March 27, 2012

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis softball program opens up a five-game home stand with a midweek doubleheader against Murray State on Wednesday at the Tiger Softball Complex beginning at 4 p.m.

Memphis (7-26, 0-9 C-USA) is looking to break a four-game losing streak against a top 100 RPI program. Murray State enters the meeting 11-7 overall and 6-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Children wearing their youth team jerseys get into the game free. Tickets at the gate are $5 for adults 13 and up. Senior citizens and youth ages 6-12 are $3. Children ages 5 and under and U of M students with ID are Free.

Memphis Quick Hits

• Junior shortstop Morgan Mosby leads the team with a .352 batting average and ranks 10th in Conference USA in hitting and sixth in hits with 37. 
• Freshman Sara Pearson went 3-for-6 last week, including a two-run home run against Samford for her first collegiate hit. Prior to the breakout, Pearson had gone 0-for-6 with five strikeouts. 
• Senior Jessica Phillips leads Memphis with 18 RBI, 10 more than any other member on the team. She also leads the team with a .385 on-base percentage and is second with a .365 slugging percentage. 
• Morgan Mosby and Jessica Phillips have been the Tigers' most productive players with runners in scoring position. Mosby is hitting .458 (11-for-24), while Phillips is batting .448 (13-for-29). 
• Twelve of Jessica Phillips' 18 RBI have been with two outs. 
• Sophomore Ashleigh King has reached base on an error more than any other player on the team. King has reached six times due to a fielding error. Ijiah Hargrove is second with five. 
• Freshman Jordan Richwood leads the team with 7.12 strikeouts per game.

Live Coverage
Both games of the doubleheader can be followed through live stats provided by CBS College Sports GameTracker. Live video provided by Memphis Tiger Vision and a live blog are also available for the games. Links to the live coverage can be found at GoTigersGo.com.

Last Week
Memphis went 1-4 last week. The Tigers won the first game of a doubleheader with Samford, 11-4, before losing the next four games. Three of the losses were shutouts. The Tigers lost 5-0 in the second game against the Bulldogs and then were swept at Houston. The Cougars took a 5-1 victory in game one and then earned a 8-0 no-hitter in game two and a 8-0 one-hitter in game three.

On Deck
Memphis will host a three-game C-USA series with Southern Miss on Saturday and Sunday. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. at the Tiger Softball Complex. The Tigers and Golden Eagles will close with a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday.

Murray State Quick Hits

• Murray State ranks 87th in the first RPI of the 2012 season released this week. 
• Megan Glosser ranks 24th in the nation in stolen bases per game (0.61 - 11) and 35th in runs per game (1.0 - 18). 
• The Racers rank 27th in the nation in stolen bases with a 1.67 per game average and are 30-for-37 on the year in 18 games. 
• Murray State ranks 40th in the nation in scoring with a 5.33 runs per game average. The team has scored 96 runs. 
• The Racers are batting .292 as a team with five home runs and are led by Casey Castile who is hitting .388 with 13 RBI. Megan Glosser is second on the team with a .377 average. 
• Leslie Bridges leads the team in RBI with 19 and is hitting .328 with two home runs. 
• In the circle, Murray State has a 2.73 ERA with a .272 opponent batting average, 97 strikeouts and 62 walks. 
• Shelby Kosmecki leads the team with a 1.95 ERA and is 5-3 on the season. She has struck out 40 with 28 walks in 50.1 innings.

History Versus Murray State
The doubleheader will mark the first meeting between the two schools. Memphis and Murray State were scheduled to play a doubleheader at Murray, Ky., last year, but it was canceled due to weather.