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
UT-Martin - Calen Sutton (Sr., RHP)
Memphis - Brennon Martin (So., LHP)

Scouting the Tigers
Memphis went 1-2 in the 2008 Service Academies Spring Classic in Millington, Tenn. over the weekend. The Tigers suffered their second consecutive season-opening loss when they dropped a 3-1 decision to Seton Hall on Friday night.

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
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.

Memphis in Season-Openers
Memphis has been successful in season openers in its 61 years (since the 1948 season) of competition. The Tigers hold a 35-26 record in season openers, but have lost each of the last two (L, 9-12 at Ole Miss and L, 1-3 vs. Seton Hall). However, the U of M has won six of the last eight season opening contests.

Coach Rock in Season-Openers
Memphis has been successful in its four season-openers under skipper Daron Schoenrock. Since Schoenrock too the post in 2005, Memphis is 2-2 in season-openers with wins over Air Force and Alabama. Here is a look at how the Tigers have fared in Rock's four season-opening contests.

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
UT-Martin comes into the midweek tilt winless in three tries. The Skyhawks lost to USC-Upstate (5-7), George Washington (6-10) before rounding out the weekend with a 14-4 loss to NJIT. The Martin hitters have struggled to a .216 batting average. They are led by Shayne Martin and Kyle Dudley. Martin's .375 average is tops among all Skyhawk players, while Dudley hits .364. Just like the Tigers, the Skyhawks have yet to hit a home run in nearly 100 at-bats.

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
Memphis has been more successful against UT-Martin than any other opponent. The Tigers are 29-3 all-time versus the Skyhawks--a 90.6 winning percentage. Memphis has won 13 straight against UTM. It s last loss came in a 6-4 final in the 2000 season-opener.

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
Murray State is currently 1-2 on the year. Wednesday's contest will be the Thoroughbreds first time away from home. Murray, who bats, .220 as a team, is paced by Cory Hodskins .500 batting average. Blake Helm hits .375 in two starts.

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
Murray State swept the season series in 2007, but Memphis continues to lead the all-time series 58-32. The Tigers have won six of the last 10 contests. The U of M last defeated Murray State in 2006, when they capped a season-sweep with a 12-1 triumph.

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
Junior pitcher Scott McGregor put up one of his strongest performances in a Tiger uniform in the club's 3-1 season-opening loss to Seton Hall. McGregor scattered five hit, struck out five and allowed just two unearned runs in his best outing since he fanned eight and held Tulane to four unearned runs in the first complete-game victory of his career. His outing vs. Seton Hall is an 180¢ª difference from his season-opening performance at Ole Miss in 2007. Here is a look at McGregor's three season debuts.

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
Memphis's pitching has been dominant, but it has aided its dominance by not walking batters. Tiger pitchers have posted a 27:2 strikeouts to walks ratio in the first three games. Marcus Barnes and Neil Schenk are the only two pitchers that have given up walks. Scott McGregor, Will Hudgens, Marc Ashley, Philip Utley and Matt Yokley have not allowed a walk in a combined 22 innings of work.

Yokley Picks up Where he Left Off
Junior closer Matt Yokley added to his career saves totals on Sunday. The 6-4 righthander struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to earn his first save of the year and his 12th career save. Yokley notched the program's single-season saves mark with nine rescues in 2007.

Newcomers Struggle in Opening Weekend
Tiger newcomers did not fare well in the three contests this weekend. Eight first time DI players combined to go 12-for-58 (.206) with 15 strikeouts, four doubles, two runs and two RBI. Tiger freshmen also had a tough time adjusting, as four rookies totaled seven hits in 37 at-bats (.189) and struck out nine times.

Not Much Start in the Tigers Opening Day Lineup
Memphis's Opening Day starting lineup showcased a different twist from what U of M fans are used to seeing. The Tigers' 2007 lineup featured seven seniors and two juniors that had a combined 755 (an average of 83.8 starts per fielder) total NCAA Division I starts. The 2008 starting lineup showcased five newcomers (three freshmen, two sophomores, three juniors and one senior) and had a combined 79 total DI starts, with Chris Kirkland making 41 of them. Here is a look at the 2007 and 2008 starting line ups.

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
Freshman pitcher Marcus Barnes had a collegiate debut worth remembering in Sunday's 4-3 win over Air Force. The freshman entered a tie ballgame in the seventh inning and promptly proved his ability by fanning the first batter he faced. He then went on to strike out five of the six outs he recorded and held Air Force hitless in two innings of work en route to picking up Memphis's first win of the season, which was also the first victory of his college career.

On Deck
Memphis will play host to Murray State tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.