Feb. 7, 2009

Box Score |  Notes

Box Score

For Immediate Release
Contact: Brandon Kolditz
wkolditz@memphis.edu, (901) 871-5475

South Alabama (1-2)  010 000 3  -  4  6  2
Memphis (1-2)        142 000 x  -  7  11 2
WP - Bossom (1-1) LP - Pilgrim (1-1)
HR - MEM: Mott (2)

MOBILE, Ala. -

The University of Memphis softball team scored five runs in the first two innings to pave the way for a 7-4 victory on Saturday at South Alabama in the South Alabama Invitational.

The Tigers collected 11 hits in the game with four extra base knocks to earn their first win of the season. Eight different players earned hits in the game, including multi-hit performances from Lelani Bernardino, Heather Mott and Maddie McKinley. Mott and freshman Jessica Phillips both had two RBI in the game.

The game was originally scheduled to take place at 6 p.m., but was pushed back nearly three hours to an 8:53 p.m. start due to the length of the day's previous games. Following in the path of the previous games, the contest took two hours and 47 minutes to complete, finishing just shy of midnight.

Kimber Bossom (1-1) earned her first victory of the season. The sophomore allowed two earned runs on six hits and struck out five. Beth Pilgrim suffered the loss for USA after allowing five runs in an inning and two-third.

Memphis took its first lead of the season with a first inning solo home run well over the centerfield fence by Mott. The homer is the sophomore shortstop's second of the season and 11th of her career.

South Alabama threatened to take the lead in the top of the second after loading the bases with nobody out and the top of the order due up. The Jags tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center by Christin Crocker to score Haley Hopkins. But that would be all USA would get. Bossom got Kelsey Volz to line out to Mott at short and then Brittany Gooch made a diving catch on a ball heading in the gap in right center to end the inning.

In the bottom of the second inning, the Tigers broke out with four runs on four hits to take a 5-1 lead. Tori Gross led off the inning and reached on a fielding error at third base. Freshman Kamri Chester, making her first collegiate start, then doubled to right center to put runners at second and third. South Alabama was on the verge of getting out of the inning unharmed after Pilgrim struck out the next two batters, but Gooch hit a two-out infield chopper to third base that she beat out the throw at first allowing Gross to score.

Chester then scored on a pickoff attempt at third base as Gooch stole second. The ball hit Chester and rolled away from the third baseman allowing her to score. Bernardino then hit her first collegiate double to left center to score Gooch and later would come around to score on Mott's second RBI in the game on a single to left field.

Memphis added two more runs in the third inning to increase its lead to 7-1. Gross and McKinley both singled in the inning and were knocked in on Phillips' first collegiate hit, a two-run single through the left side.

South Alabama scored three runs in the seventh inning and had the tying run on base with one out before the U of M got out of the bases loaded jam with a strike out and a groundout to first.

The Tigers will complete the tournament on Sunday at noon against Northwestern State.