The University of Memphis baseball and softball teams were both in action over the weekend. The baseball team had a rough start for their season series opener finishing 1-2 against Indiana. While on the other hand, the Lady Tigers dominated in the Sunshine State at the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational.
Tigers baseball started opening day with a loss in the first game Saturday, with IU beating them 6-1. Both the Tigers and the Indiana Hoosiers started the game with a four-inning pitcher’s duel, but in the fifth, the Hoosiers scored four runs and never looked back.
Memphis first run of the season did not come until the bottom of the eighth inning when Jason Santana RBI single led to Kyle Ouellette scoring, but the bid for a comeback came up short.
In the night game, the Tigers’ bat came alive as they got the 6-3 win against Indiana. Freshman Hunter Goodman led the charge in this game. He went 3-4 at the plate with three doubles and four RBIs. Tigers’ pitchers Alex Hicks and Danny Denz combined for 13 strikeouts in the second game.
“Alex did a phenomenal job denying the leadoff man, so it made them play from behind in the second game,” head coach Daron Schoenrock said.
All the momentum from Saturday night did not translate Sunday in the rubber match. The Tigers got shutout the next day as Indiana dominated them from start to finish, winning 6-0.
“We didn’t grab the RBI moments today, and that was the difference,” Schoenrock said.
The Hoosiers grabbed an early lead off the first pitch with a home run. The Tigers had chances to take the lead in the fourth but left two runners stranded. The Hoosiers extended the lead in the sixth and eight innings to close out the game.
Memphis softball dominated in the Sunshine State
The UofM softball team put on a show at the FGCU Invitational starting the weekend on Friday by winning 4-0 against the team who beat them twice last week, the FIU Panthers.
The stars of Friday’s game were Mariah Nichols and shortstop Baylee Smith. Nichols pitched a shutout, allowing only three runs and five strikeouts in the contest. The offense came from Smith as she drove in a team-high three runs.
“I’m not just proud of the win, but the way we won,” Head coach Natalie Poole said.
The hot streak continued into Saturday when the Tigers posted two more shutouts against FIU and Lamar.
The Tigers defeated the Panthers 6-0. They jumped right out the gate with a 4-0 lead through three innings. Smith continued to dominate the weekend. Against the Panthers. She was one home run away from completing the cycle and going 3-3 with one run and two RBIs.
In the game against Lamar, The Tigers won, 3-0. All three runs came in the third and fourth inning in the ball game. Madalyn Alexander got the start at the circle, and she allowed only one hit against the Cardinals through five innings.
On Sunday, the Lady Tigers suffered a setback against the tournament’s host-team Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.
The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the second and continued to lead throughout the rest of the game. Smith led the offense again for the Tigers with a 2-3 effort at the plate. She finished the weekend with 8-10 at the plate and adding six RBIs, five extra-base hits and two runs scored.
Tiger baseball looks to bounce back from the rough start of the season with a home game Wednesday against Murray State (0-3) and another weekend series against Southern Illinois (1-2).
The softball team has another tournament this weekend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They will see some very talented teams in the boot as they play CSUN (3-5) and No. 7 LSU (9-2) on Friday and compete against Stanford (6-2) and Michigan (4-5) on Saturday.
