The Memphis Tigers defeat the Rice Owls in Houston in the series opener 4-3 in a 15-inning marathon.
David Warren took the mound for the Tigers as a starter, and the start looked rather ominous as the right-handed senior let in the first run of the game on a single in the bottom of the first inning.
Fortunately, the Tigers were able to answer right back in the next half-inning on a double steal play that saw Pierre Seals steal second which allowed Daunte Stuart a free lane to steal home.
A back and forth affair began when the Owls scored again on an RBI single in the next half-inning to give them a 2-1 lead.
Then, that was quickly answered back in the top of the third when Will Marcy scored on an RBI groundout by Austin Baskin to tie the game at two.
After that, Warren seemed to settle in and really dominate the Owls lineup. Through the next five innings, Warren would only allow one hit to give the Tigers’ bats multiple chances at taking the lead.
Meanwhile, the Tigers were having their struggles against Rice’s starting pitcher Parker Smith who also settled on the mound after a shaky start
What started out looking like another offensive shootout for the Tigers, turned into a pitcher’s duel and just waiting to see who would break through first.
That answer would come in the top of the eighth when Austin Baskin came through yet again with a sacrifice fly to score Will Marcy to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.
Warren now had a chance to have a complete game shutout. He began the bottom of the ninth on the mound, but after a leadoff double, he was pulled from the game for closer Brayden Sanders.
The runner would subsequently come across the plate to tie the game, leaving Warren with a stat line of 8+ innings, giving up seven hits, three runs, one walk, and three strikeouts.
“I was really proud of Dave…to be able to pitch into the ninth was huge,” head coach Matt Riser said.
Sanders would get out of the ninth with the game still tied, taking the game to extras. He then would get out of a bases loaded jam in the 10th to keep the game alive.
JT Durham was tabbed as the pitcher for the extra innings, and he would deliver in a big way. Durham shut down the Owls’ offense for the majority of the extra innings to once again give the Tigers a chance.
That chance would finally come in the 15th when Will Marcy singled home Alex Fernandes to give the Tigers’ a 4-3 lead.
Durham would get the first out of the bottom of the 15th before being pulled, giving a stat line of 4.1 innings pitched, no runs, three hits, two walks, and three strikeouts.
“The only way we win that is if JT did what he did, throwing up zeroes.” Riser added.
Jake Curtis was switched from the infield to pitcher to close out the game. Curtis would get the final two outs to finally close this game out for the Tigers.
The Tigers now have a chance to clinch the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Reckling Park in Houston, Texas on ESPN+
The Tigerpen 
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