Tigers Split Doubleheader Against Tennessee State and NCSU

Saturday, February 7

Baton Rouge, La.

10 AM

University of Memphis

1-1

Tennessee State

0-3

Memphis

Tennessee State

Tigers Split Doubleheader Against Tennessee State and NCSU

Feb 07, 2015 | Softball

Box Score

Feb. 7, 2015

Box Score

Box Score v TSU (PDF) 

Box Score v NCSU (PDF) 

BATON ROUGE, La. - The Tigers split their doubleheader of games, defeating Tennessee State 5-1 in the morning and dropping an early afternoon game 7-3 against North Carolina State University on Saturday in the second day of the Tiger Classic.

Memphis moved to 1-2 after the two games, while Tennessee State fell to 0-3 and NCSU moved to 2-1.

Cierra Mangum drove in the game-winning RBI against Tennessee State, scoring Hannah Harrell with a base hit up the middle to make it 2-1 in the top of the seventh. Then freshman pitcher Katie Brignac put an exclamation on the game. She hit the first pitch she saw over the left field wall for a three-run home run. It was her first home run and first hit as a Tiger.

Brignac did it all against the Tennessee State Tigers, as she went the distance in the circle to go along with her home run. She gave up just one run and struck out 25 while throwing 105 pitches in her first win.

Amber Galyon took the loss for TSU. She pitched 1.2 innings in relief and gave up four runs while also striking out one.

It was a pitchers dual from the beginning, as neither team could score through the first three innings. TSU broke through in the fourth after a leadoff walk came around to score on an RBI single from Lindsey Burgess. That would be it for Tennessee State.

Memphis wasted no time tying it back up. Sami Jo Schulz got a leadoff single to lead off the fifth. She stole second and advanced to third on a ground out. Hannah Harrell laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring in the run.

Perhaps the biggest moment of the game was the next half inning. Back-to-back errors resulted in TSU having runners on second and third with nobody out. Instead of panicking, the Tigers settled down and made three big plays.

Schulz fielded a sharp ground ball and threw home, where Haleigh Ross applied the tag for the first out. Then Ross threw out the previous batter, Tayler Shimizu, as she attempted to steal second. Finally, Brignac took care of business herself and ended the inning with a strikeout, getting Joselynn Yates swinging, helping to set up the big seventh inning.

The Tigers scored their five runs on seven hits and had two errors, while Tennessee St. had six hits with their one run and one error.

After a 30-minute break, the Tigers returned to the diamond to face the Wolfpack.

Jordan Richwood was back in the circle after pitching 5.1 innings against LSU the night before. North Carolina State jumped out to an early lead with a two-run home run from Maggie Hawkins. Two innings later, Molly Hutchinson hit a two-run homer of her own to make it 4-0.

Memphis threatened a couple of times in the early going, including getting the first two runners on in the bottom of the second, but were unable to push anybody across home until the fourth inning.

Mangum started it with a double down the left field line. She finished the game 3-3 with a run scored, and was 7-8 with two runs and an RBI on the day. After her double, Brignac singled to right field, advancing Mangum. Then Calli Irvin hit a towering three-run home run over the left field fence to make it 4-3 and give the Tigers life.

However, the Wolfpack would go on to score five more runs over the next three innings while holding Memphis scoreless to take the victory. The Tigers did have the bases loaded in the ninth, but a double play killed any chance of a rally and ended the game.

NCSU scored nine runs on 13 hits and committed a single error. Memphis scored three runs on six hits with no errors.

The Tigers return to action Sunday morning at 9:30 in a second game against Tennessee State. That will wrap up the Tiger Classic for the UofM. Follow the Tigers softball team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @MemphisSoftball to get scores, news and photos and stay up-to-date with the program.