May 14, 2012

Tuesday 6:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS PROBABLE STARTER

LHP Michael Wills 3-1, 4.07 ERA

UT MARTIN PROBABLE STARTER

LHP Brendan Lozupone 0-4, 9.09 ERA

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis (25-26) closes the home portion of the 2012 schedule with a 6:30 p.m. matchup against UT Martin (13-37) on Tuesday at FedExPark.

Live Coverage
Live stats are available on GoTigersGo.com. You can also listen to the game on WUMR 91.7 FM. Follow Tiger Baseball on Twitter (@UofMBaseball) for in-game updates.

May Baseball
The Tigers carry a 194-191 record in games played in May since the 1977 season. Memphis has had one season above .500 under Coach Schoenrock, a 9-7 record in 2006. Including postseason tournaments, the Tigers have been .500 or better in three of Schoenrock’s seven previous seasons. Memphis is 42-61 under Schoenrock in May.

The Series With UT Martin
Memphis carries a 33-5 advantage in the series with UT Martin dating back to the first meeting in 1928. The Tigers claimed an 11-5 win in the lone meeting last season and Memphis has won 17 of the last 19 meetings. The Tigers are 15-2 in games played in the Bluff City dating back to 1983.

The Inside Edge - UT Martin
The Skyhawks carry a 13-37 record into Tuesday’s game. UT Martin has dropped 13 of the last 16 games and lost two of three at Eastern Illinois last weekend. The Skyhawks are paced by Jordan Owen at the plate as he hits .342 with 8 HR and 27 RBI. As a team, UT Martin hits .258 on the year with 25 HR and 224 runs scored. On the mound, the Skyhawks sport a 6.82 ERA in 432.2 innings.

Getting Over The Hump
Memphis looks to reach the .500 mark for the third time in the last week. The Tigers lost 8-7 to Tennessee and 9-1 to Missouri in their last attempts to reach .500, the first opportunities to reach the mark since March 6. On the year, the Tigers are 4-3 in games that decide a .500 record and two of the three losses are one-run games.

Double Trouble
The Tigers have recorded 93 doubles this season, but after averaging over two doubles per game the first 32 games this year, the squad has 26 in the last 20 games. Eli Hynes leads the club with 16 doubles and Adam McClain and Jacob Wilson each have 11. Memphis has recorded two or more doubles in 27 of 51 games, including the first 10 in a row. The Tigers posted nine doubles in the three-game series at Missouri, the most in a three-game set this season.

Good Start, But What About Finish?
Last season, the Tigers pounced on opponents early, outscoring its opponents 156-81 in the first three innings. In the sixth through the final out, Memphis was outscored 156-115. So far in 2012, Memphis is outscoring opponents 92-73 in the first three and the Tigers have equaled opponents 113-113 after the fifth.

Memphis Wins Series Over Big 12 Foe
Memphis won two-of-three at Missouri last weekend to claim the programs first three-game series victory over a Big 12 opponent. The Tigers had two-game series wins over Missouri in 1978 and Kansas State in 1962, 1963 and 1964.

On A Roll
The Tigers are winners of eight of the last 11 games to improve their record to 25-26. In that span, Memphis has outscored the opposition 58-48 with 8 HR and 50 RBI. The pitching staff has posted a 3.62 ERA in that span with three saves and three wins by Jonathan Van Eaton. Memphis has also won five-straight C-USA games for the first time since 2007 and only seventh time since joining the league in 1996.

Top-10 Chase
Jacob Wilson and Adam McClain are in pursuit of top-10 positions in the record books for career numbers. McClain (253-2nd) and Wilson (245-5th) are neck-and-neck as they ascend up the career hits list. Wilson has 59 career doubles which is third all-time. The two seniors are also climbing the charts in games played as Wilson (217-2nd) and McClain (213-4th) have eclipsed the top-five this season. Wilson recorded his 179th career RBI on May 13 to move to second place all time in career RBI. Wilson needs to score three more runs to tie Tim Dulin for second all-time in runs scored. Dan Langfield became the seventh pitcher with 200 career strikeouts and Langfield needs 26 punch outs to pass Lonnie Glass for second all-time.

