The Tigers will play four games at the Tiger Softball Complex this weekend for the Blues City Classic. The Tigers will look to improve their 7-5 recording their fourth consecutive weekend of games.
This is the first of three tournaments the Tigers will play at home.
“We are looking forward to getting home for the next three weeks and are excited to put an even better team on the field for out crowd,” head coach Natalie Poole said in a press release last weekend.
Areas of Improvement
Poole said she has already seen players improve three weeks into games.
While Memphis led 3-1 in the fourth inning in the game against University of Louisiana at Lafayette, UL Lafayette scored two runs and the game went onto 11 innings. Memphis struggled to score after the fourth inning.
Memphis was unable to stop the Cajuns in the top of the 11th. The Ragin’ Cajuns got three runs on four hits. The fifth and sixth runs were unearned. The Tigers were unable to score in the bottom of the 11th in their final game of last weekend’s tournament.
A look at the opponents
Fort Wayne
The Madstons are 6-9 this season. They have five batters that have had at least 10 hits this season. Pitcher Bailey Benefiel has led the team to five of their six wins and has a 0.97 ERA.
Bradley University
The Warhawks have a 4-6 record. Their catcher, sophomore Kealia Wysocki, leads the team with two home runs.
University of Louisiana Monroe
The Warhawks are coming to Memphis with an 8-5 record. Outfielder Sydney McKay leads the team with 23 hits this season.
The Warhawks have stolen 27 bases this season. Memphis has only allowed nine stolen bases this season.
University of Missouri Kansas CIty
UMKC is 3-7 this season. Their pitcher, Maegan Rollow has a 400 batting average and Kelsey Goodwin has 10 RBIs.
Pitcher Olivia Fuehler has contributed to the success of the Kangaroos this season. She has pitched in eight games and has allowed two home runs.
Tigers to Watch
Outfielder Delaney Smith
Smith has had 11 of the 25 steals the Tigers have made. This season during her 33 at bats, she has nine runs and eight hits. One hit was a triple. She has an RBI of 2.
Pitcher Molly Smith
The American Athletic Conference has already acknowledged senior Molly Smith three times this season.
Last weekends win over UMBC was a no-hitter. She allowed one walk and one hit by pitch in the game. This the first no-hitter Memphis has played since 2012.
“I am proud of Molly’s game on the mound and thought the entire weekend,” Poole said.
Smith has pitched 47 strikeouts in six games. She has 182 at bats this season, and only 11 runs have been allowed. Six runs were earned.
Another strong performance from Smith could help the Tigers win this weekend.
Molly Smith winds up and starts her delivery to the plate. The senior pitcher has 1.49 ERA this season and has pitched 169 strikeouts.
Catcher Regan Hadley talks to pitcher Molly Smith. Smith has a 1.49 ERA this season and has pitched 169 strikeouts to Hadley.
