Season Long Home Stand Ends with EIU Series

Friday, March 18

FedExPark

6:30 PM

University of Memphis

Eastern Illinois

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Mar 17, 2016 | Baseball

Memphis welcomes Eastern Illinois to FedExPark for three-game series

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis will hope to end its home stand on a positive note as the Tigers host Eastern Illinois for a three-game series this weekend at FedExPark. The Tigers will be looking for a repeat of last season when they completed a three-game sweep the EIU Panthers at home.

GAME INFORMATION:
Memphis (6-10) vs. Eastern Illinois (1-15)
Date: March 18-20, 2016
Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Venue: FedExPark
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball

Friday, March 18 | 6:30 p.m. CT
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: MemphisTigerNetwork
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
MEM: So. RHP Colton Hathcock (1-3, 4.29 ERA)
EIU: Jr. RHP Michael McCormick (0-2, 7.07 ERA)

Saturday, March 19 | 2 p.m.
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: MemphisTigerNetwork
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
MEM: So. RHP Connor Alexander (2-1, 3.86 ERA)
EIU: Sr. RHP Matt Wivinis (0-4, 6.00 ERA)

Sunday, March 20 | 1 p.m. CT
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: MemphisTigerNetwork
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
MEM: Sr. RHP Matt Ferguson (2-2, 1.96 ERA)
EIU: Sr. RHP Brendon Allen (0-2, 6.87 ERA)

Leading Off
• Memphis snapped a five-game losing streak with its 6-5 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Tuesday night. The victory was also the first in a midweek game this season after starting 0-3 against Ole Miss and Middle Tennessee.
• Eastern Illinois comes into the weekend with just one win, over a nationally-ranked Arkansas team. After the Panthers started last season 0-23 they went on to finish with 13 wins.
• Memphis swept Eastern Illinois in a three-game weekend series last season at FedExPark. The Tigers lead the all-time series with the Panthers 15-4 dating back to 1983.
• Preseason All-American Nolan Blackwood recorded his 20th career save Tuesday and is now one shy of tying the school record. He currently trails Jonathan Van Eaton who pitched from 2010-13.
• Darien Tubbs, the preseason American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, did not start against UAPB on Tuesday, ending a streak of 76 consecutive games started by the junior center fielder.
• Zach Schritenthal cleared the bases with a three-run triple against UAPB, which gives the Tigers' junior third baseman two base-clearing triples this season after he hit one against SIUE. He has three triples so far this season and four in his career.
• Chris Carrier smashed two doubles versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff for his seventh multiple-hit game this season. The junior left fielder has a team-high eight doubles this season and a pair of two-double games.
• All home games are streamed live online by the Memphis Tiger Network at GoTigersGo.com/Watch. WUMR U 92-FM carries the radio broadcasts throughout the season with Jeff Brightwell and Greg Gaston on the call.
• This season's schedule will see Memphis play games in 10 different states – Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas and of course Tennessee. The team will rack up nearly 8,000 miles trekking across the country during the regular season.
• For the 16th consecutive season Memphis will play select games at AutoZone Park, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals AAA-Affiliate Memphis Redbirds. This year's schedule features two games – against Ole Miss on March 30 and versus Arkansas on April 6.
• The Memphis baseball program is in its fourth season as a partner with Baden Sports and swings the Axe Bat exclusively.

The Series with Eastern Illinois
Memphis and Eastern Illinois have played 19 times since 1983 and 12 of those games have come since 2000. The Tigers hold a 15-4 advantage all-time and swept the Panthers in a three-game series last season at FedExPark. All but one of the meetings have been played at the home of the Tigers, while the 2007 game was in a tournament at AutoZone Park.

Scouting the Panthers
Eastern Illinois has had a rough stretch the last few seasons, starting 0-23 in 2015 and sitting 1-15 to start this season. The Panthers are led by first-year head coach, Jason Anderson, who spent the previous three seasons on staff at EIU. Second baseman Cale Hennemann leads the team offensively with a .345 batting average and 12 RBI in 16 starts. The Panthers' pitching staff has struggled this season and has compiled a 7.14 ERA.

Youth Reigning on the Mound
The names Jonathan Bowlam, Alex Hicks, James Muse, Colton Neel, Alex Smith and Hunter Smith are ones that Memphis baseball fans can likely expect to hear for years to come. These six freshmen have already had success on the mound for the Tigers early in their collegiate careers. They have combined to make 20 appearances and log 40 1/3 innings through the first 16 games. Only the Memphis sophomore class, which includes starters Connor Alexander and Colton Hathcock, has pitched more innings this season.

Weekend Rotation
The Tigers' starting rotation that features sophomores Connor Alexander and Colton Hatchock and senior Matt Ferguson has been solid through four weekends despite the teams 5-7 weekend record. The trio has combined to log eight quality starts of the 12 total. Hathcock was on the mound for the Tigers' only shutout this season, logging seven innings against SIUE, but he has been inconsistent at times and leads the team with 13 walks issued. Alexander's most recent start was his best so far despite getting a no decision, pitching seven innings and allowing just one earned run against No. 12 Missouri State. Ferguson failed to go six innings in his first start (5.0 vs UT) but has pitched six in each outing since.

Speed Kills
Memphis hasn't been as effective offensively as they would have liked through the first four weeks of the season, but the team has still managed to swipe 28-of-35 bases which ranks them in the top-30 nationally. Jake Little leads the team with seven stolen bases, while Chris Carrier has six. Brandon Grudzielanek has been a running threat as well with four stolen bags. Zach Schritenthal and Darien Tubbs are tied for fourth on the team with three apiece.

Catching Carousel
In the search to replace Carter White, who started 52 games and batted .277 in 2015, the Tigers have seen three players split time behind the plate this season. Freshman Jason Santana has made seven starts and played in 13 games, despite only batting .059 so far. Senior Damo DeMatteo has been in the starting lineup six times and appeared in 10 games. In an attempt to get more offensive production from the position, senior Corey Chafin has made three of his 12 starts at catcher.

Offensive Struggles
Prior to snapping a five-game losing streak with a win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Memphis had a tough nine-game stretch in which the Tigers won just one game. The Tigers have faced some tough pitching staffs, with both Georgia Southern and Missouri State allowing less than four runs a game. The Tigers were batting .294 as a team and averaging 6.4 runs per game at the beginning of their tough road trip two weeks ago. The team is now hitting .248 and managing to score less than five runs per game.

Defensive Woes
Head Coach Daron Schoenrock preaches about limiting the amount of "freebies" that the tigers give up during a game. Through 16 games his team has had a few too many defensive miscues. The Tigers have 25 errors and are fielding just .958. Memphis does have the ability to play clean though and has played four errorless games.

Expectations
Sometimes players can put too much pressure on themselves and one could wonder if that is the case for Darien Tubb, who was named the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year. After starting the season on fire with four multiple-hit games in the first six, he hit a rough patch and it has been tough for him to break out if it. He had a hit in each of the first eight games before going the next four games without a hit. The junior now has just one hit in his last seven games and his batting average has dipped to .233. He was left out of the starting lineup for the first time in 76 games dating back to 2014.

X Gon' Give It To Ya
The preseason accolades were heaped on junior closer Nolan Blackwood as well, and despite a few struggles of his own this season he still has recorded three saves to up his career total to 20. Blackwood now stands just one save shy of tying the program record for career saves. He already holds the school record for saves in a season after he notched 14 last year.