Memphis Hosts SIUE for Home-Opening Series

Friday, February 26

FedExPark

4:00 PM

University of Memphis

SIU Edwardsville

Feb 25, 2016 | Baseball

Tigers will get back on the baseball field after midweek rainouts

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis baseball team is anxious to get back on the field after having a pair of midweek games rained out. The Tigers (1-2) were scheduled to play at nationally-ranked Mississippi State before hosting Belmont for the home opener, but Mother Nature had other plans.

Memphis will be hoping to get its record above .500 when it hosts winless SIU Edwardsville. The Tigers dropped two-of-three against Tennessee while the Cougars were swept by No. 2 Louisville.

GAME INFORMATION:
Memphis (1-2) vs. SIU Edwardsville (0-3)
Date: Feb. 26-28, 2016
Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Venue: FedExPark
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball

Friday, Feb. 19 | 4 p.m. CT
Radio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Web: Watch | Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MEM: So. RHP Colton Hathcock (0-1, 9.00 ERA)
SIUE: Jr. RHP Conner Buenger (0-1, 12.00 ERA)

Saturday, Feb. 20 | 2 p.m. CT
Web: Watch | Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MEM: So. RHP Connor Alexander (1-0, 4.50 ERA)
SIUE: Sr. RHP Jarrett Bednar (0-1, (9.00 ERA)

Sunday, Feb. 21 | 1 p.m. CT
Radio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Web: Watch | Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MEM: Sr. RHP Matt Ferguson (0-1, 3.60 ERA)
SIUE: Sr. RHP P.J. Schuster (0-1, 15.00 ERA)

Leading Off
• Memphis had both of its first two scheduled midweek games postponed due to weather, while SIU Edwardsville did not schedule any games between their opening weekend series and this weekend.
• Memphis and SIUE have met just six times, for a three-game series in Millington in 2009 and at FedExPark in 2012 , and the series is tied 3-3.
• For the second consecutive season, Memphis opened the season on the road and went 1-2. The Tigers opened the year at home the previous five seasons (2010-14).
• Memphis is now 5-7 on Opening Day under head coach Daron Schoenrock after the loss to Tennessee Friday night.
• 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 eight of the nine Opening Day starters had Division I Baseball experience.
• The Tigers will be road-tested early with 9 of the first 12 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.

The Series with SIU Edwardsville
Memphis and SIU Edwardsville have met six times, with the series record split 3-3. The teams last met on the opening weekend of the 2012 season at FedExPark. The Cougars took two-of-three from the Tigers that weekend with Memphis winning the second game 11-2. The other meeting came in 2009, at USA Stadium in Millington, when Memphis took two-of-three from SIUE. The Tigers won the first two games of the series before dropping the finale.

Scouting the Cougars
SIU Edwardsville was swept by one of the best teams in the nation, No. 2 Louisville, on the road to open the season. The Cougars were outscored 43-5 in the three-game series, including a 21-4 loss in the opener. First baseman Keaton Wright had a big day at the plate on Opening Day, going 4-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, but was hitless in Game 2 and did not play in the finale. Second baseman and lead-off batter Alec Skender, catcher/designated hitter Kailer Smith and right fielder Dustin Woodcock each had hits in two of the three games. Following the series with the high-powered Cardinals, the SIUE pitching staff sports a 13.50 overall ERA. The team features a veteran weekend rotation though with two seniors and a junior slated to start for them.

Opening Weekend
For the second consecutive season, Memphis went on the road to open the year and went 1-2 on the weekend. The Tigers dropped the opener to Tennessee before bouncing back to claim Game 2. The rubber match was the tightest game of the series, with the Volunteers edging it 5-2. In the Tigers win on Saturday the bats broke out in a big way, totaling 13 runs on 15 hits. Memphis also got a solid performance out of sophomore starting pitcher Connor Alexander, who tossed six innings and allowed just three runs with five strikeouts. Game 2 was the only one in which Memphis did not commit an error in the field. Junior center fielder Darien Tubbs had a hot start to the season with six hits, including two doubles and a triple, two RBI and four runs scored.

Youth In 2016
Memphis will have to fill the spots left by several key seniors from the 2015 squad, mostly on the mound. Starting pitchers Dylan Toscano, Caleb Wallingford and Alex Gunn as well as relievers Craig Caufield and Blake Myers played major roles as seniors. First baseman Tucker Tubbs was a consistent power bat in the lineup as well and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox. Sophomore starting pitchers Connor Alexander and Colton Hathcock will headline the pitching rotation and a group of eight freshmen pitchers, two other sophomores, three juniors and two seniors will fill in the rest of the starting and bullpen spots. Junior college transfer infielders Brandon Grudzielanek and Trent Turner are expected to come right into the lineup in their first year in the program in hopes of filling the hole left by Tucker Tubbs.

Road Tested Early
Memphis will play 9 of its first 12 games on the road, including four 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 four 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.

Preseason Player of the Year
Following a breakout season as a sophomore in 2015, Darien Tubbs was named as the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year. The Cookville, Tenn. native, started all 58 games in center field and in the lead off spot in the batting order. He was named to the all-conference second team after leading the Tigers with a .321 batting average, 75 hits, 57 runs scored and 24 stolen bases. Tubbs had three separate double-digit hitting streaks during the season, including a season-best 14-game hitting streak from March 9 to March 28. Tubbs reached base in 31 straight contests during the year and managed to get on base in each of the first 53 games of the season, only failing to reach safely in the second game of the series against ECU. He finished the year by reaching in 56 of the 58 games.

Preseason All-American
Nolan Blackwood set the program record for saves in a single season with 14 last year and finished with a microscopic 0.52 earned run average. He was named an NCBWA second-team All-American, becoming only the second Memphis pitcher to earn All-America honors. The Southaven, Miss. product, moved to third all-time in school history with 17 career saves and finished with a 2-1 record in 34.2 innings of work over 25 appearances. Blackwood allowed only two runs during the season and opponents batted just .225 against him. He didn't allow a run in his first 13 appearances of the season. As a freshman he set the program record for single-season appearances with 31 and recorded his first three career saves.