Tigers Drop Two Saturday in Miami

Saturday, February 9

Miami, Fla.

1:30 PM

University of Memphis

1-2

Michigan State

3-1

Michigan State

Memphis

Photo by: LaDarius Bridgeforth

Feb 09, 2019 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Regan Hadley crushes second career grand slam against Michigan State

MIAMI, Fla. – The University of Memphis softball team suffered a pair of setbacks Saturday afternoon at the Felsberg Invitational. Memphis dropped game one of the day to Big Ten foe Michigan State by a 11-6 margin before falling in the night cap to FIU by a score of 4-1. The Tigers fall to 1-3 on the young season with one game remaining in the tournament Sunday.

Delaney Smith and Ashley Threatt extended their hitting streaks Saturday and Regan Hadley hit the first Memphis home run of the season against Michigan State.

Michigan State strung together a walk and several hits in the top of the first inning to take an early 5-0 lead over Memphis. The Tigers had a response in the bottom half of the frame, ignited by Delaney Smith's first hit of the day. Smith's single along with Gracie Morton's double and a pair of passed balls put the Tigers on the board.

A four-run fourth by the Spartans stretched Michigan State's lead up to seven, but the Tigers did not bow out quietly.

With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fifth, Hadley cut the Spartan lead down to three with her second career grand slam. After a scoreless sixth, Michigan State added two more to their total to ultimately take game one from the Tigers.

Game two of the day against FIU was plagued with defensive miscues that led to all four runs scored by FIU being unearned. The Panthers struck first in the bottom of the first and took a 2-0 lead before Memphis answered in the top of the third.

Delaney Smith continued her hot hand at the plate with her first triple of the year to right center. She came around and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hadley.

The Tigers had opportunities against the Panthers after stranding six runners on base.

Mariah Nichols was handed the loss against Michigan State while Karli Perque fell to 1-1 on the year in the setback to FIU.

Notables

Regan Hadley's grand slam was the second grand slam of her career. Only two other Tigers (Melissa Nance and Jessica Phillips) have had multiple grand slams in their career.
Delaney Smith and Ashley Threatt extended their hitting streaks against Michigan State and FIU. Smith's streak sits at six games while Threatt's sits at five.
Sara Ann Davidson and Gracie Morton extended their on-base streaks on Saturday. Davidson, Morton, Smith, and Threatt have reached base all four games this year.
Hadley recorded five RBIs against Michigan State and finished the day with six. Five is her new career-high in RBIs.
Karli Perque struck out three in 3.0 innings of work against FIU. All four runs scored under her watch were unearned.
Mariah Nichols allowed just one hit in relief against the Panthers. She struck out one and held FIU scoreless.
Kailey Hilderbrand, Madalyn Alexander, and Bayleigh Wisher all saw their first taste of action this season. Hilderbrand struck out two in 3.0 innings of work, Alexander allowed just two Spartan hits in 2.2 innings and Wisher put in 1.1 innings for the Tigers.

Up Next
Memphis takes on Michigan State in the final game of the Felsberg Invitational Sunday morning. First pitch against the Spartans is slated for 10:15 a.m. CT. For more information on the Memphis softball team, follow the Tigers on social media at @MemphisSoftball.