University of Memphis Athletics
Friday, February 19
Chattanooga, Tenn.
4:00 PM
University of Memphis
at
Tennessee
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Season Opens Friday against Tennessee
Feb 18, 2016 | Baseball
GAME INFORMATION:
Memphis (0-0) vs. Tennessee (0-0)
Date: Feb. 19-21, 2016
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn.
Venue: AT&T Field
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball
Friday, Feb. 19 | 4 p.m. CT
Radio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Web: Listen | Live Stats: GameTracker
MEM: So. RHP Colton Hathcock (2-4, 3.98 ERA)
TENN: Sr. LHP Andy Cox (3-3, 3.36 ERA)
Saturday, Feb. 20 | 12 p.m. CT
Radio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Web: Listen | Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MEM: So. RHP Connor Alexander (4-3, 4.03 ERA)
TENN: Jr. RHP Kyle Serrano (5-4, 4.47 ERA)
Sunday, Feb. 21 | 12 p.m. CT
Radio: WUMR 91.7 FM (Join in Progress)
Web: Listen | Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MEM: Sr. RHP Matt Ferguson (2-0, 5.21 ERA)
TENN: So. LHP Zach Warren (2-0, 5.09 ERA)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis baseball team leads off the season with a trip to Chattanooga to take on the Tennessee Volunteers at AT&T Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins Double-A affiliate Chattanooga Lookouts. The Tigers are coming off of a season in which they went 37-21 and completed a program record fifth consecutive season with 30 or more wins.
Leading Off
• Memphis and Tennessee are meeting on the baseball diamond for the first time since 2012 and this is the first three-game series between the two teams since the 1981 season.
• For the second consecutive season, Memphis is opening the season on the road. The Tigers opened the year at home the previous five seasons (2010-14).
• Memphis is 5-6 on Opening Day under head coach Daron Schoenrock.
• Memphis had success against teams from the Southeastern Conference last season, posting a 3-2 record with wins over Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
• The Tigers' junior center fielder and lead-off batter, Darien Tubbs, enters the season as the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
• Memphis junior closer Nolan Blackwood was named a Louisville Slugger Preseason second team All-American after he recorded a school-record 14 saves in 2015.
• The duo of Darien Tubbs and Nolan Blackwood are Memphis' only representatives on the American Preseason All-Conference team.
• Memphis was picked to finish seventh in the American Athletic Conference by the league's head coaches.
• The Tigers will feature an abundance of youth on the mound with seven freshman pitchers in addition to four sophomores.
• Memphis returns five position starters from last season and all nine projected Opening Day starters have Division I Baseball experience.
• The Tigers will be road-tested early with 10 of the first 14 games away from home.
• For the 16th consecutive season Memphis will play select games at AutoZone Park, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals AAA-Affiliate Memphis Redbirds. This year's schedule features two games – against Ole Miss on March 30 and versus Arkansas on April 6.
• The Memphis baseball program is in the fourth season as a partner with Baden Sports and swings the Axe Bat exclusively.
Follow the Action
Visit GoTigersGo.com and follow @MemphisBaseball on Twitter and Instagram for all the latest news on the team. All home games will be streamed live online by the Memphis Tiger Network at gotigersgo.com/watch. WUMR U 92-FM will carry the radio broadcasts throughout the season. Sunday's series finale with Tennessee will be joined in progress on WUMR immediately following the conclusion of the Memphis women's basketball game at USF.
The Series with Tennessee
The Memphis and Tennessee baseball programs played nearly every year from 1979 to 1995 (Did not play in '82, '89, '92, '94) before the series was halted. The two teams met again for two games in 2012 and are have now agreed to play a three-game series in both 2016 and 2017. The Tigers hold a 17-12 advantage dating back to 1979 and have the series' longest winning streak of eight games from 1981-84. The Volunteers have won the last three meetings. This will be the first time the teams have not met in either Memphis or Knoxville.
Scouting the Volunteers
Tennessee finished sixth in the SEC east with a 24-26 record and an 11-18 league mark. The Volunteers' season ended in the first round of the conference tournament at the hands of College World Series participant Arkansas. They are led by preseason All-American Nick Senzel, who was named the Cape Cod League MVP after he batted .364, drove in 33 runs and scored 34 over the summer. Tennessee returns three other positional starters and four pitchers who made at least five starts each. The Vols' 10 returning pitchers accounted for 240 innings (55%) thrown last season. The team also returns three outfielders, two infielders and a catcher who started at least 20 games.
