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Memphis Closes Home Schedule with East Carolina
April 24, 2008
For Immediate Release MEMPHIS - The University of Memphis completes its 2008 home schedule with a three-game series against East Carolina on Saturday and Sunday at the Tiger Softball Complex. The Tigers (24-24, 4-13) will host a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday and close the series on Sunday with a single contest at noon. Saturday's doubleheader will be part of the second annual Tiger Family Day. For $5, fans will gain access to the softball doubleheader, baseball's 2 p.m. contest vs. Tulane and a family fun area. The family area will include a bounce house, a 22-foot Tiger slide and a Kidz Kountry Petting Zoo. Tom II will also be showcased in the area, and Pouncer and the Tiger cheerleaders will be in attendance. With six league games remaining, Memphis is looking to finish strong down the stretch and improve its conference seeding. Last season the Tigers won its final six games to earn the final spot in the conference tournament. This year all nine teams are invited. As the league standings currently sit, East Carolina and Memphis would be the eighth and ninth seed in the tournament and would compete against each other in a play-in-game to open the tournament. The winner would face No. 9/13 Houston at Houston in a single elimination tournament. Memphis is three wins behind seventh place Southern Miss and four victories short of fifth place UTEP and UAB. The seventh seeded team in the conference tournament would face the No. 2 seed on the opposite side of the bracket from Houston. The Tigers are 3-3 all-time against the Pirates. The last meeting between the two teams came in the Conference USA Tournament last season in Orlando, Fla. East Carolina won the meeting 1-0 in 10 innings. Former Memphis pitcher Jenna Kubesch had a perfect game into the ninth inning, but the Tigers failed to score a run in the eventual loss. Memphis also split two games in Greenville, N.C., last season with the third game canceled due to inclement weather. In 2006, the Tigers won two of three games at home against the Pirates. Memphis holds a 23-14 all-time scoring advantage over ECU. East Carolina is 3-7 in its last 10 games and has lost four-straight. The Pirates are eighth in the conference with a 6-11 league mark and have lost 11 of its last 13 league games. ECU completed a five-game home stand on Wednesday, falling twice to Campbell. The team picked up its 30th win of the season last Saturday against UTEP, marking the 11th time in the past 12 seasons under head coach Tracey Kee that the team has won 30 or more games. Senior Stacey Andrews leads the Pirates at the plate with a batting average of .350. She also paces the team with seven home runs, 84 total bases, a .600 slugging percentage and a .410 on base percentage. Junior Vanessa Moreno leads the squad in RBI with 34, while sophomore Charina Sumner has recorded a team-high 56 hits. Junior Brooke Swann tops the pitching staff in every category as she has moved into the ECU career top-10 in appearances, saves, strikeouts and innings pitched. 2007 C-USA Freshman of the Year Toni Paisley has battled injuries this season and has pitched in only seven games with her last appearance coming on March 9. The three-game series between Memphis and East Carolina can be followed live through GameTracker. Live streaming video and audio is also available to All-Access subscribers with Dan O'Brien calling the play-by-play. Links to the live content can be found at GoTigersGo.com. On Sunday, the Tigers' two seniors, Lindsay Kelso and Melissa Nance, will be honored before the game. A home run derby between Memphis players and softball staff will also take place after the game.
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Memphis Tigers
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