March 29, 2010

Weekly Game Notes

MEMPHIS - The University of Memphis softball team hosts a midweek doubleheader with Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday at 4 and 6 p.m. at the Tiger Softball Complex. The doubleheader begins a five-game home stand for the Tigers who will host a three-game conference series with Marshall on Friday and Saturday.

Memphis (15-12, 4-4 C-USA) enter the week after winning one of three games at Tulsa. In windy conditions, the Tigers gave up five home runs, which is one more than the team had given up in the first 24 games. The U of M also hit four home runs in the series, including a pair of two-run homers in a 6-1 victory by senior pitcher Vanessa Walle.

Despite the jump in runs allowed over the weekend, Memphis still leads the league in pitching with a 1.66 ERA and a .173 opponent batting average. Walle leads the league with a 1.21 ERA and is 6-4 on the season, while freshman Carly Hummel is 8-6 with a 1.80 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 85.1 innings.

As a team, Memphis is hitting .219 with 94 runs scored and a .331 slugging percentage. Senior Leigh Rowan has been in a bit of a slump, but still leads the team with a .333 batting average, 15 RBI and four home runs. Junior Maddie McKinley is hitting .313 with 13 RBI and 14 runs scored, while Walle is batting .277 with 11 RBI and three home runs.

Mississippi Valley State (12-16, 5-2 SWAC) has won the Southwestern Athletic Conference the past six seasons and earned the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Delta Devils are 12-16 on the season and 5-2 in the SWAC. Memphis has a 1-0 all-time advantage against MVSU with the only meeting coming in the Tigers' Blues City Classic in 2007. Memphis won the game, 8-2.

The Delta Devils are hitting .248 on the season with 115 runs scored,d 22 home runs and a .417 slugging percentage. Sophomore outfielder Ashley Hobbs leads the team in batting with a .333 average and has 12 RBI and 13 runs scored. Senior infielder Angelia Jones leads the team in home runs with seven and RBI with 18. She is hitting .230 on the season.

The MVSU pitching staff has a 4.12 ERA with 138 strikeouts and 78 walks in 183.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .282 off the team. Senior Lisa Jansen leads the Delta Devils with a 8-7 record and a 2.73 ERA. She has 90 strikeouts with 27 walks in 97.1 innings and 15 starts.

History: Memphis vs. Mississippi Valley State
Memphis leads the all-time series between the two schools, 1-0. The only meeting came in the Tigers' Blues City Classic in 2007. The Tigers won the game, 8-2. Memphis is 20-0 all-time against teams from the SWAC.

Live Coverage
Both games of the doubleheader can be followed live with live stats provided by GameTracker. A live chat will also be available. Both games can be watched live through Memphis All Access. Links to the live broadcasts can be found on the softball schedule page at GoTigersGo.com.

Last Week
Memphis split a doubleheader at Saint Louis on Tuesday. Freshman Carly Hummel earned a 1-0 one-hit shutout in game one and struck out a school tying 13 batters in the game. Senior Vanessa Walle knocked in the game winning run in the seventh inning on a pinch hit single. In game two, the Tigers came back from a 3-0 early deficit to tie the game. In extra innings, the U of M struck first in the ninth and took a 4-3 lead. But Saint Louis countered in the bottom of the inning with a walk-off two-run homer.

The Tigers then won one of three games at Tulsa. The two teams split the doubleheader on Saturday and then the Golden Hurricane won the rubber match on Sunday. In windy conditions, the Tigers allowed 13 runs in the three games and five homers.

In game one, Memphis had a 3-1 lead, but Tulsa battled back to take the lead in the fourth. The Tigers regained the lead in the fifth, but three more runs by TU in the sixth gave the U of M a 7-5 loss.

Memphis ran away with a 6-1 victory in game two with Vanessa Walle earning the victory in the circle and going 3-for-3 at the plate with four RBI on a pair of home runs.

In game three, Memphis battled back to take a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning, but Tulsa tied the game in the bottom of the inning and then hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh for a 5-3 victory.

Next Up
Memphis will host a three-game conference series with Marshall on Friday and Saturday at the Tiger Softball Complex. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday at 4 and 6 p.m. and close with a noon contest on Saturday. The games are moved up in the week due to Easter weekend.

Record in Games on March 30
Memphis is 0-1 all-time in games on March 30. The only other time the Tigers played on this date was in 2008 at then No. 11/11 Houston. The Tigers lost the game 3-0.

Tigers in Midweek Games This Year
Memphis is 4-2 this season in midweek games. The Tigers are 3-1 in games played on Tuesday and 1-1 in games on Wednesday. The U of M is 2-0 in midweek games at home this season.

Walle Does it All Again
For the second time this season, Vanessa Walle provided both the offense and defense in a Tiger win. Walle went 3-for-3 at the plate with four RBI and a pair of two-run homers in a 6-1 victory over Tulsa. She also pitched a complete game in the contest and came an out away from throwing a shutout. Walle has knocked in the game-winning run in a team best four games. She is hitting .277 with 11 RBI and three home runs. Her other offensive/defensive game came against North Florida where she pitched the victory and had five RBI.

Scouting Mississippi Valley State
• Mississippi Valley State (12-16, 5-2 SWAC) has won the SWAC Championship the last six years and earned the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Last year the Delta Devils finished 38-16 and 17-0 in the SWAC.
• MVSU is 6-4 in its last 10 games and are coming off a three-game sweep at home against Jackson State.
• The Delta Devils are hitting .248 on the season with 22 home runs, 115 runs scored, a 4.17 slugging percentage, a .330 on base percentage and 31 stolen bases.
• Sophomore outfielder Ashley Hobbs leads the team with a .333 batting average. She has 12 RBI and 13 runs scored. Senior infielder Angelia Jones leads the team with seven home runs, 18 RBI and 15 runs scored.
• Senior Lisa Jansen leads the team in the circle with a 8-7 record and a 2.73 ERA. She has started 15 games and has 90 K's in 97.1 innings.