The Memphis Tigers (12-22, 2-10) were back on the diamond over the weekend, welcoming American Athletic Conference foe Cincinnati (16-17, 5-7) to FedExPark for a four-game series.
The series kicked off with a doubleheader on Friday. Despite the latest dominant day from preseason All-American catcher Hunter Goodman, who homered four times and drove in 7 RBI combined in two games, the Bearcats took the first two wins, 10-6 and 11-3.
Saturday’s game saw Memphis rally from down four to pick up its second conference win of the season, 7-5, behind an all-around team effort that saw five different Tigers score on the day. The win came at a good time for a team that has had some unfortunate breaks over the last couple weeks.
The Bearcats’ bats got going Sunday, hammering in a pair of two-run homers. While the Tigers had their chances, the visitors picked up an 8-4 victory to secure their third win in four tries at FedexPark.
“That series was just a tough one,” senior pitcher Chris Durham said. “We dropped the doubleheader on Friday, came back out on Saturday and got down 4-1, then we had a big sixth inning and never looked back. Sunday, we fell behind early and just weren’t able to recover.”
On tap next for Memphis is another home series, this time with Tulane (17-13, 6-1). The last time they matched up with the Green Wave, a road series in which the Tigers dropped three out of four, Memphis got off to a good start, winning the first before ultimately losing the next three. After pinning the only league loss on the Green Wave’s record thus far, there is no doubt that the Tigers will be eager to try to get some of those wins back on their home field.
“We have a good Tulane team coming here this upcoming weekend,” Durham said. “We already traveled down there a couple weeks ago, and although it did not go as planned, we were right there with them every game. We have a good plan for them having already played once this year. I feel pretty confident in the team these next few weeks.”
Baseball, like any other sport, is a game of runs. At any given time, any given team can get hot and accomplish great things. That is the beauty of sport. While this team may not have gotten off to the start it was hoping for in league play, everything is still right there in front of them. As they enter the bulk of AAC play, the time to buckle down is now. With five series against conference opponents left on the schedule, they still have time to correct course and get back into the mix.
“The goal is to win the conference tournament and then go to a regional,” Durham said. “We just have to keep taking it day by day and keep grinding.”
Memphis will kick off its four-game series vs the Green Wave with a doubleheader on Friday. First pitch at FedExPark is set for 1p.m.
After a difficult series against the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Tigers will try to bounce back against the Tulane Green Wave Friday.
