March 9, 2010
Week 5 Weekly Game Notes 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of Memphis softball team will play a doubleheader with North Florida on Wednesday beginning at 4 p.m. (EST) in Jacksonville, Fla., in the Tigers' first true road test of the season.
The U of M travels to UNF after finishing 3-2 at the USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. Memphis is 9-6 on the season and has yet to play a road game. The Tigers are 5-3 at home and 4-3 against neutral opponents.
The midweek doubleheader is part of a 10-day, 10-game road trip for the Tigers to Florida during spring break. Following the games against UNF, Memphis will conclude its trip at Orlando to begin conference play with a three-game series against UCF.
History: Memphis vs. North Florida
This will be the first meeting between Memphis and North Florida. The Tigers are 13-2 all-time against teams from the Atlantic Sun conference and 3-0 this season. The U of M has two wins at home against Belmont and a win against Jacksonville last week.
Live Coverage
Both games of the doubleheader can be followed live through GameTracker. Additionally, a live video stream of the games can also be purchased through A-SUN IPTV. The subscription is $5.99 per event or $9.99 per month. 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 are returning to their home state during the trip to Florida. 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 went 3-2 in the USF Under Armour Invitational with victories against Jacksonville (8-3), Loyola-Chicago (2-1) and Virginia Tech (2-0). The two losses came in two one-run games against Rutgers (2-1) and Fordham (2-1). Carly Hummel earned C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors after going 3-0 with 22 strikeouts in 16.2 innings of work. Leigh Rowan and Maddie McKinley also had a strong week offensively. Rowan had three RBI, three runs scored and two home runs with a .412 batting average. McKinley hit .471 with three RBI and three runs scored.
Next Up
The Tigers will conclude its 10-day road trip in Florida with a three-game series at UCF in Orlando to open Conference USA play. The two teams will play a single game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday.
Hummel Named C-USA Pitcher of the Week
Freshman Carly Hummel was named the C-USA Pitcher of the Week after going 3-0 in the USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. Hummel is the first Tiger pitcher to earn the weekly honor since Jenna Kubesch took the selection on May 7, 2007. Kubesch was named pitcher of the week four times during her two-year career with the U of M. Hummel picked up all three of the Tigers' wins in the tournament and allowed just two earned runs in 16.2 innings of work. She gave up five hits and struck out 22 to support her 0.84 ERA and .091 opponent's batting average. The Bakersfield, Calif., closed out the weekend with a 2-0 shutout win over Virginia Tech. She held the Hokies to three hits and fanned 10. It was her second career shutout and second game with 10 or more K's. Hummel also earned a two-hit victory over Jacksonville in an 8-3 win and held the Dolphins hitless in the final six innings, while striking out nine. She pitched a perfect two and two thirds innings in relief for the win against Loyola-Chicago in a 2-1 victory.
Two Runs = Win
So far this season, when the Tigers score at least two runs they walk away with the victory. All six of Memphis' losses have come when the team has scored one run or less. The U of M is 2-4 in one-run games this season.
Pitchers Leading the Way
The Tigers as a team lead the league four weeks into the season in ERA by nearly 50 points with a 1.54 mark and in opposing batting average with a .159 average. Freshman Carly Hummel leads C-USA this season in ERA (1.17), opponent's batting average (.105), fewest hits allowed (16), fewest runs allowed (10), fewest triples allowed (0) and fewest home runs allowed (0). Vanessa Walle also ranks in the top 10 in several pitching categories and sports a 1.44 ERA with just two extra base hits allowed.
Scouting North Florida
• North Florida (7-13) returns 12 of 16 letterwinners from a team that finished 26-24 and 119-9 in the Atlantic Sun in 2009.
• The Ospreys have won five of their last six games, including a 10-2 victory over 2009 NCAA Super Regional participant Jacksonville State.
• Freshman Jackie Reese was selected to the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic all-tournament team after hitting .556 with three home runs and driving in six RBI over the weekend.
• North Florida won four in a row at the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic in Marietta, Ga. Of the 22 teams that competed, the Ospreys ranked third behind the host and Winthrop. UNF went 4-1 altogether.
• Senior Devyn Findley leads the team in the circle with a 6-7 record and a 1.91 ERA. She has 100 strikeouts in 80.2 innings pitched.
