Softball Advances To Semifinals of American Tournament

Thursday, May 11

Greenville, N.C.

9 AM

University of Memphis

29-26

USF

32-24

Memphis

USF

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Softball Advances To Semifinals of American Tournament

May 11, 2017 | Softball

Box Score

Tigers defeat USF 7-0 in first Memphis tournament win as member of The American

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The University of Memphis softball team continues to make history this season as the Tigers advance to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship Friday after defeating USF by a score of 7-0 Thursday morning. The win improves the Tigers to 29-26 on the year.

.@Halioughton talks with junior pitcher Molly Smith and @MemphisSoftball head coach Natalie Poole after their 7-0 win against USF pic.twitter.com/KQOKzDAGK2

— American Softball (@American_SBall) May 11, 2017

In its first-ever victory in the American Championship, Memphis struck first in the top of the first on a pair of hits by Kyler Trosclair and AAC Co-Player of the Year Lindsay Crowdus. The game progressed to be a pitchers duel until five runs in the top of the fifth inning pushed the momentum all in favor of Memphis.

Memphis scored another insurance run in the top of the sixth inning and continued to let junior pitcher Molly Smith go the distance as she finished the complete game shutout with nine strikeouts and just two walks.

The Tigers scattered 12 hits in the contest while holding USF to just six. Four players had multi-hit games for Memphis and seven players in all registered hits for the advancing Tigers.

Notables

First win in the American Athletic Conference Championship in school history.
First win in a conference tournament since 2010 when Memphis defeated Tulsa in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.
This was the first time Memphis had shutout a team in the conference tournament in program history.
Kyler Trosclair improved her batting average to over .400 after going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored including the go-ahead run in the top of the first.
Lindsay Crowdus, The American Co-Player of the Year, went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBI and a stolen base to increase her season total to 33.
Molly Smith struck out nine batters, which was one shy of her season-high. It was her 14^th complete game this season and third shutout.
Smith has also matched her previous season-high of 11 victories.
USF was a team that swept Memphis during the regular season. It was the first time since 2015 Memphis defeated the Bulls.
Memphis has now defeated every team in the league at least once this season.

Scoring

Top 1 – Kyler Trosclair led the game off with a single down the left field line. She advanced to second on a stolen base and scored on a single to right field by Lindsay Crowdus. (1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base)
Top 5 – Hannah Harrell reached base on a throwing error, which quickly shifted the momentum in favor of the Tigers. The next six batters reached for the Tigers, including five hits and a fielder's choice play to quickly make the game 4-0 in favor of Memphis. A single by Brooke Lee with the bases loaded along with a bases loaded walk by Xiomara Santiago lifted the Tigers to a five-run inning. (5 runs, 6 hits, 2 errors, 3 left on base)
Top 6 – With one out, Crowdus singled to left field and advanced to second on a stolen base. A single up the middle by Lindsey Stickrod scored Crowdus. (1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base)

Quotable
Molly Smith, Junior Pitcher
What was different today vs. when the Tigers played USF earlier this season?
"Just being aggressive and coming out in the first inning. Just coming out as a team and playing for each other."

Natalie Poole, Head Coach
How does it feel to finally get that first American Tournament win for your program?
"It feels tremendous. It's a blessing and I'm proud of these girls for their hard work and for showing up and being able to come through."

After being swept by USF a few weeks ago, what was different today?
"For us, we really focused on getting past Hannah Parker because she gave us a really tough time. After that, I felt we could be on time for the other pitchers and make those adjustments. That was our goal. We knew we needed to pitch well. Molly didn't have a great performance against them last time around. We went with her as we felt she is doing a great job right now. I'm really proud of her performance."

A Look At Tulsa
Tulsa earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament after finishing the regular season with a 37-15 overall record and 15-3 mark in conference play. Of the three losses during league play for Tulsa, Memphis was one of them. The Tigers shutout the Golden Hurricane in game two on the road in the beginning of April.

The Golden Hurricanes Emily Watson was named The American Pitcher of the Year after leading the conference with a 26-4 overall record and 1.03 ERA. She has struck out 307 batters this season in 203.2 innings pitched.

Next Up For The Tigers
Memphis will now play No. 1-seeded Tulsa in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship. First pitch against the Golden Hurricane is set for 12 p.m. CT in Greenville, N.C. Fans can watch the game for free at www.TheAmerican.org/DN. For more information on the University of Memphis softball team, follow the Tigers on Facebook and Twitter at @MemphisSoftball.