Tigers Drop Doubleheader to Houston

Saturday, April 20

Memphis, Tenn.

11 AM

University of Memphis

21-24, 3-10

Houston

30-15, 7-6

Houston

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Apr 20, 2019 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis softball team dropped a doubleheader Saturday afternoon to Houston. The Tigers took an early lead in game one before falling by an 8-4 margin and game two ended with a 6-3 score in favor of the Cougars.

Memphis falls to 21-25 on the year and 3-11 in American Athletic Conference play. The Tigers have two more conference series on the schedule in a road series at USF and Senior Weekend against UCF.

The Tigers struck first against the Cougars with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Gracie Morton drove in the first run of the inning on her team-leading 12^th double of the season. A Ryleigh Aungst single up the middle brought in Morton.

An untimely error allowed two runs to score in the top of the second inning, allowing Houston to tie up the contest at 2-2. The Cougars then added four runs in the top of the fourth to build their lead up to four, 6-2.

Ashley Threatt launched her seventh home run of the season to lead off the fourth inning for Memphis. The Tigers then capitalized on a pair of Houston errors in the fifth inning to score their fourth run of the game.

Houston finished the contest with one in the sixth and one in the seventh to defeat Memphis by a score of 8-4. Mariah Nichols put in 6.0 innings of work in the setback with four strikeouts. Only three of the eight Houston runs were earned.

Much like game one of the doubleheader, Memphis took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. A double to left center by Threatt drove in Morton for the first run of the game.

Houston added two runs in the third and three in the fourth to build a 5-1 lead over the Tigers.

In the bottom of fourth, Alyssa Dean roped a double to left centerfield to leadoff the inning for Memphis. Sara Ann Davidson advanced Dean to third base on a ground out to the pitcher before Dean scored off the bat of Jessie Lamb. Lamb reached by way of a fielding error by the Houston shortstop.

The Tigers had an opportunity in the bottom of the sixth, but back-to-back fly-outs with runners on first and second halted Memphis' chance at getting back on the board.

Baylee Smith helped cut into the Houston lead in the bottom of the seventh with her seventh home run of the season, but it proved to be too little, too late for the Tigers.

Karli Perque was handed the loss in the setback. She finished with one strikeout in 2.2 innings of work. Regan Hadley and Baylee Smith

Notables

Gracie Morton hit her team-leading 12^th double of the season. That total is tied for the fifth-most in a single-season in program history.
Ashley Threatt launched her team-leading seventh home run of the season.
Threatt's 13 career home runs rank in a tie for eighth all-time.
Baylee Smith's home run in the bottom of the seventh inning was also her seventh of the season. That total is now tied for the ninth most in a single-season at Memphis with Ashley Threatt, Brooke Lee and Maddie McKinley.
Sara Ann Davidson and Threatt were the only Tigers to record hits in both games.
Regan Hadley's two-hit performance against the Cougars in game two was her sixth multi-hit game of the season.
Baylee Smith's two-hit performance in game two was her team-leading 16^th multi-hit performance.
The Tigers have recorded a double in five consecutive games, the longest stretch this season.

Up Next
Memphis returns to action Tuesday with a road game at UT Martin. First pitch against the Skyhawks is slated for 5 p.m. For more information on the Memphis softball team, follow the Tigers on social media at @MemphisSoftball.