University of Memphis Athletics
Tiger Baseball Hosts 13th-Ranked Ole Miss
May 01, 2007 | Baseball
May 1, 2007
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - With its first NCAA Regional appearance in 13 years within its grasp, the University of Memphis baseball team will get a chance to strengthen its case on Wed., May 2 when the Tigers host No. 13 Ole Miss in the annual matchup at AutoZone Park. Memphis basketball Head Coach John Calipari will be in attendance to throw out the game's ceremonial first pitch. Official first pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.
Tiger Tales The Tigers were idle this past week after winning a pair of games at Southeast Missouri last Tuesday and Wednesday. Memphis's offense broke out in a big way, scoring 31 runs in the two victories, including a nine-run third inning on Tuesday's 12-6 win and a school-record 12-run fourth inning in Wednesday's 19-8 victory. In that game, senior 1B Adam Amar became the school's all-time hits leader with 241, breaking the old record set by Steve Moss (240 from 1990-93). Amar also needs just four more RBI to own that record, currently held by Chris Marable, who had 170 from 1986-89. Senior DH Joey Lieberman fell just a triple short of the cycle on Tuesday night and then hit two more home runs on Wednesday, moving him into a tie for the team lead for homers with senior 2B Bill Moss at 11. After 356 at-bats, senior IF Michael Murray hit his first Division I home run on Tuesday. The Tigers have now scored 10 or more runs in a game 10 times this season.
All-time Series vs. Ole Miss Memphis is 52-87-1 all-time against Ole Miss. The Rebels have bested the Tigers in seven-straight games, including snapping Memphis' six-game win streak in season openers on Feb. 20. In that game, Memphis scored three runs in the first inning, but No. 11 Ole Miss responded by scoring 11 runs in its first two trips to the plate, and then held on to defeat the Tigers 12-9. The loss was Memphis' first season-opening setback since 2000, and the first since Head Coach Daron Schoenrock took the post at Memphis.
The last two meetings between the two schools have had a flare for the dramatic and Tigers staged a late rally and brought the tying run to the plate before falling 12-9. In 2006 tilt in Oxford, Memphis took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but Zach Cozart came up with a three-run, walk-off homerun with one out in the final frame to give the Rebels a 7-5 victory.
The Tigers have not beaten the Rebels since 2003, when they claimed a 6-3 win on Oxford.
Last Time vs. Ole Miss
No. 11 Ole Miss 12, Memphis 9 Four home runs powered the Rebels early 11-run scoring surge. Munford's Cody Overbeck's pounded out a pair of round-trippers, including a first-inning grand slam. He then capped a five-run second inning with his second blast of the night--a solo shot over the leftfield wall that gave Ole Miss a commanding 11-3 lead. Fuller Smith hit a two-run home run in the opening frame, and Logan Power added a three-run homer in the second inning.
The Tiger offense picked up where it left off from the 2006 season, out hitting the Rebels 16-14. Five Tigers posted multiple hits, including senior shortstop Murray, who led the team and tied a career high with four hits. Murray ripped two of the U of M's five doubles. Bill Moss, who had three hits, Norrid and Petersen all had doubles for the Memphis offense.
Sophomore Scott McGregor was tagged with the loss for Memphis, while Nathan Baker earned the win.
Last Time Out
Memphis 19, Southeast Missouri State 8 The University of Memphis record books were rewritten on Wednesday, April 25, as the Tigers exploded for a school-record 12 runs in the fifth inning to take command of the ballgame en route to a 19-8 thrashing of Southeast Missouri in the series finale at Capaha Field. Adam Amar went 3-for-4 on the day to claim Memphis' all-time hits mark, surpassing former Tiger standout Steve Moss' 240 career hits.
The Tiger offense reset a total of four single-inning marks with the 12-run outburst. Among those new records are the 15 plate appearances, 14 at-bats and the 18 total bases. The former mark for runs scored in a single frame was 11, set by the 1978 Tigers in a 39-run route of Delta State.
Joey Lieberman hammered a pair of homers in the game--a three-run shot in the third inning, and a grand slam in the 12-run fifth--and drove in seven runs to lead the Memphis offense. Junior backstop Chris Kirkland joined Lieberman with a three-run homer to highlight the fifth inning. Kirkland was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and five RBI.
