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Memphis Softball Hosts Easter Series with Houston
April 9, 2009
For Immediate Release MEMPHIS - The University of Memphis softball program begins the second half of the Conference USA schedule by hosting a three-game series with the University of Houston beginning on Friday. Memphis and Houston will square off at the Tiger Softball Complex in a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. and close with a single game on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Tigers (16-21, 2-10) will host three of the remaining four league series to close out the year. Houston (18-16, 7-4) holds an 8-2 all-time advantage over Memphis. The Cougars have won the past five meetings, including a season-ending contest for Memphis in the C-USA Championship last season. The last Tiger win came in 2007 in Memphis in a 2-1 victory. The U of M is 1-2 at home against Houston and 1-6 on the road. Last week the Tigers swept a midweek home doubleheader against in-state rival, UT Martin. Memphis won game one 7-2 and then came back twice to take a 5-4 victory in game two in nine innings. The U of M then was swept in a three-game league series at Marshall. Three of the five games last week were decided by a run. The Tigers have already set a new program season record in triples with nine this season. The previous high was five set last year. Seven different players have recorded a triple in 2009 led by two from both sophomore Heather Mott and freshman Lelani Bernardino. Memphis has stolen 54 bases in 37 games and is seven behind the record set in the program's first year in 2006. Last season, Memphis finished with 51 steals in 55 games, an average of .927 swipes per game. This year, the Tigers are averaging 1.5 steals per game, putting the team on pace for 76 steals on the season. Twelve different players have at least one steal on the year and four have at least six. Senior Brittany Gooch leads the team with a perfect 11-for-11 in steal attempts. Memphis ranks 45ths in the nation in stolen bases and third in C-USA. Houston swept a three-game series with UAB last week with 11 of the Cougars' 14 runs coming by homers. All three victories were come from behind wins. UH senior Laurie Wagner is the reigning C-USA Hitter of the Week after going 6-for-13 (.462) with seven RBI last week. All three games against Houston can be followed through live stats provided by CBS College Sports GameTracker. Live video with play-by-play is also available to All-Access subscribers. Live commentary is provided by the Voice of Tiger Softball, Dan O'Brien. Links to the live broadcasts can be found at GoTigersGo.com.
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Memphis Tigers
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