After being postponed because of rainy weather, the Tigers opened their season Saturday when they took on Western Kentucky at FedEx Field. The Tigers won two of the three games.
In the series opener, four Tigers combined to pitch a shutout as they defeated the Hilltoppers 4-0. Riley Cabral made his Memphis debut. The junior pitched 5 1/3 innings and struck out six batters. He allowed just five hits in the shutout performance.
Reliever Takoda Metoxen was the first man out of the bullpen for the Tigers. He entered the game with bases loaded and recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. Junior lefties Hunter Smith and Alex Smith finished off the game combined for three scoreless innings and seven strikeouts.
The Memphis pitching staff went on to combine for 15 strikeouts in the win. The last time the Tigers struck out 15 batters was in a 12-inning game against Cincinnati. Memphis had not struck out 15 in a nine-inning game since 2013 against Central Florida.
The two teams finished their series Sunday with a double-header. In the first matchup, the Hilltoppers won 3-1, despite a strong outing from Memphis Pitcher Jonathan Bowlan. The Arlington native made his first start of the season and allowed just one unearned run in 6 1/3 innings but was saddled with the loss.
In the second game, Memphis took an early lead, putting up four runs in the first inning. The Tigers sent 10 men to the plate and had four hits and three walks in the frame. They finished with a 7-1 victory behind a strong performance from starter Alex Hicks. The sophomore allowed only one earned run on three hits. He also struck out five batters and allowed no walks.
Sunday was the debut for redshirt freshman outfielder Evan Bell. He provided the Tigers’ only run in the early game, doubling and scoring on a wild pitch. In the series finale, Bell made his first career start and took advantage with a strong performance. He finished the day 3-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, including a two-run home run.
The Tigers will travel to Ole Miss Tuesday for their first road test of the season. The Rebels are No. 19 in USA TODAY Coaches’ Poll. The Tigers swept last season’s series with the Rebels, who were ranked eighth at the time. When the two teams matched up in February, they went back-and-forth through the early innings before the Tigers took hold of the game and rolled to a 9-6 win.
Players to Watch
Ole Miss reliever Dallas Woolfolk
Woolkfolk had a strong debut for the Rebels in their opening season series against Winthrop. In his first appearance of the series, the junior faced just three opposing batters, striking out two of them. He forced a pop out to earn his first save of the year. His appearance is a continuation of his 2017 season, where he recorded 12 saves, the second most for a single season in school history and one off the school record.
Memphis outfielder Tyler Webb
The senior is off to a productive start to his 2018 campaign. He was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll after his performance against Western Kentucky. Webb batted .500 with five hits, including three doubles over the weekend. The Texas native, also scored two runs. Webb was a preseason All-Conference selection after batting .305 with 65 hits, 16 doubles and 43 runs scored last season.
Jonathan Bowlan pitches against Ole Miss. The Arlington, Tennessee, native started the Tigers 2018 season opener against Western Kentucky.
Alex Hicks gets set to pitch. In the 2018 season opener, Hicks allowed only one run on three hits.
