Softball picks up two wins to open Blues City Classic

Friday, February 28

Memphis, Tenn.

2 PM

University of Memphis

Northern Illinois

Photo by: Maya Todd

Softball picks up two wins to open Blues City Classic

Feb 28, 2020 | Softball

The Tigers launched four home runs led by Brady Rowland's two

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis softball team opened up the Blues City Classic with a pair of wins against Northern Illinois and Northwestern State. The Tigers opened the day with a commanding 15-5 win against the Huskies before coming from behind to defeat Northwestern State, 9-6.

Memphis improves to 9-8 on the year. The Tigers hit four home runs on Friday, led by freshman Brady Rowland's two long shots. Chyanne Ellett and Mariah Nichols picked up wins in the circle for Memphis while Karli Perque earned her second save of the year.

Game One
Memphis' offense hit the ground running in the home opener as the first seven hitters reached base safely for the Tigers. Sam Ibison led the game off for Memphis with a triple over the right fielder's head before promptly scoring on a double by Delaney Smith.

The Tigers produced six runs in the first behind seven hits. Two of Memphis' freshmen, Brady Rowland and Meagan Chism, recorded home runs in the first inning. Rowland's first career home run was a solo shot to left field while Chism's first career homer was a two-run shot to left center.

The scoring continued for Memphis in each of the four innings the Tigers came up to bat. Memphis scored four in the second on four hits, two in the third on two hits and three more in the fourth on three hits.

Northern Illinois scored five runs over the course of the fourth and the fifth inning, but the Tigers offensive production in the first three innings was too much for the Huskies to overcome.

Eight of Memphis' 16 hits were extra base hits. Ibison finished with two triples while Delaney Smith, Baylee Smith, Kendall Lee and Sara Ann Davidson all recorded doubles. Rowland finished with a team-leading four RBI. Chism and Davidson added three each.

In the fourth inning, Anna Grace Magee registered her first career hit in a pinch-hit opportunity for the Tigers. She drove in Davidson for Memphis' 15^th run of the game.

Chyanne Ellett earned her fifth victory of the year with 4.2 innings pitched and nine strikeouts. Her nine strikeouts were a career-high.

Game Two
Northwestern State capitalized on a Memphis miscue in the first inning to put a notch on the board first. The Lady Demons loaded the bases with one out, but a flyout to Morton in right field resulted in a throw in to second for an inning-ending double play.

The Lady Demons tacked on two more runs in the top of the third before Memphis' offense woke up in the fourth.

Memphis sent 13 batters to the plate in the fourth, scoring seven runs to take a 7-3 lead. Ibison led the inning off with Memphis' first hit of the contest, a single up the middle. Delaney Smith followed with a single down the left field line and promptly scored on Morton's double to left field.

Rowland stepped up to the plate with no outs in the fourth and launched her second home run of the day, driving Memphis into the lead at 4-3. Three of Memphis' seven hits in the inning were for extra bases.

Northwestern State added one more in the sixth, inching within three of the Tigers before Morton launched her second home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning. Morton's home run drove in Ibison, who singled to second base earlier in the inning.

The Lady Demons threatened again in the seventh inning by scoring two and bringing the tying run to the plate. Perque remained composed enough and struck the final batter out swinging.

Ibison, Morton and Delaney Smith recorded multi-hit games for Memphis. Rowland drove in three runs and finished the day with seven RBI.

Up Next
Memphis resumes action tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. with a single game against Western Illinois. For more information on the Memphis softball team, follow the Tigers on social media at @MemphisSoftball.