March 4, 2010

Week 4 Game Notes

USF Under Armour Invitational Tournament Central

CLEARWATER, Fla. - After weather has cut short the first two road tournaments, the University of Memphis softball team looks for better days in the Sunshine State as the team participates in the USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., beginning Friday.

Twenty-six teams will take part in the tournament hosted by USF at the Eddie C. Moore Complex with the Tigers matching up against Rutgers, Jacksonville, Loyola-Chicago, Fordham and Virginia Tech. Memphis will open the tournament against Rutgers on Friday at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Field 2 and follow with a game against Jacksonville at 4 p.m.. On Saturday, the Tigers will play Loyola-Chicago on Field 5 at 9:30 a.m. and Fordham at 12:30 p.m. on Field 1. The U of M will close the tournament on Sunday with a game against Virginia Tech on Field 2 at 11 a.m.

The tournament begins a 10-day tour of Florida for Memphis as it spends time in Clearwater, Jacksonville and Orlando during spring break. After the USF Under Armour Invitational, the Tigers will travel to Jacksonville for a midweek doubleheader at North Florida. The U of M ends the trip by beginning conference play with a three-game series at UCF in Orlando.

2010 USF Under Armour Invitational

Friday, March 5, 2010
1:30 p.m.  Memphis vs. Rutgers         Field 2   Streaming Video
4 p.m.     Memphis vs. Jacksonville    Field 2   Streaming Video

Saturday, March 6, 2010
9:30 a.m.  Memphis vs. Loyola-Chicago  Field 5
12:30 p.m. Memphis vs. Fordham         Field 1   Streaming Video

Sunday, March 7, 2010
11 a.m.    Memphis vs. Virginia Tech   Field 2

History: Memphis vs. USF Under Armour Invitational Field
The Tigers have a history against one of the five teams its will see in this weekend's tournament. Memphis is 0-1 all-time against Jacksonville with the two teams meeting each other in 2007 at the Sunshine State Tournament hosted by Florida State. The Dolphins one the game 2-1 in eight innings. The U of M is 2-3 all-time against teams from the Big East, 12-2 against teams from the Atlantic Sun and 0-2 against teams from the ACC. The Tigers have never played a team from the Horizon League or the Atlantic 10.

Live Coverage
All five games in the USF Under Armour Invitational can be followed through live stats provided by CBS College Sports GameTracker. Additionally live streaming video is available for the contests against Rutgers, Jacksonville and Fordham through USF for a $9.95 per month subscription. Links to the live broadcasts can be found on the softball schedule page at GoTigersGo.com.

Two Tigers Return Home
The Tigers have two players on their roster that will be returning to their home state this week to compete in the USF Under Armour Invtational in Clearwater, Fla. Junior shortstop Heather Mott (Pensacola, Fla./Escambia HS) and sophomore second baseman Alyssa Palmieri (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca Raton HS) are both products of the state. Additionally, assistant coach Ashley Blanton is from High Springs, Fla., and head coach Windy Thees played at Florida State.

Last Week
Memphis swept a midweek doubleheader at home against Belmont last Tuesday, winning 7-0 and 12-4 in five innings. Freshman Carly Hummel came one out from a no hitter in game one. The Tigers scored 12 runs on three hits in game two for the run-rule victory. The Tigers then traveled to Santa Barbara, Calif., for the UCSB Gacho Classic and got two of its five scheduled games in due to weather. Memphis beat Drexel, 5-2, behind the second-straight one hitter by Hummel and a walk-off three-run homer by Leigh Rowan. The Tigers then lost 6-1 to North Dakota State in a game where the U of M struggled defensively, committing five errors.

Next Up
Memphis will drive to Jacksonville, Fla., for a midweek doubleheader with North Florida on Wednesday. The Tigers will then drive to Orlando to open conference play with a three-game series at UCF on Friday and Saturday.

Walk-Off Hits
Memphis has had walk-off hits in four of its six wins this season. Most recently, Leigh Rowan hit a three-run home walk-off home run in the seventh inning against Drexel in a 5-2 victory. Lelani Bernardino has had two hits resulting in errors that scored runs to end the game against McNeese State in the eighth inning and against Belmont to run rule the Bruins in the fifth inning. Kailey Kassner hit a three-run homer to end a run rule victory against Wichita State in the fifth inning.

Leigh Rowan - 7th inn. HR (W, Drexel, 5-2)
Lelani Bernardino - 5th inn. E (W, Belmont, 12-4)
Lelani Bernardino - 8th inn. E (W, McNeese State, 2-1)
Kailey Kassiner - 5th inn. HR (W, Wichita State, 11-2)

2010 One Hitters
Freshman Carly Hummel has had two one-hitters this season with a 7-0 shutout against Belmont and a 5-2 win against Drexel. The two one-hitters came in back-to-back starts. Memphis has had 13 complete game one hit or less performances in school history with eight going all seven innings. Five of the 13 games have been one hitters and one has been a perfect game.

2/23/10  Carly Hummel  Belmont  7-0
2/26/10  Carly Hummel  Drexel   5-2

Hummel Just Misses No No
In only her third career start, Carly Hummel came up just short in an attempt for a no-hitter against Belmont. The freshman was one strike away before Erin Gier knocked the Bruins first hit of the game over third base in the top of the seventh inning after fouling off several pitches. Hummel finished the one-hit shutout with nine K's and one walk. Only three Belmont players reached base in the game. Hummel's complete game-one hitter is the first for Memphis since Kimber Bossom one-hit Arkansas-Pine Bluff last year in a 15-2 victory. Hummel is 3-2 on the season with a 1.35 ERA, 43 strikeouts and a .112 opponent batting average.

