While the United States was dropping bombs on Iraq thousands of miles away, The University of Memphis Tigers baseball team was fighting to come from a five run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning against the ninth ranked team in the nation.
On the end of a lack luster spring break that saw Memphis go 2-6, the Tigers pulled out all the stops after trailing 7-0 going into the eighth inning versus the Mississippi State Bulldogs in front of 2,810 in AutoZone Park.
Memphis scored two runs in the eighth, five in the ninth, and the solo homerun by Ryan Martin to win in the tenth.
“Getting down seven runs in the first couple innings and falling behind again, which we’ve been doing a lot lately,” Memphis head coach Dave Anderson said, “and then it just comes to a matter of trying to get back in the ball game.”
The pitching staff had a lot to do with the last at bat victory, allowing only one hit and no runs in the last eight innings of the game.
“The big thing is that the guys you bring in don’t allow any runs,” Anderson said. “That allows you the opportunity to get back in the game.”
With two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth, junior centerfielder Kevin House continued his clutch play. Earlier House started the Tiger scoring in the eighth inning with a single that drove in Seth Johnson.
The very next inning, House stepped up to the plate and delivered the two runs that tied the score at seven against the Bulldogs.
“ When I got up to the plate, I was like, ‘I’m going to have to do something big,’” House said.
Martin said his game-winning homer wouldn’t have been possible without the timely hitting of House.
“Kevin House had a great two out hit. That was the real key,” pinch hitter Martin said.
In the top of the tenth inning, Tiger pitcher Daniel de Armas (1-0) kept the Bulldogs scoreless to make it easier for his teammates to clinch the win.
In the bottom of the tenth, with one out, it was Martin that served up a solo homerun off an inside fastball for the last minute, come-from-behind win.
“I was down 0-2 and I was just trying to make contact,” Martin said. “He left me a good pitch to hit.”
Anderson was pleased with Martin’s performance.
“He’s a guy that’s got a lot of power. He showed us last year when he hit some homeruns for us,” Anderson said.
Martin does not take all the credit, though.
“I think the major key today was how we all stuck together in the ninth inning,” he said. “I mean, five runs against the number nine team in the nation, that’s pretty clutch right there.”
This win will weigh heavily on the Tigers as they are headed into conference play against Tulane in New Orleans this weekend.
“It is definitely some momentum to go into conference games against Tulane,” Martin said.
What the Tigers didn’t know while they were scoring five runs in the ninth inning, was that President George W. Bush was addressing the nation and declaring war on Iraq.
Anderson said he and his team knew what was inevitable, but will continue to play, and hopefully win.
“We’re like everyone else, we’re going to be watching TV and thinking about the troops over there,” Anderson said.
This win may have been a tremendous victory for the Tigers, but the players are realistic about what else is going on in the world.
“Baseball is just a game, you know,” House said. “Just being on the field, I try to take my mind off that stuff, but afterwards, you go back to reality.”
