MEMPHIS – The University of Memphis baseball team went through a lot changes during this past off season. The team saw a few seniors graduate but replaced them with some very good acquisitions in the transfer portal. The biggest move that the team made was naming Matt Riser as their head coach for their 2024 campaign.
There was a lot of hope surrounding this squad early before this season started. They added some quality players while bringing back some upper classmen to maintain their culture. Riser had a lot of success Southeastern Louisiana, and the goal was for that success to roll over into Memphis.
So far, this season has been very up and down for the Tigers. They have had some quality wins and have shown that they do not quit and can erase big leads. The team has also blown some double digit run leads in late innings and has had some bullpen liabilities. They are never truly out of a game, but no lead feels exactly safe either.
The pitching woes have been a story all season long. The Tigers have had some decent starting pitching, but the bullpen has been giving up some big innings. “Real difficult to have success when your bullpen comes out and pitches like that (after Memphis’ loss to FAU). We got to stay in ballgames, obviously disappointing,” said Riser.
Memphis currently sits at 13-17. Conference play just started, and the team is 2-6 through the four games. They do have big home matchups coming up against Ole Miss and Mississippi State. If they can start winning some conference games and knock off these teams, they could start to make some noise towards the end of the year.
“Not a whole lot to say right now, it’s a matter of doing now,” said coach Matt Riser. “You get to a point in time where either you can do it or you can’t do it. That’s the point we’re at now.”
The season a is a little over the halfway point now. Memphis seems to think that it is do or die time for their team. Coach Riser said that some changes are going to have to be made right now in order for this team to turn things around.
“There has to be (major lineup changes). Some things have to shake up a little bit. We don’t have a whole lot to shake it with to be honest with you, what you see is what you got. There will be a few guys that get some more opportunities,” said Riser.
The locker room as well has a feel that is now the time for them to turn things around. Closing pitcher Brayden Sanders said, “After every game we tell ourselves that we are 0-0. The next one is the one that matters. We just got to attack it day by day.”
It will be very interesting to see how Memphis responds in the back half of this season. Their next game is at home against Ole Miss on April 2nd, at 6 p.m. “We’ve got 48 hours to reflect and see what we want to do. We are at the halfway point,” said Riser.
The Tigerpen 
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