Recent History with the SEC
Memphis owns a 13-8 record against teams from the nation's toughest conference, the SEC, over the last four seasons. Last year the Tigers beat Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State to finish with a 3-2 record against the SEC. The team Memphis has had the most success against in recent years is Ole Miss, with five wins over the Rebels dating back to 2012. Memphis swept Missouri in a three-game series at FedExPark in 2013, the school's first season in the SEC. Memphis also took two-of-three from Mizzou in 2012 while they were still a member of the Big 12.
Opening Weekend
2016 marks the second consecutive season that Memphis will open the season on the road. Last year the Tigers opened against Oral Roberts and dropped the first two games before winning the series finale. Under head coach Daron Schoenrock Memphis is 5-6 overall on Opening Day and 1-2 when opening on the road. The Tigers are 73-37-1 in the first weekend of the season since 1974.
Memphis Connection
Former Memphis All-American Chad Zurcher is in his first season as the director of baseball operations at the University of Tennessee. Zurcher, an infielder, claimed the NCAA batting title with a .443 batting average in 2011. The Knoxville, Tenn. native, is one of the most decorated players in Memphis history, being named an All-American by four different organizations as well as being recognized as the Conference USA Player of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year.
Road Tested Early
Memphis will play 10 of its first 14 games on the road, including five of the Tigers' seven scheduled match-ups with SEC teams. The tough schedule away from home early in the season could benefit the team later as they will play three of the top for teams in the American Athletic Conference on the road. Memphis plays at USF in early April before traveling to Houston and Tulane in back-to-back weekends in May.
Well Traveled
This season's schedule will see Memphis play games in 10 different states – Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas and of course Tennessee. The team will rack up nearly 8,000 miles trekking across the country during the regular season. During the third week of the season Memphis will stay out on the road for an eight-day stretch for games at Ole Miss, Georgia Southern and Middle Tennessee over spring break. That trip alone will cover 1,271 miles. The team will make two flights during the regular season, to USF and Houston, and will travel by bus for the rest of the games. Following the conclusion of the regular season Memphis will fly back to Florida for the American Athletic Conference Championship that runs May 24-29 at Bright House Field in Clearwater.
Up Next
Memphis will play at Mississippi State in the Tigers' first midweek game of the season, Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. The Tigers will then have their home opener against Belmont Wednesday at 4 p.m. The first weekend series at FedExPark, against SIU-Edwardsville, gets underway Friday, Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. and the series continues Saturday with a 2 p.m. start before concluding Sunday at 1 p.m.
Memphis (0-0) vs. Tennessee (0-0)
Date: Feb. 19-21, 2016
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn.
Venue: AT&T Field
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball
Friday, Feb. 19 | 4 p.m. CT
Radio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Web: Listen | Live Stats: GameTracker
MEM: So. RHP Colton Hathcock (2-4, 3.98 ERA)
TENN: Sr. LHP Andy Cox (3-3, 3.36 ERA)
Saturday, Feb. 20 | 12 p.m. CT
Radio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Web: Listen | Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MEM: So. RHP Connor Alexander (4-3, 4.03 ERA)
TENN: Jr. RHP Kyle Serrano (5-4, 4.47 ERA)
Sunday, Feb. 21 | 12 p.m. CT
Radio: WUMR 91.7 FM (Join in Progress)
Web: Listen | Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MEM: Sr. RHP Matt Ferguson (2-0, 5.21 ERA)
TENN: So. LHP Zach Warren (2-0, 5.09 ERA)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis baseball team leads off the season with a trip to Chattanooga to take on the Tennessee Volunteers at AT&T Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins Double-A affiliate Chattanooga Lookouts. The Tigers are coming off of a season in which they went 37-21 and completed a program record fifth consecutive season with 30 or more wins.
Leading Off
• Memphis and Tennessee are meeting on the baseball diamond for the first time since 2012 and this is the first three-game series between the two teams since the 1981 season.
• For the second consecutive season, Memphis is opening the season on the road. The Tigers opened the year at home the previous five seasons (2010-14).
• Memphis is 5-6 on Opening Day under head coach Daron Schoenrock.
• Memphis had success against teams from the Southeastern Conference last season, posting a 3-2 record with wins over Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
• The Tigers' junior center fielder and lead-off batter, Darien Tubbs, enters the season as the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
• Memphis junior closer Nolan Blackwood was named a Louisville Slugger Preseason second team All-American after he recorded a school-record 14 saves in 2015.
• The duo of Darien Tubbs and Nolan Blackwood are Memphis' only representatives on the American Preseason All-Conference team.
• Memphis was picked to finish seventh in the American Athletic Conference by the league's head coaches.
