The Tigerpen

Author: Chandler Black

  • How Has the Memphis Locker Room Reacted to a Losing Season up to this Point?

    How Has the Memphis Locker Room Reacted to a Losing Season up to this Point?

    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.

  • Memphis Loses Low-Scoring Rubber Match and The Series Against USF Bulls

    Memphis Loses Low-Scoring Rubber Match and The Series Against USF Bulls

    TAMPA, FLA – The Memphis Tigers have lost the final game of their conference series against USF 3-5. With that, they also drop their first series against a conference opponent. All signs were looking up for the Tigers following a massive game on offense Friday night, but the momentum could not be carried through the rest of the weekend.

    “We had a great Friday night,” said Memphis head coach Matt Riser. “Just Saturday and Sunday did not play good defense. We have to be better defensively.”

    This game started out on a positive note. Will Marcy drove in his fifth double of the year in the leadoff spot. Riley Davis brought him home later in the inning during his first plate appearance of the weekend.

    In the top of the second, Marcy came to the plate and delivered once again. He shot a ground ball between the first and second basemen to bring in Brennan DuBose. The Tigers would maintain this 2-0 lead after the first two innings.

    USF began to respond and the Memphis bats slowed down. The Bulls were able to salvage one run in the third, while the Tigers hung zeros across the board. South Florida kept rolling and were eventually able to knot the game up at 2 heading into the fifth inning.

    A fielder’s choice hit by Eric Snow of USF gave his Bulls a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth. After allowing runs three innings in a row, the Tigers saw their lead completely disappear.

    That is not where the scoring stopped for USF in the fifth. Marcus Brodil hit an RBI single to double the lead later on in the inning.

    In the sixth, Memphis started causing some chaos on the basepaths. Daunte Stuart went from first to third after a steal followed by a wild pitch. Jonah Sutton cashed in that run with his first hit of the season. South Florida’s lead was now just 4-3.

    USF would go on to load the bases in the 8th. The Memphis defense allowed only one of those runs to score, giving themselves a chance in the 9th only down two runs.

    Memphis did not capitalize, however. They ended the ball game going three up and three down, with three straight strikeouts.

    Memphis is traveling home to face Lipscomb at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, at FedEx Park.

  • Memphis Claims Monstrous Win to Kickoff Weekend Series on the Road

    Memphis Claims Monstrous Win to Kickoff Weekend Series on the Road

    TAMPA, FLA – The University of Memphis tigers began their three-game series against the University of South Florida Bulls tonight. They started the weekend on a very good note, obtaining 16-7 victory.

    The win was crucial, but another main story coming out of this game was Memphis second baseman Daunte Stuart. Stuart went 5-5 at the plate and managed to hit for the cycle. This skyrocketed his season average to .351 on the season. Matt Riser praising him post game saying “Story of the night, Daunte Stuart.”

    Stuart opened up the scoring for the Tigers. A solo homerun from him gave Memphis a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. USF would respond very quickly with a RBI single from Drew Brutcher that would give USF a 2 run lead in the home half of the inning.

    Memphis responded as Austin Baskin blasted his fourth long ball of the year to give the Tigers a 4-3 advantage on the road. The scoring in the third did not stop there; as a double by Pierre Seals drove in another run to extend the lead to two.

    The tigers would continue to pour it on.  An RBI from shortstop Jake Curtis drove in two more for Memphis. This would cause a USF pitching change, bringing Dominick Madonna in for the Bulls.

    This would not however put a stop to the on onslaught coming from the Tigers’ bats. Brennan DuBose smacked his fifth home run of the year, making it 9-3 in third, with nobody out. Memphis recorded eight runs on seven hits in the third alone.

    Things continued to roll for Riser’s squad. Jacob Compton hit a 2 run shot in the top of the fourth to give Memphis an even bigger cushion.

    Seth Cox hit a 2-run homer in the top of the fifth to keep the scoring streak alive. This made for five Memphis homers from five different players. A couple more RBI’s in the fifth from Jacob Compton and Pierre Seals made the score 15-3.

    USF was able to muster up four runs to cut the lead, but Memphis took one right back to get a 16-5 win. The Tigers ended up with 16 runs on a whooping 16 hits.

    After the game, head coach Riser said, “I’m really proud of our offense, they were about as locked in on a Friday night as they could possibly be. They had a great approach.”

    They face the USF Bulls again tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Red McEwen Field in Tampa, Florida.

  • Jake Curtis Shines Light on the Leadership in Memphis Tigers Baseball Locker Room

    Jake Curtis Shines Light on the Leadership in Memphis Tigers Baseball Locker Room

    Memphis Tigers RHP/INF Jake Curtis spoke about the leaders in the Tigers locker room. Curtis is a Memphis legacy, as his father and uncle suited up for the Tigers back in their colligate days.

