Tigers Hope to Stay Hot at Murray State Tuesday

Tuesday, March 22

Murray, Ky.

6:00 PM

University of Memphis

Murray State

Photo by: Michael Ananea

Mar 21, 2016 | Baseball

Memphis will look to build on Sunday’s 23-0 win over EIU

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis heads back out on the road for a four-game road trip that starts with a single game at Murray State Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Reagan Field in Murray, Kentucky. The Tigers and Racers didn't play each other last season but have met 63 times since 1978 and Memphis leads the series 41-22.

GAME INFORMATION:
Memphis (8-11) at Murray State (10-12)
Date: March 21, 2016
Location: Murray, Ky.
Venue: Reagan Field
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball

Tuesday, March 21 | 6 p.m. CT
Radio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Memphis: Fr. RHP James Muse (0-1, 5.73 ERA)
Muray State: Jr. RHP Austin Dubsky (1-2, 6.75 ERA)

Leading Off
• Memphis rebounded from a Friday night loss to win the series with Eastern Illinois and had a historic day at the plate in the finale, scoring 23 runs on 19 hits. The scoring output was the most since 2003 when the Tigers beat UT Martin 24-1.
• Murray State is coming off of a series win over SIU Edwardsville in conference play. The Tigers and Racers did not meet last season but Memphis has won the last four dating back to 2010.
• Preseason All-American Nolan Blackwood recorded his 20th career save, against UAPB (3/15), and is now one shy of tying the school record. He currently trails Jonathan Van Eaton who pitched from 2010-13.
• Darien Tubbs, the preseason American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, rebounded at the plates in the weekend series with Eastern Illinois. After having just one hit in the previous seven games, he had at least a hit in each game and scored seven runs.
• Chris Carrier had his ninth multiple-hit game this season over the weekend. The junior left fielder has a team-high eight doubles this season and a pair of two-double games.
• Zach Schritenthal cleared the bases with a three-run triple against UAPB, which gives the Tigers' junior third baseman two base-clearing triples this season after he hit one against SIUE. He hit another triple in the series against EIU and has four triples so far this season.
• WUMR 92-FM will carry the radio broadcasts for the upcoming four-game road trip. Jeff Brightwell, who is joined by Greg Gaston for home games, will be on the call.
• 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.
• 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 Murray State
Memphis owns a 41-22 record against Murray State dating back to 1978. The two teams did not play last season or in 2011 but they did meet for at least one game every season from 1989-2010. The match ups have been high scoring through the years with one or both teams scoring in double digits in six of the last seven games.

Scouting the Racers
This season Murray State is 10-12 overall and 3-3 after two weekends of conference play. The team is batting .316 and is led by outfielder/designated hitter Adam Bauer with a .415 batting average and starts in all 22 games. The pitching staff has compiled a 6.44 staff earned run average through 22 games. Starter Austin Dubsky has a 6.75 ERA in four starts with two relief outings. He has 11 strikeouts to 14 walks.

Youth Reigning on the Mound
The names Jonathan Bowlan, Alex Hicks, James Muse, Colton Neel, Alex Smith and Hunter Smith are ones that Memphis baseball fans can likely expect to hear for years to come. These six freshmen have already had success on the mound for the Tigers early in their collegiate careers. They have combined to make 20 appearances and log 46 1/3 innings through the first 19 games. Only the Memphis sophomore class, which includes starters Connor Alexander and Colton Hathcock, has pitched more innings this season.

Weekend Rotation
The Tigers' starting rotation that features sophomores Connor Alexander and Colton Hatchock and senior Matt Ferguson has been solid through five weekends despite the teams 7-8 weekend record. The trio has combined to log nine quality starts of the 15 total. Hathcock was on the mound for the Tigers' first shutout of the season, logging seven innings against SIUE, but he has been inconsistent at times and leads the team with 14 walks issued. Alexander's last two starts have been his best so far despite getting a no decision in each. In his last outing he pitched a season-high 7 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on three hits. He also held No. 12 Missouri State to just one earned run in the prior start. Ferguson was solid against Eastern Illinois but only needed to log five scoreless innings with the team already ahead 20-0 when he departed.

Speed Kills
Memphis hasn't been as consistent offensively as they would have liked through the first five weeks of the season, but the team has still managed to swipe 34-of-43 bases which ranks them in the top-25 nationally. Jake Little and Chris Carrier lead the team with seven stolen bases each. Darien Tubbs is just behind them with six, while Brandon Grudzielanek and Zach Schritenthal have four apiece. In all, nine different Tigers have at least one stolen base.

Catching Carousel
In the search to replace Carter White, who started 52 games and batted .277 in 2015, the Tigers have seen three players split time behind the plate this season. Freshman Jason Santana has made eight starts and played in 16 games, despite only batting .095 so far. Senior Damo DeMatteo has been in the starting lineup seven times and appeared in 13 games. In an attempt to get more offensive production from the position, senior Corey Chafin has made four of his 13 starts at catcher.

Chicks Dig the... Triple?
Memphis stands in the top five in the NCAA with 12 triples through the first 19 games of the season. With four triples apiece, Darien Tubbs and Zach Schritenthal are tied for fourth in the nation individually. Tubbs now has 12 career triples, which is the third most in school history, and is three shy of tying the program record set by K.K. Chalmers from 2005-08. The Tigers also accomplished something they haven't done in a game since 1986 when they hit three triples in the 23-0 win over Eastern Illinois. With 37 scheduled games remaining, Memphis is on pace to crush last season's total of 16 triples and could eclipse the school record of 25 set in 1981.

Defensive Woes
Head Coach Daron Schoenrock preaches about limiting the amount of "freebies" that the tigers give up during a game. Through 19 games his team has had a few too many defensive miscues. The Tigers have 31 errors and are fielding just .958. Memphis does have the ability to play clean though and has played four errorless games.

Bounce Back
Sometimes players can put too much pressure on themselves and one could wonder if that is the case for Darien Tubbs, who was named the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year. After starting the season with an eight-game hitting streak and four multiple-hit games, he hit a rough patch and amassed just one hit over the next seven games. Tubbs' batting average dipped to .233 and he was left out of the starting lineup for the first time in 76 games dating back to 2014. During the series against Eastern Illinois, the junior may have broken out of the slump. He had at least one hit in each game of the series and scored seven runs. He has still shown quite a bit of pop in his bat with 10 of his 19 total hits going for extra bases.

X Gon' Give It To Ya
The preseason accolades were heaped on junior closer Nolan Blackwood as well, and despite a few struggles of his own this season he still has recorded three saves to raise his career total to 20. Blackwood now stands just one save shy of tying the program record for career saves. He already holds the school record for saves in a season after he notched 14 last year.