Following a 2-2 week in which the Tigers picked up two victories over American Athletic Conference foe East Carolina, Memphis pitcher Molly Smith was named to the conference Honor Roll on Tuesday.
Smith pitched in all four games for Memphis last week, earning wins in two complete game outings against East Carolina, and receiving two losses while pitching 3 1/3 innings against Central Arkansas and just 2/3 of an inning in relief vs. ECU. Overall, Smith struck out 18 batters and held an ERA of 2.72 for the week.
Smith has been the star pitcher of a 20-20 Memphis softball team that has been red hot over the last month. The Tigers started the year a dreadful 1-8, but were quickly able to turn their season around. Since March 8, Memphis has been 13-6 and 4-2 in conference play.
Just a sophomore, Smith has been Memphis’ best pitcher this season, with an overall record of 8-9 and an ERA of 2.49 in 106 2/3 innings pitched. This is the third time this season that Smith has been named to the AAC Honor Roll.
Smith and the Tigers return to American Athletic Conference play this weekend, when they face their toughest conference test so far in South Florida. USF is ranked No. 22 in both the RPI rankings and the ESPN.com poll, and has a 36-10 overall record (8-1 against conference opponents.
First pitch for the opening game between Memphis and USF is set for 5 p.m. Friday.
