University of Memphis Athletics
Tuesday, May 25
Clearwater, Fla.
TBA
University of Memphis
18-37
11
vs
1
East Carolina
38-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Memphis
0
0
5
0
4
0
2
11
8
0
East Carolina
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
1
Tigers stun East Carolina, run-rule Pirates 11-1
May 25, 2021 | Baseball
CLEARWATER, Fla. – In one of the biggest shockers in recent AAC Championship memory, the Memphis Tigers used four home runs and run-ruled the No. 1 seed East Carolina Pirates 11-1 in seven innings. East Carolina entered the conference tournament as the No. 9 team in the country and swept the Tigers in a four-game series in April by a combined score of 32-13. The victory was Memphis' first over a ranked team since the Tigers beat then No. 6 ECU 10-9, May 18, 2019. With the win, the Tigers advance in the winner's bracket and will face No. 5 seed UCF Thursday at 2 p.m. at BayCare Ballpark.
The game got off to a dreadful start for the Tigers, as AAC Player of the Year Connor Norby homered on the second pitch of the game. That was the final run of the afternoon for the Pirates, as Carson Stinnett (W, 4-5) faced just three over the minimum across the next six innings. Stinnett allowed one run on five hits over 6.1 frames.
Memphis (18-37) went quickly in the first two innings against Tyler Smith (L, 2-3). The East Carolina starter faced the minimum over the first two frames but couldn't make it through the third. Smith allowed four consecutive free baserunners to the Tigers to begin the inning, as Ben Brooks led off with a walk, Chris Swanberg was hit by a pitch, while Braden Webb and Zach Wilson drew consecutive walks. Wilson's walk plated Brooks and tied the game, while a sacrifice fly from Ian Bibiloni put the Tigers ahead 2-1. Hunter Goodman followed with a two-run double to right field, which made it 4-1 Memphis and knocked Smith out of the game. Cam Colmore entered for the Pirates and struck out Alec Trela, but Austin Baskin followed with a two-out RBI single, as Memphis led 5-1 through 2.5 innings.
After a shutdown third inning for Stinnett, the righty worked around two singles in a scoreless fourth frame before the Tigers busted the game open with the long ball in the fifth. Garrett Saylor, who worked a scoreless fourth inning out of the Pirates' bullpen, quickly retired the first two batters in the fifth before things unraveled for East Carolina (38-14). Goodman drew a two-out walk, while the Tigers then went back-to-back-to-back with home runs from Trela, Baskin, and Taylor Howell. Howell's two-strike home run made it 9-1 Memphis in the fifth.
Both sides went scoreless in the sixth inning, which gave Memphis the opportunity to put the run-rule into play in the seventh. Nick Logusch, who worked a perfect sixth inning for th Pirates, didn't retire either batter that he faced in the seventh. Bibiloni led off with a solo home run, Memphis' fourth home run of the game, which made it 10-1, while Goodman sent the Pirates back to the bullpen with a single. Danny Beal entered for East Carolina, and he quickly unleashed a wild pitch that put Goodman at second base. After Trela struck out, Baskin reached on a fielding error by Ryder Giles, which put men at the corners with only one out. Howell made it a 10-run game with a sacrifice fly, and while the Tigers then loaded the bases, Memphis left them full and went to the bottom of the seventh with an 11-1 lead, three outs from winning via the run-rule.
Stinnett retired Agnos to lead off the seventh before the Pirates got consecutive singles from Jacob Starling and Bryson Worrell. The back-to-back hits knocked Stinnett out of the contest, as Memphis brought in Takoda Metoxen to close out the game. The Memphis closer struck out Christian Smallwood on three pitches, and then ended the game with a five-pitch strikeout of CJ Boyd, as the Tigers stunned the top-seeded Pirates 11-1 in seven innings.
Now in ideal position to make a run in the tournament, the Tigers will face the No. 5 seed UCF Knights Thursday, with the winner in prime position to make it to the Championship game Saturday. First pitch Thursday is at 2 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+.
