Tigers sweep doubleheader to take series against Middle Tennessee

Saturday, March 2

Memphis, Tenn.

1 p.m.

University of Memphis

3-6

Middle Tennessee

5-5

Middle Tennessee

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Tigers sweep doubleheader to take series against Middle Tennessee

Mar 02, 2019 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Memphis leans on senior offense to secure comeback wins

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – An offensive surge behind its senior hitters led to a Memphis doubleheader sweep on Sunday at FedExPark.

The Tigers (4-6) combined for 22 hits, including 15 from the senior class, in the two games and used late offense to complete a pair of come-from-behind victories.

"Doubleheader sweeps are very rare in college baseball, so to come from behind twice like that with the kind of offensive day we had yesterday, I thought that was huge for our club to scratch offense together," Head Coach Daron Schoenrock said. "We get down early in both games and fight from behind, and to do it on the offensive side was huge for this team."

The Tigers took Game 1 in comeback fashion on the heroics of senior Colton Neel. With runners on second and third in the bottom of the eighth inning, Neel drove a 2 RBI double to break a 5-5 tie. Neel then took the mound in the ninth inning and registered his first save of the season.

"It's always fun to pick your team up in those situations," Neel said. "It's a unique thing I get to do (hitting and pitching), and it's a lot of fun. I was just the guy today, but it's someone else everyday."

Trailing 4-2 after the fifth, the Tigers began their first rally when seniors Jason Santana, Nick Vaage and Keith Stepter connected on three straight singles to score two runs. Neel then tallied his first RBI of the day on a single to give Memphis a 5-4 lead.

Although the Raiders knotted the game at 5-5 in the top of the eighth, Santana and Vaage both reached in the home half to set up the late inning rally for Neel.

On the mound, senior Alex Smith registered his first win of the season. Starter Hunter Smith tossed five innings and tied a career high with seven strikeouts.

In Game 2, the Tigers used five runs in the seventh and eighth innings to complete the second comeback of the day. Trailing 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, senior Payton Marshall and Stepter led off the frame with consecutive doubles. Freshman Hunter Goodman tallied an RBI single, and after an Alec Trela walk, Vaage was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run.

In the eighth, Marshall completed his 3-for-3 outing with a leadoff single. After Stepter reached, Goodman delivered once more with a 2-RBI double to put the Tigers ahead and set the final. Goodman ended the day 4-for-9 with 5 RBI.

The visiting Blue Raiders (5-6) grabbed an early 4-0 advantage through three innings. Senior Cale Hennemann led off the fourth with a double, and Vaage trimmed the deficit on an RBI groundout. In the fifth inning, Marshall drew a walk to leadoff the frame before Stepter connected on his first home run of the season to draw the Tigers within a run.

On the mound, the Memphis bullpen limited the Raiders to just two runs on four hits while striking out five over six innings. Redshirt junior Drew Hall notched his first career win, while Landon Kelly etched the save.

In all, the senior group of Neel, Stepter, Vaage and Marshall went 12-22 at the dish with 9 RBI and plated 10 runs. Defensively, Stepter also added a pair of assists after throwing out two base runners.

"Today was a good day. I got the opportunity to step up for my teammates. My teammates put me in a good position, and I was able to come through," Stepter said. "It feels good to backup my pitcher like that. That's all I'm trying to do in those situations to give us momentum."

Memphis begins a four-game road swing with a midweek visit to Lipscomb on Wednesday. First pitch from Nashville is set for 4 p.m.