The Memphis Tigers and Florida Atlantic Owls went toe-to-toe tonight to start a three game conference series. The Tigers bested the Owls 2-1 behind a pitching gem from David Warren.
Warren pitched 7.1 innings, and during that threw 10 strikeouts and only 4 hits and 1 earned run. 7.1 innings pitched and 10 k’s are both career highs for the senior pitcher. Matt Riser had a high praise for Warren postgame, “Its gotta be the best outing of his career.”
Warren also spoke highly of himself. When asked when he felt like tonight was going to be a good night for him, he kept his response short “When I came out honestly.”
The Tigers only scored in the second inning after a Pierre Seals solo homerun to left center. Then after a Jake Curtis double, Brennan DuBose doubled himself to drive in another run. The two runs proving all they needed.
The Owls would try to threaten the Tigers lead as Andrew Mckenna hit a lead off homerun to make it 2-1 in the fourth.
The Owls got bases loaded in the eighth inning, but would end up lining out and leaving three baserunners on. The Tigers also had the bases loaded in the eighth but also were not able to do anything with it.
Brayden Sanders came in to pitch in the eighth for the Tigers and picked up where Warren left. He was the one that got them out of the bases loaded jam in the eighth, and would have to do it again in the top of the ninth.
With the bags full for the Owls Dalton Frank worked a full count against Sanders. Having to throw a strike, Sanders did just that, striking out Frank to end the game and secure the victory. Sanders spoke about the play after the game “I don’t want a lot going through my mind, it was just another pitch for me. 3-2, I was going to attack him with my best stuff.”
Up Next
The Tigers continue their homestand against the Owls tomorrow night with first pitch at 6 P.M. The game will also be streaming on ESPN+.
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.”
Memphis Tiger Will Marcy gets hit by a pitch. Photo: Florian Krempel
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.”
The Lipscomb Bisons on their way to scoring. Photo: Florian Krempel
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.
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.
The University of Memphis baseball team lost its game two against South Florida on Saturday evening, as the Bulls evened the series 1-1 with a score of 9-5 at USF Baseball Stadium.
With the loss, the Tigers drop below .500 at 12-13 and split their first two AAC games, as the Bulls improve to 13-10 overall and also 1-1 in league action.
“We got off to a slow start with the four runs there in the first,” head coach Matt Riser said. “On a day we had probably our worst baseball, no defense and big moments we could’ve had some big hits and didn’t do it, still in it to win the ballgame tonight.”
In the first inning, South Florida scored four-runs to take an early lead. Jackson Mayo hit an RBI single through the left side, and Stewart Puckett followed with a two-run single to put the Bulls up 3-0. Puckett then stole a base, allowing John Montes to score on a passed ball and extend the score to 4-0.
South Florida loaded the bases in the first inning before Dawson Mock grounded out to end the frame.
Memphis Seth Cox at bat against South Florida at USF Baseball Stadium ( Image Credit: Brock Busick / Memphis Athletics)
Reaching the fifth inning after going scoreless the first four, a fielder’s choice by Seth Cox allowed Jake Curtis to score, putting the Tigers on the board. Austin Baskin’s RBI single allowed Cox to advance to second and Brennan DuBose scored, cutting the Bulls lead to 5-2.
Through the bottom of the fifth inning and up until the top of the eighth, neither team scored a run with only four hits combined for both sides. There was also a pitching change made by South Florida.
After two innings closed by double plays, Brennan DuBose cut the deficit to one run with a fielder’s choice. The Bulls then exploited a four-run eighth inning including John Montes’ game changing grand slam.
Jacob Compton kept the Tigers’ hopes alive in the top of the ninth by hitting an RBI single to left that made it a 9-5 ballgame with two outs. Unfortunately, Pierre Seals struck out next, ending any chance at a comeback.
“We have a lot to clean up, but I think you take confidence in that, knowing you played poorly and still had a chance to win it against their guys,” head coach Matt Riser said.