Career Triple Leaders
With a two-run triple against Belmont, junior shortstop Heather Mott moved into sole possession of first base in the school's career triples category with six. Mott moved ahead of Leila Dolfo's five triples from 2006-09. Freshman outfielder Lelani Bernardino is ranked third on the list with three in her two years at Memphis.

1.  6 - Heather Mott (2007-10)
2.  5 - Leila Dolfo (2006-09)
3.  3 - Lelani Bernardino (2009-10)
4.  2 - Leandra Hines (2006-09)

Career Home Run Leaders
With a towering home run onto the track behind left field against Belmont, junior shortstop Heather Mott moved into sole possession of third place on the Tigers' all-time home run list with 13. Mott moved ahead of Lindsay Kelso's (2007-08) 12. Senior Leigh Rowan moved into a tie for fifth place with her 11th career dinger against Drexel. Junior Kailey Kassner is tied for seventh on the list with 10.

Leila Dolfo (2006-09) 2. 20 - Bridgette McNulty (2006-07) 3. 13 - Heather Mott (2007-10) 4. 12 - Lindsay Kelso (2007-08) 5. 11 - Leigh Rowan (2007-10) 11 - Melissa Nance (2006-08) 11 - Tori Gross (2006-09) 7. 10 - Kailey Kassner (2008-10)

Scouting Rutgers
• Rutgers returns three of eight position starters, three of four pitchers and 10 of 17 letterwinners from a squad that finished 23-33 and 6-18 (T15th) in the Big East in 2009.
• Junior first baseman Mandy Craig was a All-Big East second team selection last year after leading the team with a .314 batting average.
• Sophomore Noelle Sisco leads the team in the circle with a 1-1 record. She has a 5.40 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.
• Sophomore Brittney Lindley leads the team with a .360 battin gaverage, while sophomore Mikelyn Messina leads the team with seven RBI and two home runs.
• The Scarlet Knights have started the season off slowly at 1-9. The one victory comes in a 6-1 win over Austin Peay. Rutgers has scored one run or less in six of its 10 games and have been shut out five times, including four of the first five games.

Scouting Jacksonville
• Jacksonville returns nine of 11 starters, all four of its pitchers and 17 of 20 letterwinners from a squad that finished 24-31 and 7-13 (4th) in the Atlantic Sun in 2009.
• The Dolphins enter the tournament with a 10-4 record and have won seven of its 10 games by shutout.
• Two of Jacksonville's four losses come to ranked teams.
• Jacksonville has used four pitchers so far this season and has a team ERA of 1.74 with 72 strikeouts in 92.2 innings. Senior Ashley Iveson, freshman Olivia Kline and sophomore Sarah Sigrest all have three wins this season. Iveson leads the team with a 1.52 ERA and 32 K's in 27.2 innings.
• Junior outfielder Katarina Engler leads the team in batting with a .313 average and in runs scored (10). Sophomore Amanda Schmidt leads the team in RBI (11) and home runs (2).

Scouting Loyola-Chicago
• Loyola returns six of nine starters and 13 of 18 letterwinners from a team that finished 28-24 and 14-10 (4th) in the Horizon League in 2009.
• After winning its season opener in an 8-0 victory over Providence, the Ramblers have since lost four straight.
• Senior pitcher Amy Solava ranks second in school history with 43 career wins and leads the team this year with a 1-1 record and a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings.
• Sophomore Lauren Arceneaux leads the team through five games with a .462 batting average and has two runs scored and two RBI. Junior catcher Jenna Grim leads the squad in RBI with four and in home runs with one.
• Loyola has scored more than two runs in only one of its five games this year and has given up five runs or more in its last three contests.

Scouting Fordham
• Fordham returns six of eight position starters, three of four pitchers and 12 of 19 letterwinners from a team that finished 37-22 and 13-7 (4th) in the Atlantic 10 in 2009.
• For the first time in the school's history, Fordham received a vote in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Polls. The Rams received one vote in the latest poll.
• Sophomore pitcher Jen Mineau was selected as the Atlantic 10 co-Pitcher of the Week. She pitched a three-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts against #19/24 Texas A&M, struck out 11 in a win against Oregon State and K'd 13 in a four-hit shutout of UNLV.
• Freshman Jamie LaBovick was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week after hitting two home runs with four RBI at the Palm Springs Classic.
• Jen Mineau has struck out 75 batters in 39 innings this season and leads the team with a 5-1 record and a 0.72 ERA.

Scouting Virginia Tech
• Virginia Tech returns three of eight position starters, both of its pitchers and seven of 13 letterwinners from a squad that went 28-28 and 8-10 (5th) in the ACC in 2009.
• After beginning the year 4-1, the Hokies have since dropped nine straight heading in the USF Under Armour Invitational.
• Freshman Jasmin Harrell leads the team in the circle with a 3-2 record and has a 3.33 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 42 innings. Junior Kenzie Roark has also shared the bulk of the pitching and is 1-6 with a 3.16 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 31 innings.
• Freshman catcher Courtney Liddle leads the team with four home runs and 12 RBI and is hitting .275. Senior outfielder Whitney Davis leads the team in batting with a .405 average.
• Virginia Tech is celebrating its 15th year of the softball program that started in 1996. The team made the Women's College World Series in 2008.