Memphis Hosts Cincinnati for Big Weekend at FedExPark

Friday, May 5

Memphis, Tenn.

6:30 PM

University of Memphis

Cincinnati

Memphis Hosts Cincinnati for Big Weekend at FedExPark

May 04, 2017 | Baseball

Game Notes vs. Cincinnati

Giveaways and jersey retirement highlight weekend schedule

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis and Cincinnati will square off in a pivotal American Athletic Conference series at FedExPark. The weekend will offer more than just the two teams vying for seeding in the conference tournament, as Memphis will retire the jersey of former All-American Adam Amar.

Fans will have the opportunity for giveaways throughout the weekend. Friday fans will receive a custom Memphis Chick-fil-A grill spatula while supplies last, Saturday Hyundai will be in attendance and the first 300 fans will receive a Memphis Baseball drawstring bag, and Sunday Tiger fans will get a pair of Memphis sunglasses.

Continuing a tradition started by head coach Daron Schoenrock in 2005, the Tigers will retire the jersey of former Memphis All-American Adam Amar prior to Saturday's May 6 game against Cincinnati.

As part of Amar's jersey retirement, Memphis will also honor the 10-year anniversary of the Tigers' 2007 NCAA Regional Team. All baseball alumni are encouraged to join the Tigers for this exciting Alumni Day at FedExPark, with pregame festivities expected to begin at 1:35 p.m.

Amar was a four-year starter who played in a program record 217 career games for Memphis. In his stellar career he set school records with 276 hits and 192 runs batted in. For his four-year career in the Blue and Gray, Amar banged out 31 home runs and 48 doubles, which both stand in the top-5 in Memphis history.

The 2007 team enjoyed the program's most successful season in 13 years, as the Tigers posted a 36-27 mark and broke a 13-year absence from postseason play, when they were selected as the No. 3 seed in the Nashville Regional.

SERIES INFORMATION:
Memphis (24-21, 5-10 AAC) vs. Cincinnati (22-22, 6-9 AAC)
Date: May 5-7, 2017
Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Venue: FedExPark
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball

Friday, May 5 | 6:30 p.m.
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: Memphis Tiger Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
MEM: LHP Drew Crosby (4-2, 4.22 ERA)
CIN: LHP J.T. Perez (2-5, 3.99 ERA)

Saturday, May 6 | 2 p.m.
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: Memphis Tiger Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
MEM: RHP Alex Hicks (4-4, 3.99 ERA)
CIN: RHP Andrew Zellner (2-4, 5.44 ERA)

Sunday, May 7 | 1 p.m.
Audio: WUMR 91.7 FM
Video: Memphis Tiger Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
MEM: RHP Connor Alexander (6-3, 4.23 ERA)
CIN: TBA

Leading Off
• Memphis will host Cincinnati for a three-game series at FedExPark. Cincinnati is the only team the Tigers have won a league series over this season. The Bearcats and Tigers have played home-and-home series against each other for three-straight seasons but that will change next season. With the addition of Wichita State to the America Athletic Conference in 2018, Memphis will play just one series against each league opponent next year.
• The series win at Cincinnati five weeks ago was the first for Memphis over the Bearcats since 2004 and the first for head coach Daron Schoenrock. The Bearcats won the series over Schoenrock's Tigers in 2005 before joining the Big East Conference. The teams reunited in the American Athletic Conference in 2014. The Tigers and Bearcats played two series in 2015 and 2016 and the teams will meet again in May.
• Memphis has played a brutal schedule this season, specifically in the last four weeks. The Tigers have played a total of 23 games against RPI top-50 teams, more than any other school in The American. Of the Tigers' last 16 games, 14 have been against top-50 teams. The other seven teams in the league have averaged 13 games against teams in the top-50 this year.
• Of the Tigers' last 16 games, 14 have been against teams in the top-50 of the RPI – Connecticut, Houston, Arkansas, USF and UCF. Memphis played just nine games against top-50 teams during the first half of the season, posting a 5-4 record with two wins each over Ole Miss and Missouri State and a win over Tennessee.
• Memphis closer Colton Hathock was named to the Midseason Watch List for the 13th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award. Hathcock picked up his 11th save of the season in the win at Arkansas State, which ranks in the top-15 nationally. The 11 saves are the third most by a Tigers pitcher in a single season in school history. The single-season program record for saves is 14, set by Nolan Blackwood in 2015.
• Freshman shortstop Alec Trela has started all 45 games this season and is on pace to be the first Tigers first-year player to start every game since Jacob Wilson in 2009. Wilson went on to play in 222 career games and stands in the top-5 in nearly every Memphis offensive category. Trela is batting .270 and leads the team with 47 hits and 14 doubles. His 20 extra-base hits are the most on the team.
• Junior college transfer Tyler Webb is the team's leading hitter in his first season with the program. The junior center fielder has a .297 batting average with 31 runs scored and 14 RBI. Webb's first career home run clinched the series win at Missouri State. He also drove in the game-winning run in the ninth inning at Arkansas State.
• The Tigers won their 20th game on April 5 against Alcorn State, marking significant improvement from last season. Memphis ended the 2016 regular season with 19 wins and picked up the 20th on May 26 in the American Athletic Conference tournament. However, since recording the 20th win of the season the Tigers have gone just 4-12 with 11-of-16 games against ranked opposition.