The Tigers will return to USF Baseball Stadium on Sunday for the series’ final game against South Florida at noon in hopes of claiming the series win.
Brock Busick/University of Memphis Athletics Memphis Tiger Pierre Seals scores Tuesday against Mississippi State on an RBI ground out by Jake Curtis.
The Memphis Tigers baseball team lost against No.21 Mississippi State Tuesday at Dudy Noble Field by a score of 17-9. The win puts the Tigers a game under .500 (11-12) and Mississippi State improves to (16-6) on the season.
Cade Davis drew the start and had a solid performance through three innings, allowing three runs on four hits and tailing a strikeout.
“We did a good job coming out early and Cade Davis was pretty good,” Memphis head coach Matt Riser said. “I know he gave up a couple of homers but at the end of the day, I thought he pitched well.”
A double by Jacob Compton to right field led to Riley Davis’ single to third that drove in Compton and allowed Brennan DuBose to score and gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead after an error by the left fielder. That was the first error of the season for Logan Kohler and it came against his former Memphis team.
The Tigers took a 9-3 advantage in the fifth inning after a two-run double by Jacob Compton. Memphis tallied five consecutive hits at the top of the fifth to start the inning and had the Bulldogs on the ropes.
Seven hits in the fifth inning included five singles, one double, and a home run. Seth Cox hit a three-run home run to extend the Tiger’s lead, and then Compton doubled to center which drove in Austin Baskin and Daunte Stuart.
But the Bulldogs responded with seven runs of their own at the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 10-9 lead into the sixth.
Connor Hujsak drew a walk, which scored David Mershon from third with the bases loaded. Mississippi State Amari Larry (0-3) got his first hit of the night to tie the game 9-9. Then Johnny Long scored with the bases loaded as Dakota Jordan got hit.
Memphis struggled to score after the fifth inning. While the Bulldogs added a run in the sixth and four runs in the seventh. Hujsak hit a home run with runners on second and third to put the Bulldogs up 15-9.
After the game, Coach Riser spoke of the team’s defense and miscommunication heading into the conference play.
“These middle innings are killing us, and we have to be better, not only on the mound but also defensively,” said coach Matt Riser. “We have to do a good job of getting some things fixed these next couple of days to get ready for conference play.”
UP NEXT
The Memphis Tigers are back in action Friday against South Florida in Tampa, Florida at Red McEwen Field. This marks the Tigers first conference series of the season. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
One thing every good team has, no matter what the sport, is the ability to be consistent. This is currently one of the main things the Memphis Tigers are lacking.
The Memphis Tigers once again find themselves at a neutral record after splitting the weekend doubleheader on Saturday against New Orleans. They won that series 2-1, but the last two weeks have been an up and down stretch for the Tigers, where they have only won 4 out of the last ten games.
The Grind City Classic was an especially ugly stretch for the Tigers, as they lost all three of those games. This was after dropping the previous two games to Ole Miss and Wright State University. So, before this week began, the Tigers were on a five-game losing streak and taking a large step back.
James Bristentine/Tigerpen Jake Curtis steps up at bat vs Wright State University during the second game of the series. This was the last game the Tigers won before going on a five game losing streak.
The following week, the Tigers put an end to the losing streak in the game against North Alabama. This win led to them going on a three-game win streak, which was ultimately stopped by New Orleans on Saturday afternoon in the first game of the doubleheader. Memphis lost that game 1-6, then won the next 12-10.
That has been the story for the Tigers. On a good hitting day, they seem like a complete team with few holes. In games they score ten or more points, their record is 7-0. Also, the Tigers average 10.9 runs in their wins. On the other hand, their losses are a completely different story, as so far this season they only average 4.54 runs in their losses. That is a huge drop off, and in three of their 11 losses they have only scored one run.
Pitching has also been a wildly inconsistent. In ten games the pitchers have allowed ten or more hits, and in six of those their opponents have scored ten or more runs. In the games they allow 10+ hits, they are 3-7.
