University of Memphis Athletics
Tigers Close Out Regular Season with Houston Series
May 01, 2015 | Softball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Tigers close out the regular season as they welcome Houston to the Tiger Softball Complex for the final American Athletic Conference series.
Memphis (17-32, 4-11 The American) and Cougars (26-24, 9-5 AAC) will play a Saturday doubleheader with first pitch at 1 p.m. and then the finale at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Before Sunday's game, the Tigers will have a ceremony to honor the careers of senior pitcher Jordan Richwood, junior catcher Georganna Goodwin and redshirt junior right fielder Wheeler Hill, who are playing their final games at the Tiger Softball Complex this weekend.
The first game on Saturday will be the 30th game between the teams, with Houston leading the series 22-7. The teams met in Memphis in 2014 with the Cougars taking two of the three games. However, Memphis took Houston to 11 innings in game one before succumbing, and the Tigers won the final game 6-5.
Memphis comes in after winning its first conference series of the season, as the Tigers took 2-3 from South Florida on the road. It was the first wins against USF for Memphis. After dropping game one, the Tigers pitched Richwood in both of the following games, and the senior came through with two complete games and a shutout in 4-3 and 2-0 wins.
Freshman Addison Maxwell finished the series 6-9 and scored the game-winning run in both games. She finished 3-3 in the finale of the weekend. Her performance helped her earn a spot on the weekly conference honor roll. Sophomore Brittany Vaughn didn't have a great weekend at the plate, but she came through in her final at bat with her only hit for the weekend, scoring the only two runs of the game.
The Tigers also played a Tuesday doubleheader against Murray State. The Tigers won the first game 5-0 as Richwood through yet another complete-game shutout. The Racers struck back with a 9-1 victory in game two. Sophomore center fielder Lindsay Crowdus still leads the team with a .327 batting average. She picked up her sixth triple of the season against USF, which leads the conference and is 13th in the nation. She's one of only two sophomores in the top 20 among active players for career triples.
Katie Brignac hit her team-leading fifth home run in the first game against Murray State. She now has 25 RBI to lead the team, and her average sits at .228.
Houston comes to Memphis after winning seven of its last eight games. The Cougars are fresh off of a big series win on the road against the University of Tulsa. Houston won both games of the Saturday doubleheader before losing the finale and missing out on the sweep. With the wins, Houston is now in second place in the AAC and will be looking to keep that spot against the Tigers.
On Wednesday, Houston played Lamar in a doubleheader for the final games at home. The Cougars won both games 3-2 and 7-2. Houston trailed until the sixth inning of game one before tying the game and then taking the lead with a solo home run.
Selena Hernandez and Katie St. Pierre lead the team in batting average. Hernandez is hitting .340 and St. Pierre is right behind her hitting .338. Hernandez also leads the team with 41 RBI, 11 doubles and her eight home runs are second only to Julana Shrum's 10.
Shrum also gets it done in the circle for the Cougars. She has an 11-9 record in 29 appearances and 17 starts. She's thrown nine complete games over her 127.1 innings. Shelby Miller and Summer Groholski also get time in the circle for Houston.
Next week, Memphis heads to Orlando, Fla. for the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The final weekend of AAC play can have a major impact on the rankings, so it is not known at what time or against who Memphis will open. The only certainty is the Tigers will play on Thursday.
Follow Memphis on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @MemphisSoftball to stay up-to-date with news, scores and information about the softball team at the University of Memphis.
