The University of Memphis softball team (23-18, 4-5 AAC) has 13 games left in the regular season. The Tigers are on a slightly better pace than last season when they were 21-20.
Nine of the remaining 13 games will be against will be against conference opponents — South Florida, Houston and Connecticut. The Tigers were 4-5 in their first nine conference games last season, which is tied with the current record.
At the beginning of the season, the Tigers were picked to finish fifth in the American Athletic Conference. They are currently third behind Tulsa and Houston.
“Offensively we’re definitely getting better,” Coach Natalie Poole said. “Actually, we are hitting better in conference now than we are overall ... traditionally in the past our numbers have tapered off whenever we move into conference.”
This season the Tigers have only won two games where they have batted under .200. Memphis’ team batting average is .297 overall and .355 in conference. Their combined average during wins is .346.
The Tigers are also pitching better during conference play this season.
“Our numbers in conference from the pitching perspective are way better than what we have had in the past,” Poole said. The Tigers’ pitchers have a combined ERA of 2.89 this season and 2.57 in conference.
The Tigers are stealing bases at a high rate this season. They have stolen 96 bases so far, better than the 75 they stole in their first 41 games last year. Lindsay Crowdus leads the team with 26 stolen bases this year.
Memphis’ team stats are showing improvements from a year ago, and Poole attributes that to the team’s mindset.
“Our goal this season was to come out and be a better team — to show better, tougher tendencies,” Poole said. “I think all teams struggle with that in certain moments. I think we come out of it a little bit better and we don’t stay in that place.”
“It feels like a totally different team this year than past years,” junior Kyler Trosclair said.
The team has set a goal to win the AAC and play post season. Last year, the Tigers finished the season 5-11 — 3-10 in conference play. They will have to finish better this season to reach their goal.
“One of our team goals was to compete because we struggled with that last year,” Crowdus said. “We came out here just to play rather than to compete and win and that has been a goal that we have met from the get-go.”
Poole said her team has to improve playing consistently to become a great team. The team has had trouble at times closing out series, especially in AAC matchups.
“I think we show great tendencies that we have the ability to do some special things, Poole said. “What I would like to see is us just be able to do that a little bit more day in and day out. I think that’s what separates the mass and those special teams, and we want to be one of those special teams.”
Molly Smith delivers the ball to the plate. The senior leads the Tigers in ERA at 1.98 and has recorded 18 strikeouts this season.