Memphis, who pounded out 18 hits in the game, got two hits and five RBI from Bill Moss. Moss blasted his 11th home run of the year with a three-run homer in the third. In all, the U of M hit four homers and four doubles to clinch its second consecutive series sweep of SEMO. Kyle Norrid and Ben Grisham also produced a pair of base hits. Head Coach Daron Schoenrock was able to get 21 Tigers in the contest. Freshman Chase Sain knocked his first career hit in the tilt--a double to centerfield to leadoff the ninth inning.
Scott McGregor was the winner after striking out five in five innings. He surrendered four runs in eight hits. Lance Scoggins and Nathan Hill each worked scoreless innings before giving way to Chris Novikoff and Mark Jobe.
Stats Comparison Ole Miss Category Memphis .317 AVG. .296 295 Runs 291 521 Hits 437 74 2B 84 12 3B 6 39 HR 40 266 RBI 269 .448 SLG% .442 232 SO 250 58-76 SB-ATT 47-60 .978 FLD% .960 3.26 ERA 5.32 3 CG 0 11 SV 11 152 ER 218 403 SO 261 29 HRA 33 .230 OPP. BA .284 38 WP 32
Drive for 35 At 27-16, Memphis' is eight games shy of its march for 35 wins and a hopeful berth in the NCAA Regionals. Here is a look at who the Tigers play in their 13 remaining regular season games.
May 2 vs. #14 Ole Miss May 4 vs. UCF May 5 vs. UCF May 6 vs. UCF May 8 at Arkansas State May 9 vs. Arkansas State May 11 vs. Houston May 12 vs. Houston May 13 vs. Houston May 15 vs. UT-Martin (at Union City, Tenn.) May 17 at #6 Rice May 18 at #6 Rice May 19 at #6 Rice May 23-27 at C-USA Tournament
Year-by-Year vs. Ole Miss
2007 at No. 11 Ole Miss 12, Memphis 9
2006 at No. 18 Ole Miss 7, Memphis 5
Ole Miss 8, Memphis 4
2005 No. 22 Ole Miss 6, Memphis 5
at No. 22 Ole Miss 13, Memphis 4
2004 at No. 5 Ole Miss 7, Memphis 3
No. 15 Ole Miss 19, Memphis 0
2003 Memphis 6, Ole Miss 3
Ole Miss 5, Memphis 1
2002 at No. 9 Ole Miss 7, Memphis 1
No. 9 Ole Miss 9, Memphis 0
2001 at Ole Miss 5, Memphis 1
Memphis 3, Ole Miss 1
2000 Ole Miss 1, Memphis 5
Ole Miss 6, Memphis 2
Stats Comparison 2006 Category 2007 Difference .305 AVG. .296 -9 pts. 308 Runs 291 -17 481 Hits 437 -44 94 2B 84 -10 8 3B 6 -2 40 HR 40 0 282 RBI 269 -13 .451 SLG% .442 -9 pts 325 SO 250 -75 68-90 SB-ATT 47-60 -21/-30 .959 FLD% .960 -1 pt. 5.86 ERA 5.32 -0.54 2 CG 0 -2 7 SV 11 +4 254 ER 218 -36 286 SO 261 -25 47 HRA 33 -14 .309 OPP. BA .284 -29 pts. 23 WP 32 +9
Record Breakdown Overall 27-16 Home 12-4 Away 9-12 Neutral 6-0 C-USA 9-6 Home 4-2 Away 5-4 Season Series Won 3 C-USA (7 overall) Season Series Lost 2 C-USA (6 overall) Non-Conference 18-10 Home 8-2 Away 4-8 Neutral 6-0 vs. the Top 30 6-7 Day Games 16-11 Night Games 11-5 1-Run Games 10-4 2-Run Games 6-4 5+Games 8-6 UM scores 2 or less 1-7 UM allows 5 or less 20-2 UM allows 6 or more 7-14 When hitting a HR 19-7 When not hitting a HR 8-9 When Tigers score first 13-4 When Opponent scores first 14-12 When Tigers out-hit opponent 17-4 When Opponent out-hits Tigers 7-11 When Tigers/Opponents had = hits 3-1 When Leading after six 21-2 When Trailing after six 3-12 When Leading after eight 20-0 When Trailing after eight 1-13 Decision vs. RHP 22-7 Decision vs. LHP 5-9 Following a win 20-5 Following a loss 6-8 February 4-1 March 11-10 April 12-5 May 0-0 Extra-Innings 2-0 Longest win streak 7 games Longest losing streak 5 games Overall Attendance 48,850 Average 1,136 Home Attendance 5,797 Average 362 Largest 623 vs. Marshall (4/21/07) Away Attendance 43,053 Average 1,594 Largest 5,164 at Clemson (3/10/07)
Memphis at AutoZone Park Wednesday's tilt with the 13th ranked Rebels will mark the fourth time the Tigers have played at the AAA stadium this year. Memphis is unbeaten in the previous three contests at AutoZone, with wins over Northern Iowa, Indiana and Eastern Illinois in the first-ever AutoZone Classic. In six games versus Ole Miss at AutoZone Park, Memphis has won just once. The Tigers only win over Ole Miss at AutoZone came in 2001 when Memphis claimed a 3-1 decision against the Rebels the first time the rival tilt was held at the downtown park.
