Softball Hosts UofM Softball Tournament This Weekend

Friday, March 8

Memphis, Tenn.

4:15 PM

University of Memphis

DePaul

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Softball Hosts UofM Softball Tournament This Weekend

Mar 07, 2019 | Softball

Tournament Central

Games begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis softball team hits the diamond once again this weekend at the UofM Softball Tournament. The six-team tournament hosted by Memphis is the second of three home tournaments this spring. Middle Tennessee is the only team this weekend Memphis is not originally scheduled to play.

Friday's schedule has already been amended and the Tigers are set to take the field at 4:15 p.m. against DePaul. Game one of the day has been pushed up 1.5 hours to 9:30 a.m. for IUPUI and Indiana State to face off.

UofM Softball Tournament
Tournament Central: http://bit.ly/UofMSBTourney
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/MemphisSBStats

Memphis (9-9) is coming off a 1-0 shutout victory over Central Arkansas Wednesday afternoon. Regan Hadley's RBI-single in the fourth inning proved to be the only score needed to seal Memphis' fourth shutout of the season. The Tigers are now riding a four-game winning streak coming into the weekend.

The Central Arkansas win also marked the 499^th career victory for head coach Natalie Poole. Poole is currently in her eighth season at the University of Memphis.

Baylee Smith leads Memphis offensively with a .438 batting average and 21 hits in 48 at bats. Smith is also productive on the base paths, earning herself six swipes this season.

As a squad, the Tigers are hitting .270 with seven players hitting over that mark. Freshmen Samantha Ibison, Ryleigh Aungst and Gracie Morton are all making their mark early for Memphis, hitting over .270 with a combined 38 hits.

A Look At The Memphis Competition
Belmont
Under the direction of Brian Levin, Belmont enters the UofM Softball Tournament with a 9-5 overall record. The Bruins are 6-2 in neutral site games this season and 0-2 in true road games.

Alicia Veltri leads the team offensively with a .457 batting average in 35 at bats. She is also the team-leader in hits with 16 and has 20 RBIs on the year. Collectively as a team, the Bruins are hitting .283 while holding opponents to a .187 average.

Four pitchers have seen action this season, led by Brooklin Lee's 42.0 innings pitched. Veltri also gets it done in the circle as she has a team-leading five wins this season. Veltri also leads the team with 46 strikeouts.

DePaul
Memphis' first opponent, DePaul, carries a 15-4 overall record into this weekend's tournament. The Blue Demons have played all of their contests away from home.

Jessica Cothern is the team-leader in batting average, hits, home runs and RBIs. Six players have eclipsed double-digit hits through 19 games and five players have scored double-digits runs.

The Blue Demons rely on a small pitching corps with just two players seeing action in the circle this season. Natalie Halvorson and Krista Dalgarn have practically split innings and the two combine for 73 strikeouts. As a staff, Halvorson and Dalgarn own a 3.04 ERA.

Indiana State
As a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Indiana State owns a 7-7 overall record and like DePaul, has yet to compete in a home game this season. On the road, the Sycamores are 2-4 and in neutral site competition, they are 5-3.

Two players hit over .400 for Indiana State in Bailey Martin and Leslie Sims. Martin carries a .480 average with a team-leading 24 hits. In all, six players have registered double-digit hits this season.

Gabbi Schnaiter and Arielle Blankenship have pitched the majority of innings for Indiana State, led by Schnaiter's 34.2 innings. Schnaiter also leads the team with 31 strikeouts and as a staff, Indiana State owns a 3.30 ERA.

IUPUI
IUPUI comes to Memphis with a 5-14 overall record and an 0-4 mark in true road games. Just like Indiana State and DePaul, IUPUI has yet to play a game on its home turf.

Three players are hitting over .300 for IUPUI, led by Jaida Speth with a .378 batting average. Emily Berrisford leads the team with 18 hits and Mandy Dallas has driven in a team-high 12 runs this season.

Collectively, the IUPUI pitching staff has a 7.81 ERA and 43 strikeouts on the year. Lexi Lucas leads the team in innings pitched and strikeouts with 66.1 innings and 29 Ks.

Final Details
First pitch Friday afternoon for the Tigers is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. at the Tigers Softball Complex. The first game of the day is slated for 9:30 a.m. between IUPUI and Indiana State. Fans are encouraged to check on social media at @MemphisSoftball and the tournament central page for updates to the schedule due to potential weather.