Coach Matt Riser has said on multiple occasions that this team is a player-led team. However, after the weekend skid during the Grind City Classic, he was very transparent with what he wanted out of the players.
“If you’re still in, I expect to see you on Tuesday,” Riser said. “If not no big deal, come see me on Monday and we can set up the transfer portal.”
Robby Byrd/Tigerpen Matt Riser over looks the field while the Memphis Tigers are at bat.
Riser said no one showed up on Monday, and he said the seniors played a big role in the shift in play during the midweek series.
Another thing that Riser said that could be a key weapon for the Tiger’s is the energy from the dugout.
“The human mind is a beautiful thing. It’s probably the most complex machine that there is in the world, no matter what technology we have. And, you know, positive thinking and our positive reinforcement in the dugout with 37 guys in there bonding together. Makes it a huge difference.”
The Tigers are looking to build on their positive performance during Saturday’s second game when they face Mississippi State in Starksville. Following that, they have their weekend series at South Florida University. Memphis is just 3-5 on the road, so this may be a difficult stretch for them up ahead.
With the Tigers sitting at 11-11, there have been flashes of how good this team can be, especially with swinging the bat. In 22 games, the Tigers’ offense has had five or more runs 16 times. On the flip side, the Tigers’ pitching staff has given up five or more runs 15 times.
There are flashes where the pitching comes out and looks great like in their 16-2 win over North Alabama, or in back-to-back games where they gave up only three runs against UT-Martin and Wright State.
Unfortunately, those outing are few and far between. If not for the Tigers offense, it would be a much different story about this year up to this point.
Looking at the statistics compiled so far this season, the struggles of the pitching staff are laid bare.
Of every pitcher that has appeared in more than one game this season, only three pitchers have an ERA under four. Those three are not even starters. They are bullpen guys: Brayden Sanders, Kylan Stepter, and Jake Curtis.
The bullpen has shown moments of stability like in their loss against Ole Miss where the bullpen went almost eight full innings while giving up only one run.
“The encouraging part from tonight was that out of a bullpen, we pitched very well,” coach Matt Riser said after the March 6 loss.
The starting pitching has seemed like an issue all season. The stats back it up in every way with all but one regular starter, David Warren, having an ERA over six.
With all of those stats, the way to really show the struggles in the pitching staff is seeing where they rank nationally in pitching statistics.
Team ERA is one of the best ways to show how good or bad a team’s pitching has been. For the Tigers, a 6.47 team ERA puts them at 183rd nationally out of 295 Division-I teams.
In walks per nine innings, the Tigers are averaging 5.37, good for 189 overall. In strikeout to walk ratio, the Tigers are only 1.68 strikeouts to every walk, which is 169 overall. Hits allowed per nine innings show the Tigers giving up 10.37 for 200th in the country.
WHIP or walks plus hits per innings pitched is the statistic that most people in baseball use as their barometer to see how good pitching is. It is a statistic that shows how good a pitcher or pitching staff is at keeping opposing teams from getting on base. The Tigers rank 208 in the nation in team WHIP of 1.75.
Obviously, the Tigers are disappointed in being 11-11 at this point, but it could be a lot worse and are still in a place where they can turn the pitching around.
Elisha Segars/Tigerpen Will Marcy looks to get on base for the Tigers during Friday’s game against UNO.
The Tigers used a four-run first inning to take a lead that they would never relinquish, winning 5-4 over the New Orleans Privateers.
“We needed one like that where we just grinded it out,” said coach Matt Riser. “It was a great team effort.”
The first four batters of the game, Jake Curtis, Will Marcy, Austin Baskin and Daunte Stuart all reached base for Memphis before New Orleans could record an out. Stuart drove in Curtis with an RBI single, scoring the first run of the game.
Seth Cox delivered the biggest hit of the night, slapping a bases-clearing double down the left-field line to extend the Tigers’ lead to 4-0.
