Tigers Take Doubleheader from Houston

Saturday, May 2

Memphis, Tenn.

3 PM

University of Memphis

19-32, 6-11

Houston

26-26, 9-7

Houston

Memphis

Photo by: Joe Murphy

May 02, 2015 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

May 2, 2015

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- For the second time this season, the University of Memphis won an American Athletic Conference series, as the Tigers took both games of a doubleheader against Houston 1-0 and 3-2 at the Tiger Softball Complex on Saturday afternoon.

It was the first series win for the Tigers (19-32, 6-11 AAC) against the Cougars (26-26, 9-7 AAC) since Memphis swept Houston at the Tiger Softball complex in 2009.

Jordan Richwood (11-17) threw her third-consecutive shutout and fourth-straight complete game, allowing only two hits while striking out seven Cougars in game one. She faced Julana Shrum (11-10). Shrum also went the distance, giving up just one more hit and striking out three batters.

Katie Brignac (5-5) and Shelby Miller (7-9) each pitched the entire game for their teams in game two, with both of them giving up six hits. Brignac struck out three batters and walked just one as she took the win. Miller struck out four and had no walks in her 6.1 innings of work.

Haleigh Ross was the hero of game two as she drove in all three runs in the win, including a walk off single to score Brittany Vaughn in the bottom of the seventh. She finished 2-2 and was also hit by a pitch.

GAME ONE -- MEMPHIS 1, Houston 0

The lone run of the doubleheader's opening game came in the bottom of the first inning. Kyler Trosclair and Hannah Harrell led off with back-to-back infield singles. Lindsay Crowdus moved both of them over with a ground out. A walk loaded the bases, and then Brignac picked up her 26th RBI with a hard-hit ground ball to third that was not fielded cleanly, resulting in an error. Memphis failed to add any more runs in the inning.

From then on it was all Richwood. She struck out seven batters on the afternoon and kept Houston hitters off balance. No Cougar made it past second base, and only one made it that far. She finished the game by retiring 11-straight batters.

She had some help on the defensive end as the Tigers committed no errors in the shutout. Harrell made a nice diving catch in the top of the sixth inning to rob Houston of a lead off hit and quell any thoughts of a rally.

GAME TWO -- MEMPHIS 3, Houston 2

It took until the second inning for Memphis to score a couple of runs in game two. Brignac hit a one-out double, and then Sami Jo Schulz came up with two outs and blooped a single that dropped right inside the left field line and just out of reach of the third baseman.

Brignac was unable to head home, which put runners on first and second with two outs for Ross. She hit a hard ground ball down the third base line and out of the reach of the diving third baseman for a two-run single.

For the first five innings, Brignac and the Tigers kept Houston at bay. The Cougars only had one hit, a two-out double in the second, and a walk, which was erased on a double play. Between the second and sixth inning, Brignac set down 12 consecutive batters. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Crowdus made a spectacular diving play on a ball in centerfield to take away a sure double from Tiffany McKnight.

The first two batters in the sixth were retired on a strikeout and a ground out. Then, Katie St. Pierre started a two-out rally as she reached on a throwing error and took second as the ball sailed into the dugout. A single from Kaylin Crumpton scored her to make it 2-1. Houston would get another single to push the tying run into scoring position before Brignac forced a ground out to end the threat.

Houston came right back in the seventh with a leadoff double from game one's pitcher Shrum. A sacrifice bunt moved her within 60 feet. As Brignac was preparing to pitch to the next batter in the lineup, the ball slipped from her grasp and scooted behind her and past second base. Schulz recovered it, but not before the tying run scored.

Vaughn picked up her first hit of the afternoon with a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh. Schulz then laid down the sacrifice bunt that put Vaughn in scoring position for Ross. Miller jumped ahead in the count 1-2 on Ross before the two settled in for a long battle at the plate. In the end, Ross fouled off six pitches before dropping a single into left field on the 10th pitch of the at bat. Vaughn raced around to score the winning run with no throw as the Tigers took game two.

Memphis goes for the sweep on Sunday with first pitch set for 11 a.m. Memphis will honor senior Jordan Richwood, junior Georganna Goodwin and redshirt junior Wheeler Hill 15 minutes prior to the start of the game. Follow the Tigers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @MemphisSoftball to stay up-to-date with news, scores and more about softball at the University of Memphis.