Tigers Open 2016 Conference Season Against Huskies

Thursday, March 24

Memphis, Tenn.

5 p.m.

University of Memphis

UConn

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Mar 23, 2016 | Softball

Memphis hosts UConn in three games over the weekend

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis Tigers open the 2016 American Athletic Conference season on Thursday, March 24, when the squad hosts the UConn Huskies in the first game a three-game series at the Tigers Softball Complex.

GAME INFORMATION
Memphis (16-16, 0-0 AAC) vs. UConn (10-18, 0-0 AAC)
When: Thursday, March 24 (5 p.m.), Friday, March 25 (5 p.m.), Saturday, March 26 (11:30 a.m.)
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Stadium: Tigers Softball Complex
Webstream: Memphis Tiger Network
Live Stats: Memphis Stat Broadcast
Game Notes: Memphis

QUICK HITTERS

• Memphis comes into the game after seeing its seven-game win streak, which was tied for the fourth-longest such streak in program history.
• The Tigers are 7-1 in home games, with the only loss coming against Ole Miss, the fourth game in an eight-game stretch of home contests.
• This is the first conference game of the 2016 season.

HOME COOKING

• Memphis will play its ninth, tenth, and eleventh home games of the season this weekend.
• The Tigers are 7-1 in home games thus far this season after seeing its seven game win streak snapped on Tuesday against Ole Miss.
• The seven wins set a new program mark for consecutive home wins to open a season, breaking the previous record of five.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

• UConn comes into the game having on three of its last four games, including shutout wins over Brown (7-0) and Central Connecticut (5-0).
• The Huskies rank 16th in the country in double plays per game, averaging a double play every other contest.
• Pitcher Jill Stockley has four shutouts this season, tied for the 10th-most in the NCAA this season.
• Leading hitter Ally Hernandez didn't record her first at-bat of the season until the 17th game in, and is 7-of-13 at the plate this season with seven runs scored.
• Lexi Gifford leads the team with 20 runs scored 24 hits, and six stolen bases, while tying for the team lead with two home runs.
• Leading the pitching staff was Jill Stockley, who is 4-8 on the year with a 2.46 ERA. She has struck out 42 batters in 71 innings.
• Kayla Doty (2-1, 2.92 ERA) and Chelsea Eckert (4-9, 4.18 ERA) are the remaining two pitchers on the staff, and is tied for the team lead with 42 strikeouts.

YOUNG GUNS

Memphis, which does not have a senior on its 2016 roster, is led by a quartet of players - two sophomores and two juniors - who each hit over .315 this season. Juniors Brittany Seale (.359) and Lindsey Stickrod (.310) along with sophomores Brooke Lee (.361) and Kyler Trosclair (.320) rank in the top four in the team in batting average. Lee stands fifth in the league in batting average, and Seale sixth.

SMITH EARNS WEEKLY HONOR ROLL NOD

Memphis sophomore pitcher Molly Smith was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll for her performances during the week ending March 20. Smith pitched 7 and one-third of an inning, striking out eight while giving up just four hits and two walks. The highlight of the week came in the series finale against Northern Kentucky, where she struck out eight batters in her second complete game shutout of the season, helping the Tigers to the 7-0 victory on Sunday afternoon. This season the Yamhill, Oregon, native leads the team with a 3.00 ERA to go with a 4-6 overall record with a team-high 52 strikeouts in 70 innings of work. She joins Regan Hadley, Brittany Seale, and Lindsey Stickrod as Tigers who have been named to the Honor Roll.

BIG AVERAGE

Memphis junior outfielder Lindsay Crowdus, during her two-plus seasons with the Tigers, has a career batting average of .325, which is the highest in school history, while teammate Kyler Trosclair stands third all-time in batting average.