Take Them How You Can Get Them
Memphis has scored 278 runs this season and the Tigers have produced those runs in 18 different ways. Singles (81), home runs (67) and doubles (46) account for most of the run producers this season. Sacrifice flies (16), fielding errors (11), triples (8), passed balls (8), throwing errors (8), groundouts (5), fielder’s choice (4), infield single (4), double plays (4), wild pitches (4), safety squeeze (3), bases loaded walk (3), hit batter (2), catcher’s interference (1) and balk (1) are the additional ways Memphis has put runs on the board.

Three’s Company
Jacob Wilson hit a walk-off single with two outs in the ninth inning to give Memphis a 3-2 win over Austin Peay on March 13. The win was Memphis’ 15th when scoring three or fewer runs and first since March 26, 2011. Since 2006, Memphis is 18-106 in games where they score three runs or less. Last season, the Tigers were 1-15 with three or fewer runs scored. This season, Memphis is 2-16 when scoring three or fewer runs.

Looking For Production
Memphis is hitting .281 on the season, but a .214 average from the 8-9 spots in the order appears to be hampering the offense. The last two spots in the lineup have 72 hits and 44 runs scored, while the five hole in the lineup has 61 hits and 27 runs alone. In the three game set at No. 7 UCF, the 8-9 spots had seven hits and three runs scored to help Memphis to the series win.

Off The Beaten Path
Memphis carries a 20-9 record when holding a plus margin when combining walks, hit batters and opponent errors. When Memphis combines for more walks issued, batters hit and errors committed, the Tigers are 5-17 on the season. For example, Memphis walked eight times and Tulane committed one error while the Tigers issued six walks giving the U of M a plus-three margin in the 10-0 win on March 30.

Quick Starters
The Tigers have pounced on opponents early as the U of M has outscored the opposition 35-14 in the first inning this season. Memphis has scored in the first inning 17 out of 48 games and carries a 12-5 record in those games. The Tigers ended an 11-game drought without scoring in the first with the help of a two-run homer by Jacob Wilson at Murray State on April 18.

Out of the Pen
The Memphis bullpen has keyed the Tigers surge lately. Jonathan Van Eaton has three saves and a 3-0 record in Memphis’ last 11 games. The bullpen sports 1.50 ERA in the last 14 games as Van Eaton, Patrick Bailey and Dylan Toscano have each allowed one earn run in five or more innings of work. Opponents are hitting .188 against the bullpen in that span, but the relievers have walked 23 and struck out 14.

Cardiac Kids
The Tigers played several nail bitters last season and in games decided by two runs or less, Memphis finished 9-14, 7-6 in league play. The Tigers had five come-from-behind wins and nine one run losses. The Tigers are 8-12, 3-5 in league play, in games decided by two runs or less this season. The Tigers are 48-48 all time in C-USA games decided by one run. In C-USA games decided by two or fewer runs, the Tigers sport a 73-80 record.

Two-Out Hits
Memphis is hitting .247 (131-531) with two outs this season compared to .301 (174-579) at this point last season. The Tigers had 126 two out RBI and 336 runs scored through 48 games last year, but the U of M has mustered 81 two-out RBI so far this year with 278 runs scored.

Bounce Back
Memphis is 99-143 under head coach Daron Schoenrock following a loss. After a 9-32 record in the 2005 season following a loss, the Tigers are 90-111 since. In the last three seasons, the U of M is 45-36 following a loss. This season, the Tigers are 15-11 following a loss.

Young Lineup
Head Coach Daron Schoenrock has penned a lineup 51 times this season and each game has seen five or more underclassmen making starts. Memphis has had six underclassmen in the lineup in nine games and five underclassmen in 42 games.

Home Cookin’
The Tigers opened the 2012 schedule with nine of their first 11 games at FedExPark and went 4-5. The U of M carries a 52-37 home record since the stadium became FedExPark in 2010. Coach Daron Schoenrock has guided the Tigers to a 114-112 record at home since taking over the program in 2005. After a rough 4-20 home record in 2005, Memphis has a 110-92 mark at home.

Up Next
The Tigers travel to Houston to close the regular season. Memphis plays at Houston on Thursday and Friday at 6:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday.