Coming off a disappointing home loss to the Belmont Bruins, the Memphis Tigers baseball team will hope to bounce back when they host the University of South Florida Bulls this weekend.
Memphis baseball coach Daron Schoenrock said while they’re playing a very good USF team, the challenge will be to fit all three games in this weekend due to potential weather conflicts.
“We’ll try and find a way to get three games in,” Schoenrock said. “That’s just part of what you go through in conference play, and the conference gives you some leeway when it comes to start times. We have to communicate with them and we’ll look hourly and see what’ll unfold over the three days.”
The Bulls (25-12-1, 7-2 American Athletic Conference) will definitely provide a tough challenge for the Tigers (23-11, 5-4 AAC) as USF is currently the no. 17 ranked baseball team in the country, and are currently top of the AAC.
However, Memphis has proven this season they can take care of business against the best the AAC has to offer when the situation provides itself.
When the then no. 20 University of Houston Cougars came to Memphis for a three-game series from April 2-4, the Tigers dropped the first game to the Cougars. But Memphis came back and won the last two games and the series, one win being a dominant 14-6 victory.
One of the biggest reasons for the Tigers’ success this season has simply been their ability to finish off games. Memphis is an outstanding 19-0 when leading after the eighth inning.
To get into those positions, a team has to be able to hit well, play solid defense and have good, solid pitching, and the 2015 Tigers baseball team checks the box off on all three of those important categories.
Memphis as a team is batting an impressive .283 this season, and have three players hitting above or near .350.
Senior Kane Barrow has been leading by example as he’s the top hitter on the team with an incredible .368 average this season. He’s second on the team in RBIs (23) and slugging average (.515).
The Louisville National Slugger of the Week Tucker Tubbs has been on a tear in the last couple of weeks. He leads the team with 10 home runs, six of which came in an incredible five game stretch that saw him named the AAC Hitter of the Week on Monday.
Sophomore Darien Tubbs is third on the team with a .349 average, and has been one of the biggest surprises this season. The Tigers will be counting on Darien to continue his strong play for the remainder of the season.
Memphis’ defense and pitching have combined to allow only a .233 batting average to opposing teams in 2015. Redshirt senior Alex Gunn currently posts a team-high 1.97 ERA, and is 4-1 in six starts.
The Tigers and Bulls will begin their three-game series with a doubleheader on Friday at FedExPark at 2 p.m., weather permitting. The final game of the series is TBD.
Memphis sophomore Darien Tubbs is third on the Tigers in batting average (.349), and has 15 RBIs in 34 games this season. Photo by David Minkin