The game got off to a dreadful start for the Tigers, as AAC Player of the Year Connor Norby homered on the second pitch of the game. That was the final run of the afternoon for the Pirates, as Carson Stinnett (W, 4-5) faced just three over the minimum across the next six innings. Stinnett allowed one run on five hits over 6.1 frames.
Memphis (18-37) went quickly in the first two innings against Tyler Smith (L, 2-3). The East Carolina starter faced the minimum over the first two frames but couldn't make it through the third. Smith allowed four consecutive free baserunners to the Tigers to begin the inning, as Ben Brooks led off with a walk, Chris Swanberg was hit by a pitch, while Braden Webb and Zach Wilson drew consecutive walks. Wilson's walk plated Brooks and tied the game, while a sacrifice fly from Ian Bibiloni put the Tigers ahead 2-1. Hunter Goodman followed with a two-run double to right field, which made it 4-1 Memphis and knocked Smith out of the game. Cam Colmore entered for the Pirates and struck out Alec Trela, but Austin Baskin followed with a two-out RBI single, as Memphis led 5-1 through 2.5 innings.
After a shutdown third inning for Stinnett, the righty worked around two singles in a scoreless fourth frame before the Tigers busted the game open with the long ball in the fifth. Garrett Saylor, who worked a scoreless fourth inning out of the Pirates' bullpen, quickly retired the first two batters in the fifth before things unraveled for East Carolina (38-14). Goodman drew a two-out walk, while the Tigers then went back-to-back-to-back with home runs from Trela, Baskin, and Taylor Howell. Howell's two-strike home run made it 9-1 Memphis in the fifth.
Both sides went scoreless in the sixth inning, which gave Memphis the opportunity to put the run-rule into play in the seventh. Nick Logusch, who worked a perfect sixth inning for th Pirates, didn't retire either batter that he faced in the seventh. Bibiloni led off with a solo home run, Memphis' fourth home run of the game, which made it 10-1, while Goodman sent the Pirates back to the bullpen with a single. Danny Beal entered for East Carolina, and he quickly unleashed a wild pitch that put Goodman at second base. After Trela struck out, Baskin reached on a fielding error by Ryder Giles, which put men at the corners with only one out. Howell made it a 10-run game with a sacrifice fly, and while the Tigers then loaded the bases, Memphis left them full and went to the bottom of the seventh with an 11-1 lead, three outs from winning via the run-rule.
Stinnett retired Agnos to lead off the seventh before the Pirates got consecutive singles from Jacob Starling and Bryson Worrell. The back-to-back hits knocked Stinnett out of the contest, as Memphis brought in Takoda Metoxen to close out the game. The Memphis closer struck out Christian Smallwood on three pitches, and then ended the game with a five-pitch strikeout of CJ Boyd, as the Tigers stunned the top-seeded Pirates 11-1 in seven innings.
Now in ideal position to make a run in the tournament, the Tigers will face the No. 5 seed UCF Knights Thursday, with the winner in prime position to make it to the Championship game Saturday. First pitch Thursday is at 2 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Stinnett, Carson (4-5)
L: SMITH, T. (2-3)
Batting:
2B: Goodman, Hunter 1
HR: Bibiloni, Ian 1 ; Trela, Alec 1 ; Baskin, Austin 1 ; Howell, Taylor 1
RBI: Wilson, Zach 1 ; Bibiloni, Ian 2 ; Goodman, Hunter 2 ; Trela, Alec 2 ; Baskin, Austin 2 ; Howell, Taylor 2
SF: Bibiloni, Ian 1 ; Howell, Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilson, Zach 1 ; Bibiloni, Ian 1 ; Goodman, Hunter 3 ; Trela, Alec 1 ; Baskin, Austin 1 ; Howell, Taylor 1 ; Brooks, Ben 1 ; Swanberg, Chris 1 ; Webb, Braden 1
HBP: Swanberg, Chris 2
Batting:
HR: NORBY, C. 1
RBI: NORBY, C. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: NORBY, C. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
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INF
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C/UTL
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RHP
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RHP
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1B
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INF
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OF
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