Memphis Returns to FedExPark to Host Missouri State

Saturday, March 12

FedExPark

12:00 PM

University of Memphis

Missouri State

Memphis Returns to FedExPark to Host Missouri State

Mar 11, 2016 | Baseball

Tigers back at home after six-game road swing

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Following a tough six-game road trip, the Memphis baseball team returns home to host Missouri State for a three-game weekend series at FedExPark. The two teams are scheduled to play a noon doubleheader Saturday before the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION:
Memphis (5-7) vs. Missouri State (9-2)
Date: March 12-13, 2016
Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Venue: FedExPark
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball

Saturday, March 12 | 12 p.m. CT
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: MemphisTigerNetwork
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MEM: So. RHP Colton Hathcock (1-2, 3.71 ERA)
MSU: Jr. LHP Jordan Knutson (2-1, 4.41 ERA)

Saturday, March 12 | TBA
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: MemphisTigerNetwork
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MEM: So. RHP Connor Alexander (2-1, 4.82 ERA)
MSU: Fr. RHP Dylan Coleman (3-0, 3.71 ERA)

Sunday, March 13 | 1 p.m. CT
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: MemphisTigerNetwork
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MEM: Sr. RHP Matt Ferguson (1-1, 2.45 ERA)
MSU: TBA

Leading Off
• Memphis and Missouri State have played each other six times since 1990 and the series is tied 3-3.
• The Tigers struggled offensively on their six-game road swing last week. After scoring seven runs in the loss to Ole Miss, the team managed only 11 more runs over the next five games combined (2.2 per game). Memphis was shut out by Georgia Southern, which marked the first time the Tigers had been blanked since 2014 and the first time on the road since 2013.
• Memphis used exclusively freshmen pitching in the 9-7 loss to Ole Miss. The Tigers took a 6-0 lead over the Rebels before allowing a seven-run bottom of the third inning in the team's first midweek game of the season. James Muse, Alex Hicks, Jonathan Bowlan and Colton Neel each pitched in the game.
• The Tigers' junior center fielder and lead-off batter, Darien Tubbs, entered 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. Blackwood has recorded two this season to bring his career total to 19.
• 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 feature an abundance of youth on the mound with seven freshman pitchers in addition to four sophomores.
• Memphis returned five position starters from last season and seven of the nine Opening Day starters had at least 40 games of Division I Baseball experience.
• 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 its fourth season as a partner with Baden Sports and swings the Axe Bat exclusively.

The Series with Missouri State
Memphis and Missouri State have played six times, all at the home of the Tigers, and the series is tied 3-3. This will be only the second three-game series between the two teams. The Bears took 2-of-3 from the Tigers in 2001 at Nat Buring Stadium with Memphis winning the series finale.

Scouting the Bears
Missouri State set a program record with 49 wins last season on its way to the Missouri Valley regular season and tournament championships as well as an NCAA Regional title and a Super Regional berth. The Bears, who returned a pair of All-Americans from last year's squad, are currently ranked as high as No. 12 in the national rankings. Missouri State is 9-2 with series sweeps of Central Arkansas and SIU Edwardsville. The team's only losses have come against UConn and Oklahoma State. Third baseman Jake Burger, a preseason All-American, leads the Bears with a .417 batting average, five home runs, 16 RBI and 12 runs scored. As a team MSU already has 21 home runs. Closer Bryan Young was named a preseason All-American and has a 1.59 ERA with one save in four appearances this season.

Offensive Struggles
Memphis was hitting .294 as a team and averaging 6.4 runs per game following a narrow 9-7 defeat to Ole Miss on March 2. In the subsequent games, the Tigers' batting average has dropped to .250 and the team is now averaging less than five runs a game. Memphis was held to two runs or less in four of the last five games and was shut out for the first time since 2014. Only two Tiger hitters have an average over .300 with left fielder Chris Carrier leading the team with a .341 batting average.

Aggression Pays Off in Sweep
Memphis was able to run wild in the series sweep of SIU Edwardsville, with 13 stolen bases on 14 attempts throughout the weekend. Seven different Tigers recorded a stolen base in the series, while four swiped multiple bags. The Tigers also smashed a total of 13 extra-base hits, with eight doubles, two triples and three home runs during the series. The majority of the Memphis lineup displayed the balance of speed and power as six different players had both a stolen base and an extra-base hit over the three games. The outfield pair of Chris Carrier and Darien Tubbs both had big numbers during the weekend. Carrier had three doubles and four stolen bases, while Tubbs had a double, a triple, a homer and three stolen bases.

Road Tested Early
Memphis played 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 stayed 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 covered 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 in 2015. 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, 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. The junior has recorded two saves this season and now stands alone for second all-time in school history with 19 career saves. Blackwood only sits behind Jonathan Van Eaton's 21 saves from 2010-13.