March 16, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis baseball team will attempt to get in the win column for the first time in midweek play this week as it battles UT-Martin and No. 12 Ole Miss in pair of non-conference contests. The Tigers will take on UT-Martin on Tuesday, Mar. 17 at Gagliano Field, before making the trip to Oxford, Miss., on Wednesday, Mar. 18. First pitch for both games is set for 6:30 p.m.

Scouting the Tigers
Head Coach Daron Schoenrock's club continues to improve and won its second consecutive weekend series, taking two-of-three from Indiana State in Millington. The Tiger offense has posted 12 or more hits in each of the last four games to push the team batting average to .292--up 37 points from the .255 average the club began the week with. For the first time since the 2007 season, Memphis has five regulars hitting over .300, and two significant reserves also hit above .300. Junior first baseman Trey Wiedman leads the team with a .381 clip at the plate. He has hit safely in each of the last 10 games. He is followed by freshman Drew Martinez. Martinez got his career off to a fast start, but cooled down shortly after. He has since gotten a hit in the last seven contests to raise his batting average to .343. The freshman is tied with Wiedman for the team lead with 24 hits, and paces the squad with seven doubles. Senior Brett Bowen has been the offensive anchor over the last two weeks of action and checks into midweek play with a .333 batting average. Bowen is the team's leader with 17 runs scored, four home runs, 36 total bases and a .667 slugging percentage. With 11 RBI, Bowen has accounted for a team-high 28 runs. Three of his four home runs have come in the last five games. Catcher Shawn Ablett hits .314. Chris Newsom and Chad Zurcher hit .350 and .320, respectively. Freshman third baseman Jacob Wilson leads the club with 14 RBI.

With the offense coming around, the Tiger pitchers have sputtered to a 7.41 ERA. The staff has a combined 126 strikeouts, led by Brennon Martin's team-best 22. Martin, the team's ace, is 2-0 with a 1.52 ERA. The lefty holds opposing hitters to a .232 average and has walked just two batters in 29.2 innings of work. Duke Williams leads the bullpen with a 4.66 ERA and 14 strikeouts. Heith Hatfield is perfect in three save opportunities. The freshman has struck out 11 in 9.2 innings and sports a 5.14 ERA.

Memphis is winless in five midweek contests and has struggled at the plate and on the mound. The Tigers have been outscored 74-24 in the midweek. The bullpen has given up a 18.59 ERA and 14.8 runs per game in midweek action, while the offense has hit just .260

Last Time Out
Indiana State 12, Memphis 6

Indiana State (11-7)     000 431 400 - 12 14 1
Memphis (8-8)            000 000 501 -  6 13 0

MILLINGTON, Tenn.--A second-straight series sweep eluded the Memphis Tigers on Sunday as they dropped a 12-6 decision to Indiana State in the series finale at Millington's USA Stadium.

Chad Zurcher led Memphis with three hits. Drew Martinez, Wiedman and Wilson had two hits each. Six different Tigers scored runs, including each of the first five in the Memphis lineup. Indiana State out hit Memphis 14-13 in the game. Wiedman extended his hit streak to 10 games, while Bowen has hit safely in the last nine. Brach Davis was the losing pitcher. He cruised through three innings, before having control problems. He gave up seven runs on seven hits in four innings.

Scouting UT-Martin
UT-Martin comes into the midweek tilt with a 5-7 record after splitting a doubleheader with Georgia State on Saturday. The Skyhawks have dropped four of the last five.

Led by Mark Hartsfield's .415 average and a .400 showing from Scott Gladstone, UT-Martin's offense has been a potent one, connecting at a .301 clip. Hartsfield leads the Skyhawks in five offensive categories (batting average, runs, hits, home runs and slugging). Hartsfield's twin brother, Miles, bats .391 with a team-high 14 RBI, while Ty Nelson hits .364, and Wes Patterson, .300 to round out Skyhawk starters that hit over .300.

The offense hits .301, but the opposition hits .331 against the UT-Martin pitching staff. Opponents are averaging over eight runs per game against a Skyhawks staff that has a 6.32 ERA. Coty Green's 4.38 ERA is tops among the team's primary hurlers. Green (1-3) has allowed 15 runs on 28 hits in 24 innings and has a staff-high 17 strikeouts. Tanner Hensley is 2-1 on the year in seven relief outings. Jordan Owen and Patterson both have recorded a save.

Last Time vs. UT-Martin
Memphis 7, UT-Martin 3

Memphis (15-21)      	203 100 010 - 7 10 1
UT-Martin (4-28)     	101 010 000 - 3  9 1

JACKSON, Tenn.--Brennon Martin was masterful, striking out seven in a 91-pitch complete-game gem to lead Memphis to a 7-3 victory over UT-Martin in the Razz Classic held at Pringle Park. The win was the Tigers' 15th-straight against the Skyhawks.

