Tigers To Compete At Northwestern State Tournament

Thursday, February 15

Natchitoches, La.

6:30 PM

University of Memphis

Northwestern State

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Feb 15, 2018 | Softball

The schedule has adjusted due to potential weather; Memphis begins Thursday against Northwestern State

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis softball team looks to continue its strong start to the 2018 campaign with a tournament at Northwestern State beginning Thursday evening in Natchitoches, La. The Tigers originally were going to play two games on Friday and two on Saturday, but will now play one Thursday night, two Friday, and one Saturday afternoon.

Memphis' Tournament Schedule
February 15 – Memphis at Northwestern State at 6:30 p.m. CT (Live Stats/Watch)
February 16 – Memphis vs. Stephen F. Austin at 10:00 a.m. CT (Live Stats)
February 16 – Memphis vs. Jackson State at 12:30 p.m. CT (Live Stats)
February 17 – Memphis vs. Stephen F. Austin at 12:30 p.m. CT (Live Stats)

Quick Hitters

Memphis' Molly Smith earned her second career American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week nod after leading Memphis with a 1-1 record and 0.54 ERA at the FGCU Kickoff Classic. Smith struck out a career-high 15 batters in the win over Ball State.
Brooke Lee was also named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll after leading Memphis at the plate with a 4-for-10 effort including her first collegiate triple. She finished with a .500 on base percentage and a .600 slugging percentage for the weekend.
Memphis tied a program-record with four triples against Georgetown to open the season. In all, Memphis finished with seven for the weekend and currently is the nation's leader in that category.
Kyler Trosclair Klatt and Regan Hadley lead the conference and the nation with two triples each.
Memphis also ranks in the top 15 in double plays per game (0.75) and team earned run average (0.81)
This is the first-ever meeting against Stephen F. Austin, second against Northwestern State (0-1) and ninth against Jackson State (5-3) for Memphis.
Head coach Natalie Poole is in her seventh season at the helm of the Tiger program.

About the Competition

Stephen F. Austin was selected to finish eighth in the Southland Conference preseason poll.
In four games so far this season, Stephen F. Austin pitchers have struck out 22 batters, including nine K's from Makayla Sikes.
After starting the season 0-4 last season, the Ladyjacks have started 3-1 in 2018. As a team, they batting a collective .323 through four games.
Jackson State finished last season 12-36, with a 5-13 record in conference. They have yet to see the field this season after its opening weekend was rained out.
The Tigers are 5-3 all-time against Jackson State, winning the last three contests.
Northwestern State returns 14 letterwinners from last year's squad. The Lady Demons finished 2017 with a 23-33-1 record.
Memphis has only faced Northwestern State once, losing a 6-4 decision in 2009.
Lady Demon outfielder Sidney Salmans was named preseason Second-Team All-Southland Conference prior to the beginning of the year.

Final Details
First pitch against host school Northwestern State is slated for 6:30 p.m. in Natchitoches, La. With rain predicted in the forecast, the Tigers are in hopes of getting all four games in this weekend. Follow the Tigers on social media at @MemphisSoftball for the complete up-to-date schedule.

Live stats for the games will be available at www.gotigersgo.com. Tiger fans can also follow the team's live scoring through the Official Memphis Tigers app by Sidearm, available in both Apple and Android app stores.