Rk.	Avg.	Student-Athlete	H-AB	Years
1.	.325	Lindsay Crowdus	130-400	2014-16
2.	.320	Bridgette McNulty	105-328	2006-07
3.	.314	Kyler Trosclair	83-264	2015-16
4.	.308	Morgan Mosby	121-393	2010-13
5.	.303	Leila Dolfo	207-683	2006-09

ALL-TIME SERIES

Memphis and Ole Miss have met just three times prior - two of those meetings coming last season. The first time the teams met was on February 12, 2006, an 11-0 Tiger win and the second overall win in program history.

Date	Result	Location
Mar. 29, 2014	L, 1-4	Storrs, Conn.
Mar. 29, 2014	L, 6-9	Storrs, Conn.
April 11, 2015	W, 12-0	Mansfield, Conn.
April 12, 2015	L, 7-8	Mansfield, Conn.
April 12, 2015	L, 3-4	Mansfield, Conn.

ALL-TIME VS. THE AMERICAN

In Memphis' third season in the AAC, the Tigers have played 133 games all-time against teams currently in the league. Below are the results from those games, and their all-time games under head coach Natalie Poole.

School	OVERALL	UNDER POOLE
East Carolina	7-20	2-7
Houston	9-24	2-11
Tulsa	4-25	1-8
UCF	12-18	3-9
UConn	1-4	1-4
USF	2-6	2-5
Totals	35-97	11-44

CONFERENCE OPENERS

In this, Memphis' 11th season as a program, the Tigers have played in a conference in every year of existence. The first eight seasons as a member of Conference USA, and this is the program's third season in the American Athletic Conference. It is just the second time in the 11th seasons that the Tigers have hosted its Conference opener.

DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
March 11, 2006	at UAB	L, 1-2
March 17, 2007	at UTEP	W, 7-3
March 10, 2008	Marshall	L, 2-13
March 7, 2009	at UTEP	L, 12-14
March 13, 2010	at UCF	W, 1-0
March 12, 2011	at East Carolina	L, 1-4
March 10, 2012	at UAB	L, 1-3
March 9, 2013	at UTEP	W, 5-1
March 22, 2014	at UCF	L, 0-1
March 21, 2015	at Tulsa	L, 1-2
March 24, 2016	UConn

POOLE'S 400TH WIN

Memphis' home opening win was also head coach Natalie Poole's 400th career win. She is 98-121 at Memphis heading in to the Chanticleer Classic.

WELCOME "BACK"

When Christian Novak went to the mound on March 19 against Cleveland State, it was the first time in over a year that the Nevada, Missouri, native had pitched in a game. Against the Vikings she struck out eight in picking up the win. The year gap came because of a back injury which saw her appear on the national television show "The Doctors". After surgery completed by renowned surgeon Dr. Hoorman Melamed, she took the following year to rehab and to strenghthen her core, before returning to softball on March 19.

TIGERS PICKED SIXTH

Memphis was picked to finish sixth in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll, as voted on by the league's coaches. Memphis finished seventh in the league in 2015 with an 6-12 record.

WELCOME TO MEMPHIS...

Memphis welcomes nine newcomers to the 2016 roster.
Catchers: Regan Hadley, Brittany Seale
Infielders: Tyler Johnson, Breana Valenzuela, Lindsey Stickrod, Christen Torres
Outfielder: Jessie Lamb
Pitchers: Adriana Morgan, Bayleigh Wisher

TRIPLING THE FIELD

Not only does Lindsay Crowdus lead the Tigers in career batting average, she also has five more triples than any other player in Memphis career history.

Rk.	3B	Student-Athlete	Years
1.	14	Lindsay Crowdus	2014-16
2.	9	Heather Mott	2007-11
3.	8	Lelani Bernardino	2009-13
4.	5	Leila Dolfo	2006-09
5.	4	Maddie McKinley	2008-11
	4	Ijiah Hargrove	2011-14

In getting the record, Crowdus holds the two highest single-season totals in program history.

