How many students can say that they got the chance to visit Hawaii near the start of the spring semester?
Well Memphis’ softball team got a chance to start their season off in beautiful weather as they were one of the teams to participate in the Paradise Classic. Other teams included Hawai’i, Northern Colorado and Iowa State.
Last season, they started their season off with the FIU Invitational where they won two out of their first five games. In new surroundings, Memphis was hoping to get off to a better start in 2020.
They started off their season with an impressive 3-1 record, which helped them to cement their spot in the Championship game against Iowa State. Unfortunately, they came up short and they lost the game 4-2.
Despite the loss, all hope hasn’t been lost on the Tigers because they had multiple players produce have good performances. Their best collective performance came on February 7 when they defeated Hawai’ 15-3.
The team collectively had 10 hits with CF Delaney Smith, C Brady Rowland and 1B Sam Ibison each led the team with two hits each.
The Tigers’ runs came in bunches as well, where in the third and fifth innings they scored four runs in each and closed out the seventh inning with seven runs.
Their pitching was also good throughout the game as they allowed just three runs on eight hits, struck out five batters and walked just one batter.
Their high scoring continued on to February 8 when they defeated Northern Colorado 8-3. 3B Sara Ann Davidson led the team with three hits and two RBIs, four other players had two hits of their own.
Sadly, their least productive scoring output game in the biggest game of the of the tournament in their championship defeat.
The Tigers got their first and only points in the first inning where they scored two runs on a Brady Rowland single. From then on, they were blanketed and had only one hit in the following six innings.
Though the loss was rough, the Tigers’ still have a 3-2 record and look to have a bright season ahead. They hit well and Davidson leads the team with a .455 batting average. Ibsin leads the team with eight hits, a high mark for just five games.
Not only are the veterans on the team producing, but they have freshmen who have been playing well too. Rowland and Meagan Chism have been impactful in their first games as Tigers and they’ve combined for 10 hits and three doubles.
The Tigers will be traveling to Fort Myers, Florida for their next three-day tournament to participate in the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational. They will be one of five teams that’ll be participating in the tournament.
After that, they’ll be heading to Alabama before they’re able to finally play in Memphis in the Blues City Classic. That tournament will begin February 28 at 2:00 p.m. where they’ll be playing against Northern Illinois.