Tigers vs. Top-30 Memphis' series at #21 Tulane marked the 11th, 12th and 13th times the Tigers will have faced a Top-30 team. The 22nd-ranked Pirates swept the Tigers in the opening C-USA series of the year, but Memphis evened the slate with a sweep of No. 30 Southern Miss last weekend. U of M is now 6-7 versus ranked teams this year. The Tigers' defeated #6 Clemson 6-4 in 10 innings. The last time Memphis had beaten a team ranked in the Top-10 was in 2003 when the Tigers used a 10th-inning walk-off homer to edge No. 9 Mississippi State.
Nail In the Coffin Sophomore closer Matt Yokley earned his seventh save of the year in Friday's 5-3 win over Marshall. The seven saves are tied for third on the school's single-season list. Yokley is 4-2 on the season with a 2.08 ERA and has struck out 45 (13.3 strikeouts per nine innings) with just 11 walks over 30.1 innings pitched. Six of his saves have come in conference play.
King of the Hill Redshirt junior pitcher Nathan Hill has made the most of his limited time on the mound this year. The right-hander has seen action in just two appearances, but has been perfect in two innings of work. Hill has retired all six batters he has faced and struck out one.
On Deck Memphis will stay at home this weekend when it hosts UCF in a Conference USA weekend series beginning May 4-6. Saturday's contest will be a part of a full day of Tiger athletics as the program invites fans to spend the day at the Park Avenue Campus where they can enjoy a softball doubleheader, a baseball game and a family area that will include a Kidz Kountry petting zoo, a giant moon bounce and a dunk tank. Fans can purchase a wristband at the softball entrance that will grant admission to the family fun area (2-4 p.m.) and the Tiger baseball game with UCF that is set to begin at 4 p.m.
Ticket prices for the entire day's events are $5 for adults, and $3 for senior citizens and kids 7-18 years old. Children six and under as well as U of M students will be admitted free of charge. Season ticket holders and other previously bought individual game ticket holders will receive one wristband per ticket presented. There will be no discounted group tickets available. Ticket tables will be set up at the softball stadium and the baseball stadium.
The moon bounce, petting zoo and dunk tank will be set up in the grassy area between the softball and baseball fields. These events are dependent on the weather and will not be rescheduled if it rains. Proceeds from the dunk tank, which will be staffed by members of the Highland Hundred, will benefit the family of Tiger fullback Stacy Jones. Jones is currently undergoing cancer treatment. Offensive line coach Rick Mallory and Tiger strength and conditioning director Mike Stark will be in the tank between 2-4 p.m.
Anyone who would like to make a donation to Stacy Jones' family can send a check made out to the Highland Hundred to Lynn Parkes, Associate Athletic Director, University of Memphis, 113 Athletic Office Building, Memphis, TN 38152. Please note that the check is specifically for Stacy Jones.
In addition, the Tiger Scholarship Fund has several events planned on Saturday afternoon from 1-3 p.m. With the purchase of a wristband, donors and members of Pouncer's Pals will receive a complimentary BBQ lunch provided by Jimmie and Elizabeth Madden of Event Services. Pouncer's Pals will also enjoy a special meet-and-greet with Pouncer and a magician at 2 p.m. The tent for the luncheon will be set up near the ticket area at the baseball field. Please RSVP for the lunch and the Pouncer's Pals activity to Donna at 901-678-2334 or by e-mail at dlarivir@memphis.edu.