Starting pitcher David Warren gave the Tigers a quality outing in his fifth appearance of the season. He exited the contest after allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings. Warren would be tagged for two more runs after New Orleans scored a pair of his inherited baserunners on a double in the eighth inning.
After the first inning, Memphis only recorded one more hit the entire game. A sixth-inning single by Daunte Stuart proved to be massive, as he would come around to score on an errant pickoff attempt.
Relief pitcher Brayden Sanders closed the game for the Tigers. In his two-inning performance, he did not allow a run and only gave up one hit. Sanders struck out two New Orleans’ batters in the ninth inning and was awarded with his fourth save of the season.
The win is the third in a row for Memphis and brings them back to .500 on the season, with a record of 10-10. The Tigers and the Privateers will play a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 2 p.m. due to the threat of inclement weather on Sunday.
The new season does not only bring a new head coach in Matt Riser and new players for the Memphis Tigers. The 2024 season features a completely overhauled American Athletic Conference. Three teams have left the conference and a whopping five new teams have joined. What does that mean for the new season for the Memphis Tigers?
Which teams left the AAC?
In total, three teams have left the AAC for the new season: Central Florida, Houston and Cincinnati. All of them found their new home in the Big 12 conference.
The Houston Cougars had the most success of those three teams, as they finished the last season second in the conference. They won 17 conference games, only one less than the conference champions, East Carolina. In the AAC tournament they went on to eliminate the Memphis Tigers and fell short to the later conference champion, Tulane.
The University of Central Florida finished the regular season as the four seed with a balanced 12-12 record. After that, the Knights went on to beat Cincinnati in the first round of the AAC tournament, but would ultimately lose to their in-state rivals from South Florida.
The Cincinnati Bearcats finished the season as the worst of the three leavers. A 10-14 conference record meant the same number of wins as the Memphis Tigers, earning them the fifth seed. Their tournament ended with a first round loss to UCF.
All of the three leaving teams finished the 2023 season as a higher seed than the Tigers. Houston even ended their AAC tournament hopes, as they beat them in a close 6-5 contest in the second round.
Where are the new teams in the AAC from? A map of the five teams and their location.
Which new teams have joined the AAC?
Austin Baskin, going into his fourth year with the Tigers, commented before the season about the the changes: “They are bringing in a lot of new teams into the conference this year, but, I think, we have got a really good chance to be competitive this year.”
A lot of new teams indeed, as five new teams feature in the new AAC season. All of them are coming from the same conference—Conference USA. Namely, the UAB Blazers from Alabama, the Owls from Florida Atlantic University, the Charlotte 49ers, the Rice University Owls and the UTSA Roadrunners from San Antonio in Texas.
Charlotte was last year’s Conference USA champion, and they will be a featured team in the new AAC season. The 49ers beat Dallas Baptist in the C-USA tournament final to secure their spot in the NCAA tournament.
However, they lost their regional against the University of Tennessee, eliminating them in the first round. Still, the Charlotte 49ers will be poised to repeat their success in the new conference.
Not as successful in the tournament, but better than the 49ers in the regular season last year, were the Roadrunners from San Antonio. UTSA finished the season with a 38-19 record, second only to the conference-winning Dallas Baptist. Their season, however, came to an abrupt end as Charlotte blew them out 11-2 in the first round of the C-USA tournament.
Florida Atlantic finished the season with a positive record of 34-24, good enough for the five seed in the conference. They then went on to beat Rice in the first round, but fell short in the second round to Western Kentucky.
Last, but not least, there are the two teams from Rice University and the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Both had an underwhelming season, finishing as the eighth seed in the case of Rice and tenth and dead last in the case of UAB. Rice went on to exit in the first round of the C-USA tournament, and UAB did not even make a tournament appearance. Both teams will be poised to improve their performance in this season.
