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Baseball Begins Seven-Game Homestand versus UT-Martin on Tuesday
Feb. 25, 2008
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - University of Memphis baseball team will officially open the home portion of its schedule on Tues., Feb. 26 against UT-Martin. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. Tuesday's contest will also begin a seven-game home stretch for the Tigers. Playing as the visiting team, Memphis played its first game at Nat Buring Stadium as part of the 2008 Service Academies Classic against Air Force on Sunday. Following the UT-Martin game, Memphis will play host to Murray State on Wed., Feb. 27 before welcoming Ohio University in for a three-game set this weekend. Pitching Matchups Scouting the Tigers The 2008 team became the first team since the 2000 season to drop its first two games of the year after suffering a 1-0 setback by Ohio State. Pitching has been the highlight of the Memphis game so far this year, as seven pitchers have combined for a 1.67 ERA in 27.0 innings of work. Marcus Barnes had the most impressive outing of the year on Sunday, striking out five in just two innings. Juniors Scott McGregor and Will Hudgens were strong in their respective appearances. McGregor was a hard-luck loser in the season-opener vs. Seton Hall, striking out five and giving up just two unearned tallies, while Hudgens held Ohio State scoreless and fanned three in four innings. Marc Ashley (1.80 ERA), the starter for the Ohio State game, held the Buckeyes to one run in five innings. Memphis pitchers are holding opponents to a .228 batting average to go with 27 strikeouts. Junior closer Matt Yokley was perfect in his lone appearance of the year.
Things have been a different story at the plate for the young Tiger squad. Memphis hits just .181 as a team and has struck out 33 times (11k's per game). Memphis hitters were sat down 12 and 14 times, respectively versus Seton Hall and Ohio State. JUCO transfer Brett Bowen leads the team with a .333 average after posting multiple hits on Sunday. He and freshman Jason Miller is the only Memphis hitter with an average above .300. Miller hits .333 after going 1-for-3 in his first collegiate game. Last Time Out
Memphis 4, Air Force 3 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. Memphis in Season-Openers Coach Rock in Season-Openers Year Opponent Result, Score 2005 Air Force W, 10-4 2006 Alabama W, 2-0 2007 Ole Miss L, 9-12 2008 Seton Hall L, 1-3 Tracking the Skyhawks UTM pitchers have also been touched up to the tune of an 8.64 ERA and a .324 opponent's batting average. Tuesday starter Calen Sutton is 0-0 and has no ERA in 3.1 innings. Skyhwaks pitcher have combined for 14 strikeouts, with Sutton leading the way with three. Starting pitching has hurt the Skyhawks, however, as its pitchers have posted a 9.64 ERA. The UT-Martin defense has committed eight errors in 83 chances (.936 fielding percentage). Tigers vs. UT-Martin Last Time vs. UT-Martin Memphis (33-20) 200 000 300 - 5 12 2 UT-Martin (19-33) 000 012 000 - 3 5 2 UNION CITY, Tenn.--Senior Kyle Norrid went 3-for-4 four and drove in four runs to lead Memphis to a 5-3 win over UT-Martin Tuesday night at Elam Stadium. The win was the 33rd of the year for the Tigers--the most regular season wins for a Memphis team since 1994. The win also eclipsed the Tigers 2006 win total. Tracking the Thoroughbreds On the mound, the Breds have a .587 ERA, but have limited opponents to a .264 batting average with 18 k's. Matt McGaha, Daniel Calhoun, Marc Harmon and Tyler Hall each have 0.00 ERA's in short relief stints. Just like UT-Martin, starting pitching has been the Achilles heel for the Breds as their starters have logged a 9.00 ERA. Tigers vs. Murray State Last Time vs. Murray State Murray State (9-21) 240 000 001 - 7 9 1 Memphis (19-14) 201 001 002 - 6 8 3 MEMPHIS, Tenn.--Reliever Will Hudgens struck out a career-high eight batters and held Murray State hitless in five innings of work, but the Tigers were unable to overcome an early 6-2 deficit as they suffered a 7-6 loss to Murray State Wednesday night at Nat Buring Stadium. The loss was just the second of the year for Memphis when playing at home. Memphis staged a ninth-inning rally in which they plated a pair of runs to make it 7-6 on a bases loaded single by Chris Kirkland. But the rally fell just short as the Tigers ended the game with the tying run standing at third base. That runner was just one of 13 runners Memphis left on the bases, including stranding eight in scoring position. Scotty Mac Attack is Back Date Opponent IP H R ER BB SO W/L Score 2/24/06 Oklahoma 6.0 3 1 0 4 3 W 2-1 2/20/07 Ole Miss 1.1 8 10 9 0 0 L 9-12 2/22/08 Seton Hall 6.0 5 2 0 0 5 L 1-3 No Freebies Yokley Picks up Where he Left Off Newcomers Struggle in Opening Weekend Not Much Start in the Tigers Opening Day Lineup 2008 2007 Name Starts Name Starts Fr., Chad Zurcher* 0 Jr., K.K. Chalmers 110 So., Tyler Huelsing 22 Sr., Will Petersen 60 Jr., Brett Bowen* 0 Sr., Bill Moss 136 R-So., Trey Wiedman 5 Sr., Adam Amar 152 Fr., Robby Graham* 0 Sr., Joey Lieberman 33 Fr., Adam McClain* 0 Sr., Michael Murray 55 Jr., Cole Shelton* 0 Sr., Ben Grisham 43 Jr., Eric Farrell 11 Sr., Kyle Norrid 166 Sr., Chris Kirkland 41 Jr., Chris Kirkland 0 Total 79 755 *Newcomer Barnes Blows `Em Away On Deck |
Memphis Tigers
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