Play Continues For Softball At FGCU This Weekend

Friday, February 15

Fort Myers, Fla.

2:30 PM

University of Memphis

FIU

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Feb 14, 2019 | Softball

The Tigers have four games scheduled at the FGCU Invitational

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis softball team hits the road again this weekend for the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational Friday-Sunday in Fort Myers, Florida. The Tigers will take on FIU, Lamar and host school FGCU over the course of the weekend.

Tournament Schedule
February 15
2:30 p.m. CT Memphis vs FIU

February 16
9 a.m. CT Memphis vs. FIU
1:30 p.m. CT Memphis vs. Lamar

February 17
11:30 a.m. CT Memphis at Florida Gulf Coast

The Tigers (2-3) opened up tournament play last weekend at the Felsberg Invitational hosted by FIU. Senior Regan Hadley had one of the most productive weekends of her career, driving in a team-leading 10 runs and hitting her second career grand slam. Hadley was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week for her efforts last weekend.

Freshman Samantha Ibison had a strong debut for the blue and gray, leading Memphis with eight hits and a .471 batting average. Collectively, the Tigers hit .322 with 47 hits over the course of five games. The Tigers are a perfect 6-for-6 on the base paths with sophomore Delaney Smith picking up where she left off from last year with a team-high three swipes this year.

All five pitchers saw action last weekend, led by Karli Perque's 11.2 innings in the circle. Perque led all Memphis pitchers with 12 strikeouts and a 1-1 record.

A Look At The Competition
Memphis is looking to even the season series against FIU after dropping a pair to the Panthers last weekend. FIU took game one against Memphis by a 2-1 margin before defeating the Tigers in game two, 4-1. All four runs in the second game were unearned.

Megan Kugelmann earned a pair of wins in the circle last weekend. In her two starts, the sophomore struck out nine batters and allowed just one run.

Lamar enters the weekend with a 1-5 overall record after competing at the Scrap Yard Tournament last week. All five of the setbacks for Lamar were to Power 5 programs.

Taylor Davis leads the team offensively with a .412 batting average and seven hits. She drove in four runs and started in all six games for the Cardinals.

The tournament hosts, FGCU, enter their home tournament with a 4-2 overall record. As a squad, the Eagles hit .231 during the opening weekend and were led by Mikenzie Vaughn's six hits.

Memphis Against The Competition
Memphis is facing a first-time opponent in Lamar this weekend. Lamar has only had a softball program for a combined 11 seasons from 1983-87 and 2013-18. Head coach Natalie Poole, who has ties to the Southland Conference at McNeese State, has never competed against the Cardinals.

The Tigers have only competed against FGCU twice and own a 2-0 record against the Eagles. After taking two from the Tigers last weekend, FIU is 6-3 against Memphis all-time.

Final Details
First pitch on Friday against FIU is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT in Fort Myers, Florida. Live stats for the tournament will be available at www.gotigersgo.com. For more information on the Memphis softball team, follow the Tigers on social media at @MemphisSoftball.