University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
34-11, 0
Southern Miss
17-36, 0
Tigers Win Wild Game Two at Southern Miss
May 07, 2011 | Softball
May 7, 2011
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – In a wild game that had the Tigers in the unusual position of needing a late-inning comeback, Memphis (34-11, 14-7 Conference USA) pulled it off for a 4-3 victory in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader with Southern Miss (17-36, 4-19 C-USA) at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. Memphis swept the doubleheader after winning game one 4-1.
Southern Miss got on the board first when Jill Mathis led off the second inning with a solo home run, just the fifth allowed by Janelle Valle this season. It also marked just the 16th time in 45 games an opponent had scored before Memphis this season.
The Eagles would get two more in the third to chase Valle from the contest when Britney Dinelt singled to left to score Leslie LeJune and Brittany Lilly.
Enter senior Lauren Carley, who shut down the Eagles for the rest of the day. She allowed a mere two hits in the following 4.1 innings and struck out one.
Memphis couldn’t get the bats going early, but almost broke through in the fifth. Ijiah Hargrove blooped a single into left, with Kamri Chester on second, but Chester was thrown out trying to score to end the threat.
The Tiger bats exploded in the sixth, getting all four runs in the top half. Heather Mott homered to center field, her ninth of the season, to start the scoring for the Tigers.
Lelani Bernardino singled and advanced to second on an error. The next batter, Maddie McKinley, tried to bunt her over and was successful after the throw to first by the pitcher went over the head of the Eagle covering the bag. Bernardino scored from second on the play.
After Jessica Phillips hit into a fielder’s choice (that allowed everyone to be safe due to another Southern Miss error), Kamri Chester singled to left to score McKinley and tie the game up.
Memphis got the go-ahead run on a passed ball, with Shanna Brown (running for Phillips) coming home for what would eventually prove to be the winning run.
Southern Miss got a base runner in the sixth and the seventh inning, but could not push the equalizer across.
Memphis moves to 11-4 in one-run games in 2011, and improve to 4-7 when trailing after five innings this season.
For Memphis, the victory gave them the series win, their first against Southern Miss since the program’s inaugural season in 2006.
The Tigers will go for their first-ever sweep of Southern Miss, tomorrow, at 1 p.m. (CT).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Carley, Lauren (6-4)
L: LUCIANI, Gabby (2-7)
Batting:
HR: Mott, Heather 1
RBI: Mott, Heather 1 ; Chester, Kamri 1
SH: McKinley, Maddie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mott, Heather 1 ; Bernardino, Lelani 1 ; McKinley, Maddie 1 ; Brown, Shanna 1
SB: Chester, Kamri 1 ; Hargrove, Ijiah 1 ; Marshall, Alex 1
Batting:
HR: MATHIS, Jill 1
RBI: DINELT, Britney 2 ; MATHIS, Jill 1
SH: LEJUNE, Leslie 1 ; THURMAN, Chanell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LEJUNE, Leslie 1 ; MATHIS, Jill 1 ; LILLY, Brittany 1
