University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
20-18
North Alabama
11-29
Tigers use four homers to surge in midweek sweep
Apr 23, 2019 | Baseball
The Tigers (20-18) exploded for 15 runs in the fourth through seventh innings to earn the midweek series sweep. The evening also featured four home runs, marking the first time a Memphis team hit four homers in a game since May 18, 2017 against Tulane.
"The keys today were answering back with one (run) when we gave up three, and then Danny Denz throws a clean inning and we answer back with four," Head Coach Schoenrock said. "After their two three-run innings, we answered back."
Hunter Goodman hit two home runs, his seventh and eighth of the year. Payton Marshall notched his third of the season, while Evan Bell, who made his third start of the season on Tuesday, connected on his first homer of the year.
Four Tigers enjoyed three-hit nights as Goodman, Colton Neel, Kyle Ouellette and Cale Hennemann each tallied a trio of base knocks. Neel and Goodman each tallied four RBI. All nine starters scored a run.
"The offense should have a lot of confidence," Schoenrock added of the momentum. "Most of our wins are with six and seven runs on the board. If we get enough guys going in the lineup like they are, we can be hard to handle."
On the mound, Danny Denz tallied his second victory of the season. Denz threw 1.2 innings out of the bullpen and struck out three UNA hitters.
A trio of hits started the scoring for UNA in the second inning, as a safety squeeze followed by an RBI single built a 3-0 lead.
Hennemann put the Tigers on the board in the home half of the inning. After Nick Vaage reached via an error, Hennemann connected on a two-out RBI double to trim the lead to 3-1.
In the third, Marshall tied the game with a two-run home run off the scoreboard.
UNA struck against for a trio of runs in the fourth inning before Memphis responded with four runs of its own in the home half to take a 7-6 lead. An error and a walk led off the frame, and a double by Neel plated the Tigers' first run of the inning. After a pitching change, Goodman sent a 3-run blast to right field to give Memphis its first lead of the day.
Tigers struck for five more in the fifth inning, highlighted by Goodman's second home run of the day, and Bell's homer in the sixth extended the Memphis advantage to 13-6.
Five more runs in the seventh built an 18-6 cushion for the home side. A pair of bases-loaded walks and a sacrifice fly by Bell scored the first three in the inning, and an RBI single from Neel drove in the fourth. Hennemann plated the Tigers' final run of the day via a wild pitch.
UNA (11-29) offered a late rally, scoring two in the eighth and three in the ninth, but Grayson Kemp avoided further damage by recording a pair of strikeouts to end the game.
The Tigers will hit the road for its next matchup, a league series at UCF. First pitch on Friday against the Knights is set for 5 p.m. (CT).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Denz, Danny (2-2)
L: Josh Stillman (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Drew Hudson 1
HR: Colt Chrestman 1 ; Peyton Thomas 1
RBI: Davis Elliott 1 ; Reid Homan 1 ; Colt Chrestman 2 ; Gerardo Miranda 1 ; Harris Kain 2 ; Peyton Thomas 1
SH: Gerardo Miranda 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Peyton Sockwell 1 ; Tate Mathis 1 ; Brett Baker 1 ; Reid Homan 1 ; Drew Hudson 1 ; Colt Chrestman 3 ; Gerardo Miranda 1 ; Harris Kain 1 ; Peyton Thomas 1
SB: Peyton Sockwell 1 ; Drew Hudson 1
PO: Davis Elliott 1
Batting:
2B: Neel, Colton 1 ; Hennemann, Cale 1
HR: Goodman, Hunter 2 ; Marshall, Payton 1 ; Bell, Evan 1
RBI: Neel, Colton 4 ; Goodman, Hunter 4 ; Marshall, Payton 2 ; Vaage, Nick 1 ; Trela, Alec 1 ; Hennemann, Cale 2 ; Bell, Evan 2
SH: Brooks, Ben 1
SF: Vaage, Nick 1 ; Bell, Evan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brooks, Ben 1 ; Neel, Colton 2 ; Goodman, Hunter 3 ; Marshall, Payton 3 ; Ouellette, Kyle 1 ; Vaage, Nick 2 ; Trela, Alec 1 ; Hennemann, Cale 2 ; Bell, Evan 3
SB: Neel, Colton 1 ; Goodman, Hunter 1 ; Ouellette, Kyle 2