Memphis Tigers’ Brennan DuBose said in his press conference before the season that he is looking forward to the new challenges: “The road games are great experiences – getting to see some of the coolest places in college baseball playing at the highest level. We want to play the top teams and we have the ability to compete with everybody”.
What can we expect from the new teams?
With the first games of the new season already in the books, some early trends for the new teams are showing. Florida Atlantic (6-5) and Charlotte (7-6) are keeping their record positive after the first few games.
UTSA’s record hangs in the balance with 6-6 and the two bottom teams from last season are off to bad start once again as they sit at the bottom of the conference: UAB with 5-6 and the Rice Owls with 4-8.
In the coaches poll before the season three of the five new teams were picked to be in the top four of the conference this season. With East Carolina picked to getting their fifth straight regular season title, Charlotte, UTSA and Florida Atlantic were selected as the second, third and fourth seed. Not surprisingly, Rice was picked for the eighth seed, and UAB was once again projected to finish last.
Memphis head coach Matt Riser predicts a rise in the quality of the AAC this season.
“FAU has been in the regional for six of the last nine years, UTSA was in the top 25 for a few weeks last season and Charlotte was in a regional final last year,” he said. “It is a three or a four-bid league when it is all said and done.”
When do the Tigers play their new opponents?
The first series against a new conference opponent for the Memphis Tigers will not be played until the end of March. Beginning on March, 28th the Tigers will host Florida Atlantic University in their first conference matchup in a three-game-series. One week after that, coach Riser’s team will travel to Houston to face the Rice Owls for another three games starting April 5. The next two weekends will also feature new opponents for the Tigers as they host UTSA starting April 12 and travel to Charlotte for the start of the series on April 19.
The projected worst team of the five will also be the last new team Memphis faces: The Tigers will travel to Birmingham, Alabama on May, 10th to start their three-game-series against UAB.
The team, however, does not seem to be phased by the new opponents: Junior Aaron Smigelski said that they are not thinking ahead right now: “For us it is just taking each game at a time. We always try to get the job done in the next game.”
The new AAC season promises to be an interesting one for the Memphis Tigers, with three teams that all finished above them leaving. However, from the five teams joining, three are projected to finish above the Tigers in the new season. The end of March and the month of April will show how well coach Riser’s team will stack up against their new opponents.
The Tigers bounced back after a tough week, defeating the University of North Alabama Lions 16-2 in seven innings. The win snaps a five-game losing streak for Memphis.
“This is the type of game we needed,” said coach Matt Riser. “We did it in multiple ways, and the energy in our dugout was awesome.”
Starting pitcher Cade Davis put together a strong outing, allowing one run via a leadoff home run by North Alabama second baseman Jackson Ferrigno. In five innings of work, Davis recorded seven strikeouts and did not allow a walk. He received his first collegiate win for the effort.
North Alabama cycled through six different pitchers in the contest. All but one allowed multiple runs in their stints.
The Tigers got the bats going early, tallying seven runs in the first three innings. Daunte Stuart and Seth Cox each drove in multiple runs with extra-base hits to give Memphis control of the contest.
Along with the 11 hits totaled by the Memphis offense, the North Alabama pitching staff allowed 14 Tiger batters to reach base via walk or hit-by-pitch.
North Alabama’s defense committed two costly errors, scoring multiple runs for Memphis and putting the game out of reach.
“We did a really good job of putting pressure on their defense,” said Riser. “We did the little things right to create situations for the big hits.”
Jacob Compton and Austin Baskin each drove in multiple runs with hits late in the game to extend the lead to double figures for Memphis.
Jackson Lyons entered in the sixth inning, relieving Cade Davis on the mound for the Tigers. Lyons gave up one run in two innings of work and sealed the seven-inning win for Memphis.
The victory over North Alabama is the second of the mercy rule variety for the Tigers this season and improves their record to 8-10. Memphis will return to action tomorrow against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at FedEx Avron Fogelman Field at 6 p.m.
The Tigerpen 