Bullpen Baffles Blue Raiders in 3-1 Win

Tuesday, March 10

Memphis, Tenn.

6:30 PM

University of Memphis

5-4

Middle Tennessee State

8-5

Middle Tennesse

Memphis

Mar 10, 2015 | Baseball

Box Score

March 10, 2015

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis baseball team picked up its fifth win of the season on Tuesday night after a masterful pitching performance by the bullpen on a beautiful evening at FedExPark. The Tigers earned a 3-1 win over Middle Tennessee in front of 482 fans. The win propels the Blue and Gray to 5-4 while Middle Tennessee drops to 8-5 and evens the all-time series between the two schools at 44-apiece.

The Memphis bullpen of Connor Alexander, Blake Myers and Nolan Blackwood combined for 7.0 innings of work, retiring 23-of-24 batters faced. The staff yielded three hits and a walk while striking out six, including four from freshman Alexander. From the fourth inning on, the relievers were dominant by setting down 16 straight hitters.

Senior Caleb Wallingford got the nod for the Tigers on the rubber to open the game, but only pitched 2.0 innings for Memphis in an effort to keep the southpaw fresh after not having pitched for nine days. The captain yielded two hits, including a home run to lead off the second inning to MTSU's Jared Allen.

Memphis pushed across all three of its runs in the bottom of the third. Zach Schritenthal and Darien Tubbs opened the frame with back-to-back singles through the right side of the infield to set the table for Jake Overbey. The Ole Miss transfer laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt down the third base line. In an effort to beat the Tigers' shortstop to first for the out, Middle Tennessee starting pitcher Heath Slatton air-mailed the throw to first, allowing Overbey to race around the bases for a three-base error and plating Schritenthal and Tubbs. Overbey would score on the following play after a wild pitch to put Memphis on top 3-1.

The Blue Raiders threatened to cut into the lead in the top of the fourth after a leadoff walk to Dustin Delgado and a single by Allen put a pair of runners on for MTSU with no outs. Alexander induced a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play before a flyout to the warning track in right ended the scoring opportunity.

Alexander then set down the final 11 batters he faced before handing the ball off to Blake Myers in the eighth. The bearded southpaw retired the side in order, striking out the final batter. Blackwood earned his fourth save of the season by getting a strikeout and a flyout to right with a runner on first to close out the game.

Alexander (2-0) picked up the win after going five innings in relief, the longest outing out of the bullpen in the right-handers young career. Schritenthal paced the offense at the plate, reaching base in all three plate appearances (1B, 2 BB). Blue Raiders' starter Slatton (1-3) took the loss after giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out five. Reliever Blake Stansberry only yielded one hit and three walks to the Tigers over the final three innings.

Memphis closes out the two-game series with Middle Tennessee tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. at FedExPark. Admission is free to all fans after the game was moved from Jackson to the Bluff City due to unplayable field conditions. Visit GoTigersGo.com and follow @MemphisBaseball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest news on the team.