

This marks the first USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week honor for Watson and the first for an athlete from Tulsa since 2014 when Aimee Creger earned the accolade in Week 2 of the season.

2018 USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week
Week 1 (Feb. 8-11): Vanessa Shippy – Oklahoma State – Senior – Infield – Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Week 2 (Feb. 12-18): Kylee Hanson – Florida State – RS Senior – Pitcher – Jupiter, Fla.
Co-Week 3 (Feb. 19-25): Kelly Barnhill – Florida – Junior – Pitcher – Marietta, Ga.
Co-Week 3 (Feb. 19-25): Rachel Garcia – UCLA – RS Sophomore – Pitcher – Palmdale, Calif.
Week 4 (Feb. 26-March 4): Jessica Hartwell – Texas Tech – Junior – Infield – Galt, Calif.
Week 5 (March 5-11): Alexis Osorio – Alabama – Senior – Pitcher – Riverside, Calif.
Week 6 (March 12-18): Madison Aurin – San Jose State – Junior – Pitcher/IF – Bakersfield, Calif.
Week 7 (March 19-25): Giselle “G” Juarez – Arizona State – Sophomore – Pitcher – Glendale, Ariz.
Week 8 (March 26-April 1): Paige Parker – Oklahoma – Senior – Pitcher – Independence, Mo.
Week 9 (April 2-8): Sydney Sherrill – Florida State – Freshman – Infield – Moore, Okla.
Week 10 (April 9-15): Rachel Garcia – UCLA – RS Sophomore – Pitcher – Palmdale, Calif.
Week 11 (April 16-22): Holly Speers – Kent State – Senior – Infielder – Surrey, B.C.
Week 12 (April 23-29): Megan Hensley – Louisville – Junior – Pitcher – Ashland, Ky.
Week 13 (April 30-May 6): Janine Petmecky – UNLV – Senior – P/OF – Riverside, Calif.
Week 14 (May 7-13): Emily Watson – Tulsa – Senior – Pitcher - Edmond, Okla.

About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 69 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.

As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit,www.USASoftball.com<http://www.usasoftball.com/>.

About the NCAA Women’s College World Series
USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium – OGE Energy Field serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 28th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and compete for a national championship. Last year, over 70,000 fans attended the WCWS. Be there to Share The Experience with softball fans from across the country May 31-June 5/6 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2018 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here<http://www.ncaa.com/tickets/softball/d1> to purchase your tickets and secure your championship experience!

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