The Tigerpen

Tag: sports

  • 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 +.

  • Another Season of Change for Memphis Baseball

    Another Season of Change for Memphis Baseball

    “We have a coach that’s ready to start winning now rather than rebuild a whole entire roster and start winning five years down the road. That means a lot to me.”

    Austin Baskins, Senior Utility

    A new season of Memphis Tigers baseball is upon us, and with the new season comes a lot of new faces. Last season they brought in Kerrick Jackson who was hired after longtime coach Daron Schoenrock announced his retirement after 18 years on the job. Jackson went on to lead the Tigers to a 29-28 record and their best conference finish since 2015.

    After the season ended, Jackson left for his home state of Missouri to be the head coach for the Missouri Tigers, where he was previously an assistant. With the departure, Memphis welcomes in Matt Riser, from Southeastern Louisiana University.

    “We’re trying to transform this program into a national program, you know, like football and basketball.” Coach Riser said at his press conference leading up to opening day.

    The new head man also had the task of hiring a completely staff as all of the assistants from the previous were gone as well. “The first step obviously was having to get the staff put together that had the same vision I had. We did that quickly and very efficiently,” Riser said.

    Riser brought one of his former assistants at SLU in hitting and field coach Ford Pemberton, former player under Riser at SLU now assistant coach Connor Manola, and former pitching coach at Mercer University Cory Barton

    Riser brings quite a resumé to Memphis. He won 30 or more games in eight of his 10 seasons as the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana.

    Riser had a challenge ahead of him of replenishing a Memphis roster that depleted with a mix of transfer portal entries and MLB Draft. Six of the top seven hitters for the Tigers last season are gone as well as their two best pitchers from last year, who were both selected into the MLB Draft.

    The sole top bat that stayed through the coaching change was Utility player Austin Baskin. The Covington, Tennessee native said Riser’s win now attitude is what made him buy in and want to stay in Memphis.

    “We have a coach that’s ready to start winning now rather than rebuild a whole entire roster and start winning five years down the road,” Baskin said. “That means a lot to me.”

    The senior is looking to build off a season where he scored a team-leading 49 runs while hitting .287 in 216 at-bats

    The pitcher that will begin the season for the Tigers is senior right-hander David Warren. Warren brings the most starting experience for the Tigers. The former Pensacola State transfer pitched 72.2 innings and ended with 5.57 ERA. He will be looked at as the anchor for the starting staff and be one of the veteran leaders for the team.

    “Experience has been a big factor,” Warren said. “I started in junior college and working my way through junior college…and being able to play against a lot of different levels of competition is a big thing.”

    The Tigers will begin their season with a weekend series on the road against Jacksonville State. The first game will be Friday at 3 p.m. on ESPN+.

    Photos by Jacob Morgan/Tigerpen