    Curtis started his college career at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, Illinois. While in Springfield, he boasted a .184 batting average alongside a 2.86 ERA. Since coming to Memphis, he is now coming off a season where he had a .266 average at the plate and a 2.60 ERA on the mound.

    He has already had a few accolades under his belt throughout his college career including: Rawlings Juco All-American 2B, MWAC Player of the year, and Region 24 player of the year.

    This is Cutris’ second season with the Tigers. His younger brother is expected to join the team next season. He has had a short stint with Memphis so far, but he already been very vocal on his leadership roles within the program.

    During his tenure, Curtis has already had multiple head coaches and seen some roster shakeups. He is very optimistic about this season’s culture behind the scenes.

    “It means a lot to have a coach that always has our back and we have felt that since day one,” Curtis said. “It’s good to see that we are headed in the right direction.”

    Baseball can be a very individualist sport, but a team must have a strong sense of leadership behind the scenes. 

    Curtis has been a leader during his time with the Tigers. He said that the entire senior class has adopted a leadership role on the team and is trying to teach the younger guys.

    “It is big to have a leader,” Curtis said. “As for this team, we don’t have an individual leader, we have multiple. Really it is the senior class that has been here, people that have been here even longer than me. They’ve been around it and we understand what skip wants from us, and that makes it a lot easier.”

    He added that accountability is key to his role as a leader on the team because everyone has to feel responsible for their actions.

    “Obviously, seniors are going to make mistakes too, so that’s why we got a lot of leaders,” Curtis said. “The good thing about this team is that we’ll hold each other accountable.”

    This is also Coach Matt Riser’s first season with the Tigers and his seniors have had as many as three head coaches during their time at Memphis.

    “They have shown that even if with their third head coach and the third system, they have been very selfless,” Riser said. “Tell me what to do and tell me where to go and I will do that to the best of my abilities.”

    Even though it is only the beginning of his second season with the university, Curtis has adapted to his leadership well and takes pride in it. He and the rest of the senior class have gained these roles and are embracing them.

    “I just want to make a difference and put this program in the direction that we want and get us back on the winning page,” Curtis said.

  • The AAC Bounces Back with High Scoring Offenses and Lopsided Victories

    Wichita State Shockers

    Wichita State had a very good week mounting a 4-0 record. They started off on the road against Oral Roberts in which they obtained a 3-1 victory on Wednesday. Over the weekend, they played host to Utah Tech. They swept the Aggies over the weekend while outscoring them by a total of 17-1.

    Rice Owls

    Rice had a disappointing week against some very tough opponents. They hosted the number two team in the country LSU. Against the Tigers, they suffered a 16-4 loss. Over the weekend, Stanford University came to town.  Stanford swept the Owls over a three-game series. They hope to bounce back next week against Prairie View A&M and Hawaii.

    Tulane Green Wave

    The Green Wave stayed home all week and had much success. They hosted a hometown rival on Tuesday in the University of New Orleans. They defeated the Privateers by a score of 6-3.  For the weekend series, Yale traveled down to New Orleans. Tulane swept the Bulldogs and even mounted an 11-1 victory on Saturday in just eight innings.

    UAB Blazers

    UAB faced some in state foes this week. On Tuesday, the Alabama Crimson Tide came to town. UAB dropped this game by a score of 7-9 in 10 innings.  North Alabama then traveled to Birmingham for the weekend. The Blazers found a bit more success in these games. They won the series 2-1 and scored 26 total runs over the course of three games.

    UTSA Roadrunners

    UTSA played four games this week. On Tuesday, they picked up an 8-7 victory at the University of Houston. Over the weekend, Grand Canyon University traveled to San Antonio. These were high scoring games that UTSA won the series by a margin of 2-1. They mounted 29 runs over the weekend.

  • Jacksonville State Rallies Late to Stun Memphis in Extra Innings to Take the Series

    Jacksonville State Rallies Late to Stun Memphis in Extra Innings to Take the Series

    JACKSONVILLE, ALA – Jacksonville State took the season opening series from Memphis in dramatic fashion Sunday. Down 9-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Gamecocks rallied to a 13-9 victory in 11 innings.

    “We’ve got to firgure out how to finish games,” Memphis coach Matt Riser said after the game. “If we could finished games, we would be 3-0, but instead we are 1-2.”

    This game featured Jackson Sleeper of the Gamecocks and Caden Robinson of the Tigers getting the nod as starting pitchers for their respective teams. Both players started out strong, as the first two innings were scoreless.

    JSU began scoring in the third inning after Derrick Jackson Jr. hit a long home run to give the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead. The exit velocity on his long ball was 111 mph.

