March 30, 2001

Box Score

TAMPA - Redshirt-junior Jay Fik (CBHS) went 2-for-5 with two doubles and one RBI to help lead the University of Memphis Tiger baseball team to an 8-5 win over the Bulls of South Florida on Friday evening, to take the first game of a three game C-USA series. The win also snapped a five-game conference losing streak for the U of M.

Bill Edwards (2-1) (ECS) got his second win of the year and interestingly enough, both victories came during the U of M's only two C-USA victories. He went six full innings and allowed four earned off nine USF hits while striking out one.

USF (14-15, 5-2) actually outhit the Tigers (14-10, 2-5) 10-8 but committed two costly fielding errors, in the loss.

Layne Dawson got his second save after coming in for the final three innings of play and managed to shut down the Bulls, allowing only one earned run while fanning four. Barrett Smith (White Station HS) went 2-for-4 from the plate with a double and two runs scored.

The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second when Paul Reuer slapped a two-run triple down the leftfield line, scoring Josh Payne (Houston HS) and Kyle Scott (Germantown HS). The Bulls answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of that inning and closed the gap, 2-1. Memphis then countered with three runs in the third, two of which resulted from a fielding error committed by the third baseman off a slow chopper from Payne, increasing the lead 5-1.

USF staged a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth, capped with a Mike Eylward double into the gap in left-center which scored two runs and made the score 5-3. The Bulls went on to score another run in the sixth off a sacrifice-fly to right centerfield and South Florida crept closer, 5-4. Memphis gave themselves some breathing room in the top of the ninth after coming through for three runs, two of them coming off a a double by Payne into right-center which made the score 8-4 entering the bottom of the ninth. The Bulls went on to score one more run in the bottom of the ninth but it wasn't enough as the U of M grabbed their 14th win of the season.

John Gorham took the loss for the Bulls and went for six-and-two-thirds innings while giving up three earned runs off seven Tiger hits but did finish with six K's.

These same two teams will square off again tomorrow, March 31st at 12 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net Florida from Red McEwen Field.