Tough start into the week for the Memphis Tigers. Their late game surge was not enough to down the Lipscomb Bisons.
The Bisons showed up early as the first hit of the game directly went out of the ballpark for a one-run home run. This would be the only highlight in the first innings as both teams remained quiet for the second. After the Tigers changed pitcher to Seth Garner, Lipscomb was able to drive in two more runs in the third inning.
The Tigers, on the other hand, had a horrible offensive showing on the day. Until the bottom of the seventh inning, no runs were scored while the Bisons could rotate through four different pitchers without any effect. Coach Riser was disappointed with the offensive showing of his team.
“We pitched well enough to win a ball game today,” said Riser. “We got to be better offensively.”
Lipscomb continued the onslaught and increased the lead to 6-0. Then, the Tigers seemed to wake up. Will Marcy and Seth Cox made the score 6-2 with two runs.
The eigth inning could have been the turning point of the game as Memphis loaded the bases with no outs but could only cash in two runs from that. A sequence that frustrated coach Riser.
“We are not bringing guys in that are in scoring positions, real simple,” said Riser. “We got to be better.”
Coach Riser also complained about the lack of mental toughness in the team. He says that the team will need that, because their opponents in the second half will force them to play at a higher level.
“The second half of the season is a meat grinder. You got to go out and play good baseball now to win games,” said coach Riser after the game.
A chance to play good baseball is waiting just around the corner, as the Memphis Tigers next opponent is a conference rival in FAU. Coach Riser promised to not go easy on the team with a tougher schedule fast approaching.
“This is not gonna be sunshine and rainbow and butterflies for the rest of the way out,” said Riser. “I am gonna ride them and I am gonna ride them hard, cause I expect more out of them.”
Their next game this week will be at 6pm on Thursday, where the Tigers look to get back in the win column after two losses in a row.
The Tigerpen 