Tigers Win 8-2, Take Series From Southeastern

Sunday, March 19

Hammond, La.

1 P.M.

University of Memphis

11-9

Southeastern Louisiana

12-8

Memphis

Southeastern

Mar 19, 2023 | Baseball

Box Score

HAMMOND, La. – The University of Memphis baseball team won Sunday's rubber match with Southeastern Louisiana, 8-2, at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field to clinch the series win two games to one. Freshman starting pitcher Seth Garner earned the first win of his collegiate career, going 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and just one earned run while striking out four and walking none.

With the win, Memphis improved to 11-9 on the season. The Lions dropped to 12-8 on the season with the loss.

"Great job by our guys today coming out with a chance to win the series and capitalizing," head coach Kerrick Jackson said. "We had competitive at-bats. Guys made adjustments from one at-bat to the next and even during at-bats at times. Great pitching performance by Seth [Garner] and Dalton [Kendrick]. We played good defense… this is how we need to play and if we do, we'll be in a good position moving forward. Great weekend series to get and looking forward to the next one."

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Tigers struck first with a pair of runs in the fourth on a clutch two-out, two-run single into right field by Jonah Sutton that brought home Logan Kohler and RJ Jimerson.
• The Lions scratched back in the bottom of the fourth for a run of their own to make it a 2-1 game.
• Memphis added another pair of runs in the seventh. Cameron Benson tripled down the right-field line and Jake Curtis turned on the jets to come all the way around and score from first. Kohler singled up the middle to drive in Benson from third, making the score 4-1.
• SLU pushed across an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh after a two-out error by the Tigers.
• Memphis exploded for four runs in the eighth inning. Benson tucked a double just inside the first-base bag to set the stage before Sutton scored on a wild pitch from third base for the first run of the inning. An Austin Baskin RBI single brought in Benson for the second run, then Kohler singled through the right side to plate Baskin and Anthony Hansen to make the score 8-2.
• Dalton Kendrick pitched a one-two-three inning for the Tigers in the bottom of the eighth and slammed the door in the ninth to earn his second save of the weekend and sixth of the season (leads AAC).

NOTABLES
• Memphis got a great pitching performance from Garner, who earned his first collegiate win to move to 1-2 on the season and lower his ERA to 4.56.
• Three Tigers tallied three-hit games (Benson, Kohler, Jimerson) and eight of the nine Tiger starters collected a hit, totaling 15 on the day as a team.
• Benson ended the game a homerun short of the cycle, going 3-for-6 from the leadoff spot with an RBI and two runs scored.
• Kohler went 3-for-5 with three RBI and scored a run.
• Jimerson finished the game 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and a walk.
• Baskin tallied two hits, driving in a run and scoring one from the three spot in the order.
• Sutton drove in two runs on his fourth inning single and ended 1-for-4, scoring a run.
• Kendrick collected his AAC-leading sixth save of the season (second of the weekend) and lowered his season ERA to 2.70 and owns a WHIP of .80. The 6-foot-5 lefty has struck out 27 batters and allowed just five walks over 20 innings of relief.

UP NEXT
• The Tigers return to FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field for five home games next week, beginning with UA-Little Rock at 6 p.m. Tuesday night.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tiger Baseball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.