March 11, 2010

Updated Week 5 Game Notes

ORLANDO, Fla. - The University of Memphis softball team completes its 10 day, 10 game road trip in Florida with a three-game series at UCF to open Conference USA play on Friday and Saturday. The two teams will play a single game on Friday at 5:30 p.m. (EST) at the UCF Softball Complex and close with a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 12 p.m.

The Tigers (10-7) are 1-3 all-time in the conference opener and 3-8 in the opening series. Memphis is still looking for its first series victory to open league play.

Memphis is 8-4 in its last 12 games with five of its seven losses coming in one-run games. The Tigers are 2-5 this season in one-run games. UCF (13-9) has won eight of its last nine contests and are 1-11 in its C-USA opening weekend.

History: Memphis vs. UCF
UCF holds the all-time advantage in the series between the two schools with a 7-5 record over Memphis. The Knights have won five of the last six meetings, while Memphis is 1-5 against UCF in Orlando. Seven of the 12 games between the two schools have been decided by a run and 10 of the 12 have been decided by two runs or less.

Live Coverage
All three games of the series against UCF can be followed live through GameTracker. The games can also be watched live by subscription on Memphis All-Access. Additionally, a free live audio stream of the games is also available. 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.

Memphis Splits Doubleheader with North Florida
The Tigers split a doubleheader at North Florida on Wednesday. After taking a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning in game one, the Osprey battled back and scored a run in each of the final three innings to earn the 3-2 victory. It was the first time Memphis had lost a game this season in which it had scored at least two runs. In game two, senior Vanessa Walle put on a one-person show with a career high five RBI and a career best seven strikeouts. Walle became the third Memphis player to hit a grand slam, with a shot to left in the third inning. She held UNF to one unearned run on three hits. Walle had four hits in the doubleheader.

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 return home after a 12-game stretch and will open its home conference schedule with a three-game series against UTEP. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 20, and close with a single game on Sunday, March 21, at the Tiger Softball Complex.

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 91% of the Time
So far this season, when the Tigers score at least two runs they walk away with the victory 91 percent of the time. Six of Memphis' seven losses have come when the team has scored one run or less. The only game Memphis did not win after scoring two runs was a 3-2 loss at North Florida. The U of M is 2-5 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 1.48 mark and in opposing batting average with a .157 average. Freshman Carly Hummel leads C-USA this season in ERA (1.30), opponent's batting average (.114), fewest hits allowed (20), fewest runs allowed (13), fewest triples allowed (0) and fewest home runs allowed (1). Vanessa Walle also ranks in the top 10 in several pitching categories and sports a 1.22 ERA with just three extra base hits allowed.

Scouting UCF
• UCF (13-9) returns eight of 10 starters, three of four pitchers and 10 of 15 letterwinners from a team that went 27-27 and 11-12 (5th) in Conference USA in 2009.

• The Knights have played four teams ranked in the top 25 this year and have wins in two of those games. UCF beat then No. 16 Tennessee, 6-3, and then No. 7 Alabama, 3-2.

• Memphis is 5-7 all-time against UCF and 1-5 in Orlando. The Knights have won five of the last six meetings.

• Junior shortstop Tiffany Lane holds the C-USA career triples record with 21 and has six triples this season.

• Junior Abby McClain leads the team in hitting with a .321 average in 15 runs scored. Senior Hillary Barrow leads the team in RBI (15) and home runs (3).

• Senior Ashleigh Cole leads the team with a 1.34 ERA, 9-4 record and 53 K's in 83.2 innings of work.