• The Tigers will feature an abundance of youth on the mound with seven freshman pitchers in addition to four sophomores.
• Memphis returns five position starters from last season and all nine projected Opening Day starters have Division I Baseball experience.
• The Tigers will be road-tested early with 10 of the first 14 games away from home.
• For the 16th consecutive season Memphis will play select games at AutoZone Park, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals AAA-Affiliate Memphis Redbirds. This year's schedule features two games – against Ole Miss on March 30 and versus Arkansas on April 6.
• The Memphis baseball program is in the fourth season as a partner with Baden Sports and swings the Axe Bat exclusively.
Follow the Action
Visit GoTigersGo.com and follow @MemphisBaseball on Twitter and Instagram for all the latest news on the team. All home games will be streamed live online by the Memphis Tiger Network at gotigersgo.com/watch. WUMR U 92-FM will carry the radio broadcasts throughout the season. Sunday's series finale with Tennessee will be joined in progress on WUMR immediately following the conclusion of the Memphis women's basketball game at USF.
The Series with Tennessee
The Memphis and Tennessee baseball programs played nearly every year from 1979 to 1995 (Did not play in '82, '89, '92, '94) before the series was halted. The two teams met again for two games in 2012 and are have now agreed to play a three-game series in both 2016 and 2017. The Tigers hold a 17-12 advantage dating back to 1979 and have the series' longest winning streak of eight games from 1981-84. The Volunteers have won the last three meetings. This will be the first time the teams have not met in either Memphis or Knoxville.
Scouting the Volunteers
Tennessee finished sixth in the SEC east with a 24-26 record and an 11-18 league mark. The Volunteers' season ended in the first round of the conference tournament at the hands of College World Series participant Arkansas. They are led by preseason All-American Nick Senzel, who was named the Cape Cod League MVP after he batted .364, drove in 33 runs and scored 34 over the summer. Tennessee returns three other positional starters and four pitchers who made at least five starts each. The Vols' 10 returning pitchers accounted for 240 innings (55%) thrown last season. The team also returns three outfielders, two infielders and a catcher who started at least 20 games.
Recent History with the SEC
Memphis owns a 13-8 record against teams from the nation's toughest conference, the SEC, over the last four seasons. Last year the Tigers beat Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State to finish with a 3-2 record against the SEC. The team Memphis has had the most success against in recent years is Ole Miss, with five wins over the Rebels dating back to 2012. Memphis swept Missouri in a three-game series at FedExPark in 2013, the school's first season in the SEC. Memphis also took two-of-three from Mizzou in 2012 while they were still a member of the Big 12.
Opening Weekend
2016 marks the second consecutive season that Memphis will open the season on the road. Last year the Tigers opened against Oral Roberts and dropped the first two games before winning the series finale. Under head coach Daron Schoenrock Memphis is 5-6 overall on Opening Day and 1-2 when opening on the road. The Tigers are 73-37-1 in the first weekend of the season since 1974.
Memphis Connection
Former Memphis All-American Chad Zurcher is in his first season as the director of baseball operations at the University of Tennessee. Zurcher, an infielder, claimed the NCAA batting title with a .443 batting average in 2011. The Knoxville, Tenn. native, is one of the most decorated players in Memphis history, being named an All-American by four different organizations as well as being recognized as the Conference USA Player of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year.
Road Tested Early
Memphis will play 10 of its first 14 games on the road, including five of the Tigers' seven scheduled match-ups with SEC teams. The tough schedule away from home early in the season could benefit the team later as they will play three of the top for teams in the American Athletic Conference on the road. Memphis plays at USF in early April before traveling to Houston and Tulane in back-to-back weekends in May.
Well Traveled
This season's schedule will see Memphis play games in 10 different states – Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas and of course Tennessee. The team will rack up nearly 8,000 miles trekking across the country during the regular season. During the third week of the season Memphis will stay out on the road for an eight-day stretch for games at Ole Miss, Georgia Southern and Middle Tennessee over spring break. That trip alone will cover 1,271 miles. The team will make two flights during the regular season, to USF and Houston, and will travel by bus for the rest of the games. Following the conclusion of the regular season Memphis will fly back to Florida for the American Athletic Conference Championship that runs May 24-29 at Bright House Field in Clearwater.
Up Next
Memphis will play at Mississippi State in the Tigers' first midweek game of the season, Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. The Tigers will then have their home opener against Belmont Wednesday at 4 p.m. The first weekend series at FedExPark, against SIU-Edwardsville, gets underway Friday, Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. and the series continues Saturday with a 2 p.m. start before concluding Sunday at 1 p.m.
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