Feb. 24, 2008

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -

Memphis (1-2)	001 020 001 - 4 8 1
Air Force (0-3)	000 030 000 - 3 7 3

Memphis 4, Air Force 3

For the third straight game, Memphis pitching dominated its opponent as starter Philip Utley, middle reliever Marcus Barnes and closer Matt Yokley combined for 10 strike outs to lead the Tigers to their first win of the season in a 4-3 decision over the Air Force Academy on Sunday afternoon.

Making his collegiate debut, Barnes (1-0) was nearly flawless in two innings to pick up his first collegiate victory. With the scored tied at 3-3, the Murfreesboro, Tenn., native took the mound and proceeded to strikeout five over the next two innings. He then handed the ball over to Yokley and the Tigers' all-time saves leader came through again, fanning the final two batters in a perfect ninth to earn his program-record 12 career save.

Starter Philip Utley, who made his first appearance since March 2, 2007, was also solid. He scattered seven hits and struck out three in six innings. He faced just two batters over the minimum through four innings and, at one point, retired eight straight Falcons.

The Tigers benefitted from three Air Force miscues in the game, but none more helpful than the ninth inning error that put the U of M on top 4-3. Falcons reliever Michael Ruvolo (0-1) sat down Chad Zurcher to open the inning and Tyler Huelsing reached on an error, but was erased when he was caught attempting to steal second. With two outs, Ruvolo plunked Bowen, who promptly swiped second. Trey Wiedman then hit a routine groundball to shortstop and K.J. Randhawa fielded it cleanly, but his throw to first sailed high and into the Memphis dugout, allowing Bowen to score the eventual game-winning run.

Memphis took a 1-0 lead in the third inning after senior catcher Chris Kirkland drew a walk to lead off the frame. After a groundball out by Zurcher moved him to second, junior Brett Bowen came up with the club's first clutch hit of the year, banging an RBI-double off the centerfield wall.

The Tigers extended the lead to 3-0 with two scores in the fifth when freshman first baseman Jason Miller drilled his first collegiate hit into rightfield for a single and Kirkland followed with another single to right. With no outs, Zurcher drew a walk to load the bases and Huelsing followed with an RBI-free pass to plate Miller and make it 2-0. Kirkland then took advantage of an Air Force wild pitch for a three-run Tiger cushion.

The lead was short-lived as Air Force bounced right back to tie the contest with three tallies in its next at-bat. Utley, who had cruised into the fifth, ran into trouble, giving up a pair of singles to Matt Alexander and Parker Mayo. That set up a clutch two-out, two-run triple off the bat of Nathan Carter. With Memphis ahead by one run and Carter on third, Randhawa knotted the ballgame at three-all with a single to right.

Bowen was the lone Tiger with multiple hits, while Huelsing extended his hit streak to six games dating back to the end of 2007. Memphis's lineup that had struck out a combined 26 times in the previous two games, showed that it was acclimating to pitching, striking out just seven times. Randhawa led AF with a 2-for-3 effort.

Memphis will return to action on Tues., Feb. 26, when it plays host to UT-Martin in its official home opener. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at "The Nat". Listen as "The Voice" of Tiger Baseball, Jeff Brightwell brings the live play-by-play action on WUMR FM 91.7.