Rk.	3B	Student-Athlete	Year
1.	7	Lindsay Crowdus	2014
2.	6	Lindsay Crowdus	2015
3.	4	Lelani Bernardino	2013
4.	3	Ijiah Hargrove	2013
	3	Alyssa Palmieri	2012
	3	Maddie McKinley	2011
	3	Heather Mott	2008

NICE TO MEET YOU

In 2016, the Tigers will take the field against 14 opponents they've never played before.

Date	2016 First Meeting Opponents
Feb. 12	Kent State, L, 4-3
Feb. 12	Illinois-Chicago, L, 11-7
Feb. 14	Michigan State, L, 5-3
Feb. 19	Illinois State, L, 12-3
Feb. 20	Montana, L, 4-3
Feb. 27	Southeastern Louisiana, L, 10-7
Mar. 2	Wright State, W, 5-4
Mar. 4	Louisiana Tech, L, 9-3
Mar. 5	Liberty, L, 9-2
Mar. 5	Tennessee Tech, L, 10-1
Mar. 8	Youngstown State W, 13-5, 4-2
Mar. 12	Coastal Carolina
Mar. 19	Cleveland State
Mar. 19	Northern Kentucky
Mar. 20	Northern Kentucky

SPEEDING AROUND

Junior outfielder Hannah Harrell has 18 stolen bases this season, and 40 over her career, which puts her in second in a career in school history.

Rk.	SB	Student-Athlete	Years
1.	57	Leandra Hines	2006-09
2.	40	Hannah Harrell	2013-16
3	38	Lelani Bernardino	2009-13
4.	36	Brittany Gooch	2006-09
	36	Maddie McKinley	2008-11

Additionally, her 18 stolen bases this season rank third in the single-season record books, one away from tying the school record. Teammate Kyler Trosclair stands eighth in a season in school history with 15 this season.

Rk.	SB	Student-Athlete	Year
1.	19	Maddie McKinley	2010
	19	Cara Stiles	2006
3.	18	Hannah Harrell	2016
4.	17	Lelani Bernardino	2013
	17	Leanda Hines	2008
6.	16	Brittany Gooch	2009
	16	Leanda Hines	2006
8.	15	Kyler Trosclair	2016

As a team, Memphis' eight stolen bases against Buffalo on March 11, set a new school record, passing the previous record of seven set three different times.

QUICK AROUND THE BASES

Memphis' 55 stolen bases this season not only are the fourth-most in a season in school history, but are tied for the 19th-most in the NCAA this season.

Rank	Stolen Bases	Year
1.	72	2009
2.	61	2010
	61	2006
4.	55	2016
5.	53	2013

Rank	Stolen Bases	School
1.	95	Ole Miss
2.	88	Marshall
3.	82	Southeastern La.
...
17.	58	Marist
18.	56	Lamar
19.	55	Memphis
	55	Mercer
	55	Alabama
	55	Seton Hall
23.	54	Cal State Fullerton
	54	Purdue
	54	UNCW

ON THIS DATE

In the University of Memphis 11-year history of college softball, the team has played on March 24 five times, March 25 six times, and March 26 six times.

March 24 (1-4)
Year	Opponent	W/L	Score
2007	Houston	L	1-5
2007	Houston	W	2-1
2012	at Houston	L	1-5
2012	at Houston	L	0-8
2013	UAB	L	1-11

March 25 (2-4)
Year	Opponent	W/L	Score
2006	at Tulsa	L	1-4
2006	at Tulsa	L	0-3
2007	Houston	L	3-15
2012	at Houston	L	0-8
2015	Alcorn State	W	8-0
2015	Alcorn State	W	10-2

March 26 (2-4)
Year	Opponent	W/L	Score
2006	at Tulsa	L	1-9
2011	at UTEP	W	5-3
2011	at UTEP	W	13-3
2013	at Jackson State	L	2-6
2013	at Jackson State	L	3-11
2014	Lipscomb	L	1-3

ON A STREAK

The Memphis Tigers had won seven straight games, before falling on Tuesday, March 22 against Ole Miss. It was the fourth-longest win streak in program history.