    Memphis responded immediately. Catcher Brennan DuBose driving in an RBI single in the top of the fourth to cut the lead down to a single run.  Alex Fernandes would then go on to hit a 3-run homer to grant Memphis a 4-2 lead. Jacob Compton then hit a solo home run right after Fernandes, pushing the lead up to three runs.

    Later, Riley Davis would record his first RBI as a member of the Tigers.  His hit would bring home Austin Baskin.

    The score stayed the same all the way until the eighth inning. In this frame, Memphis started with a single and a walk. 

    A balk by Jacksonville State brought home Memphis’ seventh run. The bases were then loaded and JSU issued back-to-back walks for runs eight and nine. JSU finally got out of the eighth with a 6-4-3 double play.

    In the home half of the eighth, Jacksonville State finally dialed up the offense. Freshman Hudson Walburn hit a three-run shot to cut the lead to 9-5. They would then hit a two-run double, shrinking the lead to just 2.

    In the ninth, Memphis went down in order. Caleb Johnson of JSU hit a two-RBI double to tie the game at 9 runs each. 

    After an intentional walk and a hit by pitch, the Gamecocks once again had the bases loaded.  Memphis got out of the jam and moved onto extra innings for the second time this series.

    Alex Fernandes started out the 10th by recording a double, leaving the go-ahead run-in scoring position for Memphis.  Memphis was unable to cash this run in, leaving the game tied after top half of the 10th.   

    In the bottom of the 10th, JSU had hot bats. They had the bases loaded for the third time in the game. Caleb Johnson would go on to hit a walk off grand slam to get the Gamecocks a victory of 13-9.

    Memphis travels to play UA, Little Rock on the road Tuesday at 3 p.m.  This game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

    Photo by Brock Busick/University of Memphis Baseball

  • Memphis Baseball Drops Season Opener in 13 Inning Marathon

    Memphis Baseball Drops Season Opener in 13 Inning Marathon

    JACKSONVILLE, ALA ­– University of Memphis baseball lost a 13-inning season opener Friday to Jacksonville State, the two teams first-ever meeting. The Gamecocks hit a walk-off home run

    Jacksonville State brought out RHP Austin Cornelius to start the game on the mound.  This was his first ever colligate start, despite appearing out of the bullpen 23 times last season.

    Early in the game, Jacob Compton recorded the first hit of the 2024Tigers season, Compton smashed a double to deep left field.

    RHP David Warren was the starting pitcher for coach Matt Riser’s Tigers Friday afternoon. He did not have the best start, giving up an early triple to the Gamecocks. 

    This one cuts a little deep, you don’t expect to go 13 innings on opening night. The good thing that showed out of it was that we fought, and there’s no question about that.

    Matt Riser, Memphis Baseball Coach

    Caleb Johnson’s triple was later cashed in by a Brennen Norton RBI single. JSU led Memphis 1-0 after one inning.

    The Tigers responded immediately. Daunte Stuart drew his 110th collegiate walk, followed by a Seth Cox double early in the second inning. Catcher Brennan DuBose cashed in both of those runs with an RBI double.

    The Gamecocks started getting some momentum in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Freshman Gabe Young hit a 1-out triple, which called for a Tigers mound visit. Following the meeting, pitcher David Warren recorded the next two outs in just two pitches to hold on to the Tigers one run lead.

    JSU was threatening again in the bottom of the fifth, with back-to-back singles and just one out. Memphis once again found their way out of the jam with a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

    In the top of the sixth, Memphis got its first long ball of the season. DH Seth Cox hit a three-run shot to deep center allowing Memphis to take a 5-1 lead.

    Jacksonville State answered instantly. Memphis grabbed pitcher Brandon Chorezelewiski from the bullpen.  Chorezelewiski gave up a walk and a hit quickly. Gabe Young then smacked an RBI double to cut the lead down to 3. Coach Riser pulled Chorezelewiski before he could record an out. JSU would score two more runs on a sacrifice and a passed ball in the bottom of the 6th.

    In the eighth inning, JSU’s Bear Madliak tied the game with an RBI double. Memphis could not get anything going on offense since the sixth inning. The score was then 5-5.

    Memphis got some things going in the 9th, but eventually left two runners stranded.  JSU went down in order to send us into extra innings.

    Neither team could generate a lot of offense in extras.  JSU in fact struck out 8 Memphis batters in a row across extra innings.

    Finally, in the bottom of the 13th inning, Brennan Norton of Jacksonville State hit a walk off home run to deep left field.  Memphis fell to 0-1 to start the 2024 season. 

    “This one cuts a little deep, you don’t expect to go 13 innings on opening night,” Riser said after the game. “The good thing that showed out of it was that we fought, and there’s no question about that.”

    The Tigers take on the Gamecocks again today at 2 p.m. on ESPN +.