April 30, 2010

Game Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Memphis softball team will play UAB in a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday, May 1 and 2 in Birmingham, Ala., at the UAB Softball Field.

The two teams will open with a doubleheader beginning at noon on Saturday. The time was moved up an hour as the team's attempt to get the games in before predicted inclement weather hits. Memphis and UAB will close the series with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Tigers head into the game with a 23-20 record and are 7-10 in Conference USA. Last week, Memphis lost 6-1 to Arkansas in its only game of the week.

Memphis magic number for clinching one of eight spots in the C-USA Tournament in Houston, Texas, is down to two. Memphis needs two wins, two Marshall losses or a combination of the two to secure a spot.

UAB is 32-17 on the year and 11-7 in Conference USA play. The Blazers lost two of three games last weekend to UTEP in El Paso, Texas.

Maddie McKinley leads the Tigers in batting average (.301), RBI (21), runs scored (23) and is tied for the team lead in doubles with eight. She also leads the team and is tied for the school season record with 19 stolen bases in 20 attempts. The Tigers as a team have stolen 56-65 bases this season.

Memphis is hitting .219 as a team with a .314 on base percentage. The Tigers have scored 139 runs in 43 games and have a .322 slugging percentage.

In the circle, freshman Carly Hummel leads the team in ERA (1.67) and is 13-8 with 189 K's in 146.2 innings. Senior Vanessa Walle holds an ERA of 1.71 and is 8-9 with 56 K's in 98.0 innings. The Tigers are second in the conference in ERA with a 1.79 mark.

Kayla Orr leads UAB in batting with a. 366 average. She has eight home runs, 38 RBI, and 25 runs scored. UAB is hitting .272 as a team with 37 home runs and 219 runs scored in 49 games. The team has a.350 on base percentage and a .423 slugging percentage.

Alisha Smith leads the team in the circle with a 12-10 record, 2.00 ERA and has struck out 153 batters in 153.2 innings. The Blazers have a 2.19 team ERA with four shutouts and 348 K's in 336.0 innings.

History: Memphis vs. UAB
This will be the 15th meeting between Memphis and UAB. The Blazers currently lead the all-time series 8-6 after taking three of four games from the Tigers in the 2009 season.

Live Coverage
The games with UAB can be followed through live stats provided by GameTracker. Additionally, subscription audio and video is also available through UAB. Links to the live broadcasts can be found on the softball schedule page at GoTigersGo.com.

Last Week
Memphis lost 6-1 against Arkansas last week in its only game.The Tigers (23-20) faced a primarily pro Razorback crowd of 1,302 on the neutral field and struggled to get anything going offensively off RHP Layne McGuirt. McGuirt (8-8) struck out seven and allowed just three hits to pick up the victory for Arkansas (25-21). Heather Mott scored the lone Memphis run in the seventh inning.

Next Up
Memphis will return home for their final three conference games of the season against East Carolina on May 8 & 9 to close out the regular season

Down the Fast Lane
Memphis has stolen 56 of 65 steal attempts this season. Junior Maddie McKinley leads the team and has tied a school season record with 19 steals. Junior Heather Mott is second on the team with 14, which is tied for sixth in the school record books.

Stopping The Run
Junior catcher Keanah Prestridge has tied the school season record for caught stealing by with 16. She is tied with Kimmi Hayden's 16 caught stealing in 2006. Last year, Memphis had just 10 caught stealing by all season. Prestridge leads Conference USA and is second in conference play with six.