Tigers earn Opening Day win behind one-hit bid

Friday, February 14

Memphis, Tenn.

2 p.m.

University of Memphis

1-0

Xavier

0-1

Xavier

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Feb 14, 2020 | Baseball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Behind a one-hit effort on the mound, Memphis baseball opened the 2020 campaign with a 6-1 win against Xavier on Friday afternoon at FedExPark.

Senior lefty Danny Denz tossed five innings of no-hit ball and registered five strikeouts in his fifth career win. In relief, junior Landon Kelly tallied a pair of strikeouts in three innings pitched, while senior Takoda Metoxen preserved the shutout as he struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth.

Offensively, rookie Austin Baskin collected a pair of hits and plated a run. Sophomore Hunter Goodman drove in a pair of runs, including a solo homer in the third inning. Senior Alec Trela and junior Chris Swanberg also each tallied an RBI.

"Xavier's starter (Lane Flamm) is tough. He matched Danny pitch-for-pitch. We needed Danny to be that good against him, and that's what you need on Friday night," head coach Daron Schoenrock said. "We had some quality at-bats and executed some things offensively. Once we get in the bullpen, I think we can do some damage."

Memphis struck first in the bottom of the first inning when Zach Wilson doubled and scored later in the frame for the early advantage. Goodman's solo shot in the third inning increased the Memphis lead to 2-0.

On the mound, Denz kept Xavier at bay after retiring the first nine batters of the game, including five strikeouts. With two on and one out in the fourth, Denz induced a fly out and a ground out to end the threat.

"We worked a lot on the mental game with him. Now, he's a senior, he's been down the river a few times," Schoenrock added of Denz. "It's now time to play a senior year, and that's the Danny Denz we envisioned. It's good to get off to a good start like that."

The Tigers added a trio of runs in the seventh inning, all with two outs. With two runners aboard, Swanberg singled to right to extend the lead. Trela drew a bases-loaded walk, and junior Ian Bibiloni drove in a run in the frame.

Memphis added an insurance run in the eighth before Metoxen's perfect ninth sealed the win.

In all, seven Tigers made their Memphis debut, combining for five hits and plating five of the home team's six runs.

"This is going to be kind of a work in progress but we've got pieces," Schoenrock said of the newcomers. "You saw some freshmen out there and you'll see some more in the mix. Using the strengths we have is a piece of the moving parts, and we plan to use those to our advantage."