Softball comes away victorious on opening day

Thursday, February 6

Honolulu, Hawai'i

7:30 PM

University of Memphis

Iowa State

Photo by: Courtney Metzger

Feb 06, 2020 | Softball

Game 1 - Iowa State Box Score

Chyanne Ellett earns first career victory in the circle

HONOLULU, Hawai'i – The University of Memphis softball team kicked off the 2020 campaign with a comeback victory Thursday, defeating Big 12 foe Iowa State by a score of 6-4 at the Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i.

Freshman pitcher Chyanne Ellett earned her first career victory while senior Karli Perque stepped in and picked up her second career save.

Iowa State capitalized on an early Memphis error, driving in a pair of runs on a home run in the bottom of the first inning. A solo shot by Sara Ann Davidson in the third inning sparked the Memphis offense and kept the momentum shift trending in favor of the Tigers.

In the top of the fifth inning, the combo of Davidson and Alyssa Dean strung together a walk and a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. A pair of wild pitches during Delaney Smith's at bat brought Davidson and Dean in to score.

Smith drew the second walk of the inning and ultimately scored on a wild pitch four batters later.

The combination of Memphis' defense along with Ellett's work in the circle held Iowa State to two hits through the first six innings of action.

Memphis added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning, lifting the Tigers to a 6-2 advantage. During the inning, Smith drew her second walk of the contest and was the first Tiger to cross home plate in the inning after a double down the left field line by freshman Brady Rowland.

Iowa State attempted a comeback in the bottom half of the seventh, but Perque stepped in and retired the final two batters in the inning to help Memphis hold on for the opening day victory.

Notables

Sara Ann Davidson hit the first Memphis home run of the 2020 campaign.
Sam Ibison led all hitters with three hits.
Baylee Smith and Brady Rowland added two hits each for Memphis.
Chyanne Ellett finished with five strikeouts and two walks allowed.
Davidson, Rowland and Kendall Lee all recorded RBIs.

Up Next
Memphis returns to action Friday evening with games against Northern Colorado and host school Hawai'i. First pitch against Northern Colorado is set for 6:30 p.m. CT at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. For more information on the Memphis softball team, follow the Tigers on social media at @MemphisSoftball.