University of Memphis Athletics
Memphis Welcomes Houston for AAC Home Opener
Apr 01, 2015 | Baseball
Memphis will welcome its first nationally-ranked opponent of the season to FedExPark when the No. 14 Houston Cougars visit for a three-game American Athletic Conference series this weekend.
With Easter Sunday ahead, this week's conference series is scheduled to be played Thursday through Saturday. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday and the series will wrap up with a 12 Noon first pitch Saturday.
Despite falling to Ole Miss, 7-5, Tuesday night, the Tigers have won seven of their last 10 games and sit 2-1 in league play after the program's first series win at East Carolina last week.
Corner outfielders Kane Barrow and Chris Carrier combined for seven hits and four RBI in the loss to the Rebels. Barrow, the left fielder, was 4-for-5 with two RBI, while Carrier finished 3-for-4 including a solo home run in the third inning.
Barrow is the team's leading hitter with a .379 batting average and 36 hits. The senior has seven doubles, two triples and a homer.
Senior lefthander Caleb Wallingford, who was also the Tigers' Friday starter throughout the 2014 season, will make his eighth start of 2015. Through 39 1/3 innings of work this season, Wallingford is 3-2 with a 2.29 earned run average. He has struck out 21 while walking eight.
Wallingford had walked just three batters through his first 33 1/3 innings of work, but gave up five walks in last week's conference opener against East Carolina. He also gave up six hits and did not strikeout a batter for the first time this season.
The Elkhorn, Neb. product had pitched 23 2/3 innings without issuing a walk before giving up one of his five in the first inning at ECU last Friday.
Andrew Lantrip will start Thursday's series opener for Houston. The sophomore right-hander has a 5-2 record and a 2.84 ERA in seven starts. He leads the Cougars with 34 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings pitched.
He was roughed up by Central Florida last weekend to start conference play. Lantrip allowed seven runs on nine hits and was lifted after just 2 2/3 innings pitched.
The Cougars dropped the series to Central Florida and have a 1-2 record in American Athletic Conference play.
Houston is batting .279 as a team and is led offensively by first baseman Chris Iriart and second baseman Josh Vidales. Iriart is batting .365 with eight doubles and eight home runs and Vidales has a team-leading 39 hits and 26 runs scored.
Memphis trails in the all-time series with Houston 40-14. The Tigers won the Friday night game last season, 2-1, but failed to win the series. In the last meeting at FedEx Park the Tigers lost the first two games of the series but won the finale, 1-0.
After having Easter Sunday off, the Tigers will head to Nashville to take on Belmont Monday, April 6, at 4:00 p.m. before hosting Mississippi State Tuesday at AutoZone Park.
