March 2, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Head coach Daron Schoenrock and his University of Memphis baseball club will round out a five-game road trip with a pair of contests at Middle Tennessee on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 3-4. First pitch for Tuesday's series opener is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the newly renovated Reese Smith Field.

Pitching Matchups
Tuesday • March 3 • 4 p.m.
Memphis - Brach Davis (Jr., LHP, 1-0, 1.50 ERA)
Middle Tennessee - Kenneth Roberts (Jr., LHP, 1-0, 7.20 ERA)

Wednesday • March 4 • 3 p.m.
Memphis- Ben Paullus (Fr., RHP, 0-0, 4.50 ERA)
Middle Tennessee - Chad Edwards (Jr., RHP, 0-0, 9.00 ERA)

Scouting the Tigers
Memphis split a weekend series at Troy over the weekend to move to 3-3 on the year. The Tigers held on for a 7-5 win in Friday's series opener and were crushed 19-3 on Saturday. Sunday's series finale was canceled due to snow.

With an 0-1 record in midweek action, the Tiger are led by Trey Wiedman's .364 batting average. After hitting safely in each of his first five games, freshman Drew Martinez was held hitless on Saturday and is second on the club, hitting .296. He and Wiedman both have a team-high eight hits and he leads the team with 10 total bases and three stolen bases. Memphis hits .232 as a team.

On the mound junior left-handers Brennon Martin and Brach Davis pace the team. Martin has yet to allow an earned run in 14.2 innings, while Davis boasts a 1.50 ERA. Martin leads the staff with 12 strikeouts. Freshman Heath Hatfield is perfect in two save opportunities and has eight strikeouts, while holding opposing hitters to .083 at the plate.

Scouting the Blue Raiders
Middle Tennessee comes into the in-state series with a 5-1 record after falling to Jacksonville State on Friday. Both Saturday and Sunday games fell victim to the winter weather that swept across the region.

Picked to finish eight in the Sun Belt preseason poll, Middle returns the likes of Nathan Hines and Bryce Brentz, both Preseason All-Sun Belt selections. Brentz has dominated the opposition at the plate and on the mound this year. The sophomore hits .44 with three home runs and a MT-best .864 slugging percentage at the dish, while leading the team with seven strikeouts in 11 innings on the mound. He is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. Hines is one of six Blue Raiders hitter, batting over .300, checking in at .304. Blake McDade leads the potent offense with a .556 average, a team-high 15 hits and 10 RBI. Drew Robertson hits .550 with five doubles and a .800 slugging clip. Wallace Watch List member Rawley Bishop has two homers to go with a .385 batting average. Middle Tennessee hits .345 as a team.

The Blue Raider pitching staff yields a 5.89 ERA, but has 45 strikeouts and four saves in its six contests. Led by Brentz, who holds opponents to a .154 batting average, the staff has a combined .292 opponent's average. Brett Smalley and Marshall Mears have yet to allow an earned run. Smalley has seen 4.1 innings in three outings, while Mears has logged four innings in two appearances. Reliever Cody Woods has a 2.45 ERA and is perfect is three save chances.

All-Time Series vs. Middle Tennessee
Memphis holds a 37-32 advantage over Middle Tennessee in the all-time series. The two teams split the 2008 series in Murfreesboro. In the series that began in 1983, one team has swept in five of the last six two-game series'. Memphis took both games in 2007, and swept the first two-game series at home in '06. Middle swept the two-game set in Murfreesboro in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Middle Tennessee has been a tough place for the Tigers to play late in the year.

Last Time vs. Middle Tennessee
Memphis 17, Middle Tennessee 11 (14)

Memphis (16-25)                203 000 051 000 06 - 17 16 2
Middle Tennessee (21-18-1)     110 020 007 000 00 - 11 16 2

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.--After Middle Tennessee scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings, Neil Schenk held the Blue Raiders scoreless for the next four innings and the offense then struck for six scores in the 14th to pull out a 17-11 victory at Reese Smith Field. The win was Memphis's first in Murfreesboro since a 6-2 win in 2003.

Schenk won the pitcher's dual after Middle Tennessee's seven-spot in the ninth forced extra frames. The senior southpaw held the Blue Raiders at bay, allowing just one hit and striking out two from the 10th to 13th innings. After Memphis pulled ahead with the six-run 14th, Garrett Hachtel came on to work the final inning.

The Tigers offense exploded with six runs in the 14th to put the game away. They sent 11 batters to the plate in the final frame. Trey Wiedman came through with the eventual game-winning hit--a bases loaded single through the left side that scored Zurcher and Huelsing to put Memphis on top for good. Wiedman led the Memphis offense with four RBI. A two-run double by Eric Farrell put the Tigers ahead 15-11, and Chad Zurcher's RBI-double capped the scoring at 17-11. Zurcher led Memphis with four hits in a program-record tying nine at-bats. He also drove in three runs.

Memphis got a strong starting effort from Brennon Martin. The southpaw scattered eight hits and surrendered four runs before handing the ball over the freshman reliever Marcus Barnes. Barnes held MT scoreless for three innings, before running into trouble in the ninth.

The Tigers took an 11-4 lead into the final stanza, but the game was far from over. Barnes retired the leadoff batter, but a thee-run blast by pinch-hitter Ben Darlington, and another three-run shot from pinch hitter Justin Jones tied the ballgame and complete what seemed to be an improbable seven-run ninth.