Final American Road Series at No. 15 Tulane

Friday, May 13

New Orleans, La.

6:30 PM

University of Memphis

Tulane

Photo by: Joe Murphy

May 12, 2016 | Baseball

Memphis on the road for a second straight weekend

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis heads to New Orleans to play at No. 15 Tulane for the Tigers' final American Athletic Conference road series of the season. The Tigers will be on the road for a second consecutive weekend before returning home to host UT Martin at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn. and Cincinnati at FedExPark for the final regular season series.

SERIES INFORMATION:
Memphis (16-33) at Tulane (33-14)
Date: May 13-15, 2016
Location: New Orleans, La.
Venue: Greer Field at Turchin Stadium
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball

Friday, May 13 | 6:30 p.m. CT
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: Tulane All-Access
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
MEM: So. RHP Colton Hathcock (5-6, 3.93 ERA)
TLN: Sr. RHP Emerson Gibbs (5-2, 2.57 ERA)

Saturday, May 14 | 4 p.m. CT
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: Tulane All-Access
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
MEM: Sr. RHP Matt Ferguson (4-4, 4.39 ERA)
TLN: Fr. LHP Ross Massey (8-2, 1.81 ERA)

Sunday, May 15 | 1 p.m. CT
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: Tulane All-Access
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
MEM: Fr. RHP Jonathan Bowlan (2-5, 4.36 ERA)
TLN: Sr. RHP Alex Massey (5-4, 4.42 ERA)

Leading Off
• For a fourth consecutive weekend Memphis avoided being swept in an American Athletic Conference series. The series have been against four of the top five teams in the American – East Carolina, Cincinnati, UConn and Houston.
• Last year Tulane won the series over Memphis to end the regular season at FedExPark.
• Tulane leads the all-time series 50-37 dating back to 1979.
• The Green Wave were picked to finish second in the league but with two weekends remaining in the regular season they sit in first place in the standings.
• Jake Little suffered through an injury-plagued junior season in 2015 but has recovered to lead the team in hitting with a .322 batting average as a senior. He is one of the team's most productive offensive players with 32 runs scored, 25 RBI and 12 stolen bases.
• Next to Jake Little, newcomer Brandon Grudzielanek is the only other Tiger to start every game this season. The JuCo transfer is batting .283 with 28 RBI and 28 runs scored while starting games at second base, shortstop and third base.
• The Tigers started the season with a platoon at first base before sophomore Jacob Elliott took over at the position. Elliott has started the last 34 games at first base for Memphis and is batting .271 with 23 RBI and 20 runs scored.
• Preseason All-American Nolan Blackwood recorded his 22nd career save in the April 9 win over USF and now holds the program record for career saves.
• Memphis stands in the top 50 in the NCAA with 70 stolen bases this season. The Tigers have been successful on the base paths as an entire team and no Memphis player is in the individual top 50 in the country in stolen bases.
• One of Memphis' strengths last season was its bullpen which compiled a 3.50 ERA with a 15-6 record and 16 saves. This season the relief corps has struggled with a 6.11 ERA, a 4-8 record and only five saves.
• WUMR U 92-FM carries the radio broadcasts throughout the season. Tyler Springs will handle the play-by-play duties in New Orleans, filling in for Jeff Brightwell.
• The Memphis baseball program is in its fourth season as a partner with Baden Sports and swings the Axe Bat exclusively.

The Series with Tulane
Tulane leads the series with Memphis 50-37 dating back to 1979. The two teams met annually as members of Conference USA from 1996 to 2013 and renewed the series last season when Tulane joined the American Athletic Conference. The Green Wave took two-of-three over the Tigers last year at FedExPark. The last time Memphis won a series over Tulane was in 2010 at home. The last series win for the Tigers in New Orleans came over a ranked Tulane squad in 2007.

Scouting the Green Wave
Tulane has hit a hot streak with six straight wins coming into the weekend and wins in 11 of the last 12 games. The pitching staff boasts a 3.30 ERA and is tied for the national lead with 11 shutouts. The Green Wave are led offensively by preseason All-American shortstop Stephen Alemais who is the only player batting over .300. The team does have two players with double-digit home runs with Hunter Hope's 12 and Jeremy Montalbano's 10.

Avoiding the Sweep
Memphis hasn't been swept in a three-game conference series since 2012 and has narrowly avoided being swept for four consecutive weekends this season. This weekend may be the biggest threat to that streak playing on the road against nationally-ranked Tulane. The last time the Tigers were swept was at Southern Mississippi from April 20-22, 2012. Memphis hasn't been swept in a home conference series since 2008 against Rice.

Youth 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 true freshmen have already contributed on the mound for the Tigers early in their collegiate careers. They have combined to make 69 appearances and log 130 1/3 innings. Only the Memphis sophomore class, which includes starters Connor Alexander and Colton Hathcock, has pitched more innings this season. As can be expected with some inexperienced arms, they have been wild at times with 82 walks, 20 hit batters and 32 wild pitches. More than 70% of the Tigers' innings pitched have come from either a freshman or sophomore.

Speed on the Bases
Memphis hasn't been as consistent offensively as they would have liked this season, but the team has still managed to swipe 70 bases which ranks them in the top-50 nationally. Darien Tubbs leads the team with 18 stolen bases, while Jake Little and Chris Carrier are tied for second with 12 swiped bags. Zach Schritenthal is also in double figures with 10 stolen bases. In all, 10 different Tigers have at least one stolen base.

One Inning in March
Memphis held a 4-2 record heading into its first midweek game of the season, at Ole Miss on March 2. The Tigers jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the Rebels before things turned in the bottom of the third inning. After four walks, three wild pitches and two errors the Rebels had taken a 7-6 lead and sent the Tigers into a stretch in which they won just one of the next eight games. Since that game, erratic pitching and shaky defense have kept Memphis from competing at the high levels that have come to be expected of the program that has won 30 or more games in each of the previous five seasons.

Blackwood in the Record Book
Junior closer Nolan Blackwood recorded his fifth save of the season and 22nd of his career in the win over USF on April 9 to set the program record for career saves. Blackwood passed Jonathan Van Eaton, who pitched for Memphis from 2010-13. This record comes after he already set the school record for saves in a season with 14 in 2015.

Tubbs in the Record Book
Darien Tubbs has used his speed to put his name in the Memphis baseball record book. The junior center fielder is third all-time with 12 career triples and is fourth in career stolen bases with 62. Tubbs has a chance to move up to second in stolen bases with eight regular season games remaining. Rene White (1973-76) is currently second with 68 stolen bases.

Axe Bats
Take a close look at the bats that the Tigers swing and you'll notice a distinct difference from bats you've picked up in the past. The University of Memphis baseball program is in its fourth season as a partner with Baden Sports and swings the AXE Bat exclusively. The patented Axe handle puts the bat in the fingertips for a consistent swing plane and a freer release. The Axe shape gives a better grip with less tension and delivers important benefits through the swing. The handle's oval shape prevents hitters from over-gripping the bat, thus providing the tension-free swing and greater energy through the ball.

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 both home and away.

Up Next
Memphis will host UT Martin in the Babe Howard Classic at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn. for the team's final midweek game of the season next Tuesday. The Tigers will then host Cincinnati for a three-game series to conclude the regular season.