Golden Eagles Take Rubber Match from Tigers

Sunday, March 26

Memphis, Tenn.

1 P.M.

University of Memphis

14-11

Oral Roberts

16-9

ORU

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Mar 26, 2023 | Baseball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis baseball team fell to Oral Roberts, 10-3, on Sunday at FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field in the rubber match of a three-game series. The Tigers got out to an early 3-1 lead on homeruns by Anthony Hansen and Will Spears, but a pair of three-run innings late by ORU were the difference in the game.

With the setback, Memphis fell to 14-11 on the season. The Golden Eagles improved to 16-9 on the season with the win after having a five-game winning streak snapped by the Tigers on Saturday.

"Rough game today," head coach Kerrick Jackson said. "We have to do better from a coaching standpoint of getting them to come out and be more competitive. Turn the page to Pine Bluff this week, and if we don't play well, they can sneak up and get us, then we get ready for conference. There's a lot of season left, a lot of time to adjust and get things going in the right direction. We're going to continue to bust our tails to make that happen."

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Hansen went deep to dead center field over the new batter's eye for a solo shot to give Memphis a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
• ORU evened things up with a solo shot of its own off the bat of Mac McCroskey in the top of the second.
• Spears cranked his first homerun of the season in the bottom of the second, a two-run shot that drove in RJ Jimerson and gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead.
• A solo homerun by ORU's Blaze Brothers and an RBI double by Justin Quinn tied the game back at 3-3 in the top of the third.
• Freshman starting pitcher Seth Garner threw up a pair of zeroes on the board in the fourth and fifth inning and the score remained tied at 3-3 until the sixth.
• The Golden Eagles squeezed in a runner from third on a bunt single by ORU catcher Jacob Godman to take the lead. ORU added two more runs in the inning on a single and a wild pitch to take a 6-3 lead.
• ORU strung together another three-run inning in the eighth and tacked on a run in the ninth for a final of 10-3.

NOTABLES
• Garner went five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out eight and issuing just one free pass.
• JT Durham was tagged with the loss for Memphis after allowing three runs in the sixth inning.
• Luke Ellis threw 1.1 innings of hitless relief in the sixth and seventh innings, striking out a pair.
• Hansen slugged his fifth homerun of the season in the first inning. The senior first baseman has hit safely in 20-of-23 games this season.
• Spears went deep for his first long ball as a Tiger and ended the day 1-for-3 with a two RBI.
• Jimerson went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored.
• Cade Hennemann got his first start of the season behind the plate and threw out a runner in the first inning.

UP NEXT
• The Tigers are back at FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. to host Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8-15), losers of four-straight games.

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.