Martin scattered nine hits and allowed single runs in the first, third and fifth innings, before holding the Skyhawks to just three hits over the final three innings of play. The Tiger southpaw did not walk a batter in the contest.

Memphis's ever-improving offense gave Martin all the run support he needed in the early-goings of the game and from there never looked back. With Brett Bowen on first and two outs in the first, Cole Shelton blasted his first Division I home run over the right-centerfield wall to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

Tyler Huelsing led Memphis with a 3-for-4 night, while Robby Graham, Shelton and Dan Kaufmann had two hits each.

All-Time Series vs. UT-Martin
Memphis swept the 2008 series to push its current win streak over the UT-Martin to 15-straight games, dating back to the 2001 season. Memphis has been more successful against UT-Martin than any other opponent. The Tigers are 31-3 all-time versus the Skyhawks, a 91.2 winning percentage. UT-Martin last defeated Memphis, 6-4, in the 2000 season opener. The series dates back to the 1928 season.

Scouting Ole Miss
Ranked 12th by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball in the latest polls, Ole Miss boasts an 11-4 mark and has won eight of its last nine. The Rebels took two of three from Vanderbilt in their first SEC series of the year.

Ole Miss' offense is highly potent with a team batting average of .325. Seven everyday players hit .308 or higher. Four hit .360 or better. Logan Power is the team batting leader with a strong .389 average. A 25th-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2009 MLB Draft, Power also paces the Rebel offense with 21 hits, 21 RBI, a .630 slugging percentage and three home runs. Leadoff hitter Jordan Henry hits .362 and leads the team with 23 runs scored. Tim Ferguson and Kevin Mort hit .361 and .360, respectively. Houston High product, Zach Miller checks in at .319 with a clu-best five doubles.

The Rebels are equally as strong on the hill. The staff has a 4.03 ERA and a .282 opponent's batting average. Seven hurlers have ERA's under 3.50. Brett Bukvich is 2-0 and leads the staff with a 1.20 ERA, fellow starter Phillip Irwin is also under 2.00, with a 1.59 ERA. Irwin is 3-0 in four appearances and has the club's lone complete game. Reliever Rory McKean is 2-1 with a 1.98 ERA. He and Scott Bittle lead the way with 15 strikeouts. Bittle, a 2008 First Team All-American and 2009 Preseason All-American, anchors the Ole Miss pitching staff with two saves.

Last Time vs. Ole Miss
No. 25 Ole Miss 10, Memphis 1

No. 25 Ole Miss (29-17)     000 120 340 - 10 10 1
Memphis (16-28)             000 001 000 -  1  7 3

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--For six innings, Memphis hung in with the 25th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels, but a three-error, seventh inning and a four-run eighth sealed the Tigers' fate in a 10-1 loss at Nat Buring Stadium. The loss was Memphis's 10 consecutive to Ole Miss and completes the Rebels fifth straight season sweep of the Tigers.

Memphis starter Brennon Martin and Ole Miss starter Brett Bukvich locked up for a scoreless pitcher's dual in the first three frames, before Rebels outfielder Logan Power tucked a solo homer inside the leftfield foul pole to break the scoreless tie.

An RBI-double by Tim Ferguson and a safety squeeze by Brett Basham fueled a two-run third and chased Martin to his second loss of the year.

Memphis got a single by Trey Wiedman scored Brett Bowen for the Tigers' lone run of the night and cut the Ole Miss lead to 3-1.

Martin finished the night with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings. He allowed just three runs on four hits, but took the loss. Memphis pitchers struck out 11 Rebels in the game. Bukvich hauled in the win after giving up one run on five hit in 5.1 innings. He struck out four and walked four.

All-Time Series vs. Ole Miss
The Memphis-Ole Miss rivalry is one of the longest standing series for the Tiger baseball team. The series goes way back to the 1915 season with Ole Miss holding a 90-52-1 advantage after sweeping the season series in 2008.

The 90 losses to Ole Miss is the most against any opponent in Memphis baseball history, while the 52 wins is the fourth-most against an Memphis foe..

The Tigers have dropped 10 straight to the Rebels and have been swept in eight (1999-2000, 2002 and 2004-08) of the last 10 season series, including each of the last five. Since the 1999 season, Ole Miss has claimed 18 of 21 games.

The last Memphis win came on April 23, 2003, when it snapped a six-game skid with a 6-3 win over the Rebels in Oxford. Then-true freshman Stephen Gostkowski kept the Rebels off the scoreboard in his three innings of work, allowing just one run and striking out three in his first outing as a collegian in his home state.