Feb. 16, 2013

 Box Score | Box Score

 

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Memphis (2-6)	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	3	8	0
Nicholls State (4-3)	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	5	4

 

 

Hitting Leaders
	Hits	Runs	RBI
Hannah Harrell	2	1	0
Sara Pearson	2	0	1
Jaye Smith	2	0	0

 

 

Pitching Leaders
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	AB	BF	NP
Jordan Richwood	2.1	1	1	1	3	4	8	11	53

BATON ROUGE, La. - The University of Memphis softball team's (2-6) offense came alive on the second day of the LSU Purple & Gold Challenge as they posted a 3-2 win over Nicholls State (4-3) to end a five-game losing skid.

Memphis attacked the Colonels early as Lelani Bernardino and Hannah Harrell led off with singles for the Tigers. A walk by Laura Curtis loaded the bases with one out before Sara Pearson reached on a fielder's choice to score Harrell for a 1-0 Memphis lead.

NSU began the bottom of the first with a walk, but Amber Lindahl gunned down her seventh runner caught stealing of the season to set a new school career record with 31. The Colonels drew two more walks and added a single up the middle for a chance to get on the board. However, Bernardino's throw to Lindahl at the plate kept Memphis in front 1-0.

The Tigers added another run in the second inning with Bernardino reaching base after a fielding error in the NSU outfield to score Cierra Mangum from second. In the third inning, the Colonels began the inning with a single and a walk to put runners on with no outs. The Tigers worked out of the inning by keeping the ball in the infield and Jordan Richwood fanning a Colonel for the final out.

NSU loaded the bases in the fifth with two walks and a single to force the Tigers to bring in Ellen Roberts with one out. The Colonels managed to get one run across the plate with a sac fly to left field before Roberts struck out the next batter to help Memphis hold on to a 2-1 lead.

Jaye Smith got her second hit of the day in the sixth inning with a leadoff single to right field. Pinch runner Jami Miller stole second and advanced to third with a bunt by Harrell before scoring off a fielding error by the NSU infield to increase their lead to 3-1.

The Colonels added their second run of the day in the bottom of the seventh as Danielle Phillips came home to score off a sac fly to center field after getting on base with a single to right field. With two outs, Curtis ended the game for Memphis by catching a pop fly to give Memphis a 3-2 win.

Richwood (1-1) earned the win for Memphis while Roberts picked up her second save of the season. Harrell, Pearson and Smith each finished with two hits apiece to lead the Tigers.

Memphis returns to action tonight at 7:30 p.m. against No. 10/11 LSU.

Game Notes
• Freshman Jaye Smith made her collegiate debut starting at first base
• Hannah Harrell scored her first career run in the first inning.
• Sara Pearson drove in her first RBI of the season in the first inning. It is the sixth of her career.
• Amber Lindahl set a new Memphis career record for runners thrown out trying to steal. She has now thrown out 31 in her career to surpass Kimmi Hayden (30 - 2006-08). Lindahl has thrown out 7 of 10 steal attempts to start the season (70%).
• Lelani Bernardino had her second outfield assist in as many days, throwing Danielle Phillips out at the plate trying to score from second on a single in the first inning. She has 22 career outfield assists.
• Cierra Mangum stole her first career base in the second inning and then added her first career run.
• Sara Pearson had her first career stolen base in the third inning, stealing third.
• Jaye Smith recorded her first collegiate hit on a single through the left side in the fourth inning.
• Sara Pearson recorded her second career multi-hit game and first of the season with a pair of singles.
• Jaye Smith went 2-for-4 in her collegiate debut for her first career multi-hit game. She had a pair of singles.
• Jami Miller stole her first base of the season in the sixth inning. She is now 5-for-5 in steal attempts in her career.
• Hannah Harrell recorded her second multi-hit game of the season with a pair of singles.
• Jami Miller scored her first run of the season as a pinch runner in the sixth. It is her 14th run of her career.
• The Tigers left 11 runners on base in the game. The last time Memphis left 10 runners on base came against UCF on April 22, 2012 with 10 left on.
• Wheeler Hill stole her second base of the season as a pinch runner in the seventh. She is 2-for-3 in steals this year.