University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
20-19, 5-7
UCF
25-17, 6-10
Tigers' comeback bid falls short in series opener
Apr 26, 2019 | Baseball
Facing a 10-1 deficit after the third inning, the Tigers scored eight unanswered runs in the fourth through sixth frames. UCF answered with two in the seventh before Memphis offered one final push with two in the ninth.
Four Tigers collected multiple hits on the night. Hunter Goodman and Alec Trela also homered, their ninth and third home runs of the season, respectively. Trela also registered multi-RBI with two.
Miscues in the field plagued the Tigers throughout the evening as Memphis committed six errors. In contrast, the Tigers displayed timely hitting as the first nine Memphis runs came with two outs.
On the mound, Hunter Smith was dealt the loss. Out of the bullpen, Danny Denz threw 3.2 innings and surrendered just one run, allowing the Tigers to spark the comeback.
Goodman began the scoring with a two-out home run in the top of the first inning.
The Knights responded right back with three runs in the home half, and used a seven-run inning in the third to build a 10-1 cushion.
Trela began the Tigers' rally with a two-run home run in the fourth, and an RBI double later in the inning from Ben Brooks cut the deficit to 10-4.
The Tigers continued to chip away at the lead in the fifth when Kyle Ouellette singled in Colton Neel.
Cale Hennemann jumpstarted a four-run sixth inning after he scored on a wild pitch. Goodman followed by plating a pair after reaching on an error, while a single from Marshall then drew the Tigers within a run at 10-9.
UCF snapped the scoring surge with a 2-run home run in the in bottom of the seventh. The insurance scores proved pivotal, as Memphis offered one final rally in the ninth. With two runs in and two more in scoring position with one out, a pop out and fly out ended the threat for more.
Memphis seeks to even the weekend series on Saturday with first pitch set for 5 p.m. (CT).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Schuermann G (5-4)
L: Smith, Hunter (4-5)
S: Hakanson, J. (6)
Batting:
2B: Brooks, Ben 1
HR: Goodman, Hunter 1 ; Trela, Alec 1
RBI: Brooks, Ben 1 ; Goodman, Hunter 1 ; Marshall, Payton 1 ; Ouellette, Kyle 1 ; Trela, Alec 2 ; Hennemann, Cale 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brooks, Ben 1 ; Neel, Colton 2 ; Goodman, Hunter 2 ; Ouellette, Kyle 1 ; Vaage, Nick 2 ; Trela, Alec 1 ; Hennemann, Cale 2
HBP: Trela, Alec 1
Batting:
2B: Alejo, R. 1 ; George, A. 1
3B: Wingo, D. 1
HR: Beaver, D. 2
RBI: Alejo, R. 1 ; Beaver, D. 5 ; Wingo, D. 2 ; Hernandez, B 1 ; Lyons, J. 1 ; George, A. 1
SH: Torres, A. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alejo, R. 2 ; Beaver, D. 3 ; Mika, M. 1 ; Wingo, D. 1 ; Hernandez, B 2 ; Lyons, J. 1 ; George, A. 1 ; Torres, A. 1
SB: Alejo, R. 2 ; Mika, M. 1
CS: Alejo, R. 1
HBP: Alejo, R. 1 ; Robertson, C 1
PO: Mika, M. 2
